Trilling, Lionel (1905–1975)

US author and literary critic. His books of criticism include The Liberal Imagination 1950, Beyond Culture 1965, and The Experience of Literature 1967. He also produced annotated editions of the works of English poets Matthew Arnold and John Keats.

Born in New York, USA, and educated at Columbia University, Trilling joined the Columbia English Department faculty 1932. He received his PhD 1938 and was appointed professor 1948. His novel The Middle of the Journey 1947 is based on the character of Whittaker Chambers, who was to be a protagonist of the Alger Hiss case.