Icon, Innovator & Friend of The New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is honored to present a pop-up display celebrating the life and legacy of Tom Wolfe—a literary trailblazer who electrified journalistic prose for nearly six decades. As a pioneer of New Journalism and proponent of social realism, his innovative writing style—whether defining the cultural zeitgeist or satirically skewering pretension and hypocrisy—propelled readers into the story through his immersive technique in both his reportage and fiction.
One of the most extraordinary figures of New York’s literary scene, Wolfe had close ties to The New York Public Library and used its collections throughout his career. In 1981, the Library recognized him among the great literary luminaries as one of its Library Lions. Wolfe was also elected a Trustee, and later became an Honorary Trustee. It was only fitting that, in 2013, the Library gratefully acquired his personal archives. In his own words: “I’ve inhabited The New York Public Library so steadily since the very day I came to New York in 1962...I feel like my archive is not moving anywhere. It’s going home.”
This display features highlights from the Tom Wolfe Papers, forever preserved and available to all in the Library’s Manuscripts and Archives Division. Through these records, his creative legacy will live on for generations to come. The New York Public Library thanks him for his invaluable contribution to literature—and we are privileged to share his life’s work.
Learn more about Tom Wolfe's ties to The New York Public Library. You can also listen to Tom Wolfe on the New York Public Library Podcast or watch a short video of his 2016 appearance at the Library.
