Dorrit Cohn

About the Author

Dorrit Cohn was a pioneering literary scholar renowned for her insightful explorations of narrative techniques and the boundaries between fiction and nonfiction. Born in 1929 in New York City, she pursued her academic career with a focus on comparative literature, earning her PhD from Harvard University and later teaching at prestigious institutions such as Bryn Mawr College and Princeton University. Cohn's work delved deeply into the mechanisms of literary representation, particularly in modernist and postmodernist texts, influencing generations of scholars with her rigorous analysis of free indirect discourse and other innovative forms. Her seminal book, The Distinction of Fiction, exemplifies her commitment to clarifying the unique artistry of fictional narratives amid the rise of documentary styles. Throughout her career, Cohn published numerous essays and articles that continue to shape literary criticism, leaving an enduring legacy in the study of how stories construct reality.