A short life of the author
Adam Gopnik (b. 24 August 1956) was born in Philadelphia and raised in Montreal. He studied art history at McGill University and the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University. He has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1986.
Life and Career
Gopnik’s The New Yorker essays — which range across art criticism, food writing, memoir, cultural commentary, and reportage — have established him as one of the most versatile American essayists of his generation. Paris to the Moon (2000) — collected essays about living in Paris with his young family — became a bestseller and established his public reputation.
Through the Children’s Gate (2006) — about returning to New York with children — and At the Strangers’ Gate (2017) — about arriving in New York in the 1980s — form a loose autobiographical trilogy. The Table Comes First (2011) — about food, cooking, and the meaning of eating — is his finest single book: learned, witty, and genuinely original in its arguments.
Major Works and Themes
Gopnik writes about culture, cities, food, art, parenthood, and ideas. His style is conversational, allusive, and built on surprising juxtapositions — he moves easily from Matisse to his children’s school plays to the philosophy of cooking. He has been criticized for preciousness, but at his best he brings genuine intellectual depth to subjects that might otherwise seem trivial.
Key Works
- Paris to the Moon (2000)
- The Table Comes First (2011)
- At the Strangers’ Gate (2017)
Collecting Gopnik
Paris to the Moon first edition (Random House, 2000) brings $15–$30. Gopnik signs frequently at New York events and bookshops.