Abstract: Edward Mendelson is Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. His specialties include 19th- and 20th-century novels, narrative, and poetry. In 1976, he introduced the critical category of the “encyclopedic narrative,” which has since become an important concept within the fields of literary theory and analysis. In 2017, Professor Mendelson was interviewed by Li Feng, an associate professor of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, who was then a Fulbright Research Scholar at Columbia University. In the interview, Professor Mendelson modifies some of his previous statements about encyclopedic narratives as a genre, including its primary concerns, its differences from epic, as well as its national characteristics; he also talks about his views on the relationship between literature and life, particularly the way great literary works resonate with the moral and personal dimensions of the human life-span. Professor Mendelson argues that any concept or theory should serve only as a perspective for literary reading and criticism, rather than a standard for categorization and judgment.

Key words: Edward Mendelson, encyclopedic narrative, text of life, ethical criticism