He would remain at the Post in the Style section for the rest of his primary career, writing articles on a wide variety of subjects, including about his speech impediment of stuttering.
[1] Benjamin C. Bradlee, executive editor of The Post, described Kernan as a "poet in newspaperman's clothing."
Mary Hadar, former editor of the Post's Style section, said "He was a glorious writer who could make anything interesting.
[3] Kernan published a work of non-fiction The Violet Dots (1978) about a British soldier who fought in the Battle of the Somme in World War I and the novels The Lost Diaries of Frans Hals (1994) and Before(2001) (a prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island .
[1][4] He published more than 100 articles for the Smithsonian Magazine, including seven years writing the "Around the Mall and Beyond" column.