Percival Pollard

Joseph Percival Pollard (January 29, 1869 – December 17, 1911) was an American literary critic, novelist and short story writer.

Born in Greifswald, Pomerania to English and German parents, he was educated at Eastbourne College in Sussex, England.

His works reflect his dislike for naturalism, and disdain for the commercial tastes of the masses, promoting instead aestheticism and literary impressionism.

Other works include Dreams of To-day (1907), a book of decadent 'weird tales' in the vein of Chambers' The King in Yellow, the critical study Masks and Minstrels of New Germany (1911), the novels The Imitator (1901) and Lingo Dan (1903), as well as a play written in collaboration with Leo Ditrichstein, The Ambitious Mrs. Alcott, which opened and closed after 24 performances on Broadway in 1907.

A 1947 Ph.D. dissertation, Percival Pollard: Precursor of the Twenties, by George Nicholas Kummer of New York University, has remained in unpublished typescript form.