He later became the editor of the New York Evening Mail and then its publisher, and then, in 1918, returned to New York City to become the managing editor of The New York Times Book Review. During the 1920s and 1930s, Mark was known for his brilliant work on modern literature and his essays on literary subjects ranging from "Lawrence Sterne" to "The Author's Craft." He was also an accomplished poet and poet laureate. Having won two Pulitzer Prizes himself, he was instrumental in securing one for another writer, William Saroyan.
He served as professor of English at Columbia University from 1930 to 1942, where he taught courses in literary translation, American drama, and modern poetry. Throughout his life Mark Van Doren wrote articles, essays, short stories, novels, poetry collections and biographies. His last book was An American Romance (1957).