Patrick Murtha
Reader
I see that there were two much earlier threads titled “Literary Criticism” which consisted of arguments about the usefulness of literary theory. Not especially my thing. But literary history, and varieties of criticism / reviewing that are not heavily theoretic, definitely ARE my thing. Hence this different thread.
For example, the book reviews of the English novelist Arnold Bennett, collected in Books and Persons and The Evening Standard Years, are the best I have ever read, models of discourse for an intelligent non-specialized audience. Bennett has an undeserved reputation as an old fogey, but he was open to all things and his antennae were sharp; he spotted Faulkner a mile off.
The five volumes of the Makers and Finders series on American literature by the now nearly forgotten Van Wyck Brooks are beautifully written and completely absorbing. Brooks read EVERYTHING and reported on it well.
I have already mentioned in other threads some literary history I have been reading recently: Richard D. Altick, The Scholar Adventurers; Mark Cocker, Loneliness and Time: The Story of British Travel Writing; Alethea Hayter, A Sultry Month.
For example, the book reviews of the English novelist Arnold Bennett, collected in Books and Persons and The Evening Standard Years, are the best I have ever read, models of discourse for an intelligent non-specialized audience. Bennett has an undeserved reputation as an old fogey, but he was open to all things and his antennae were sharp; he spotted Faulkner a mile off.
The five volumes of the Makers and Finders series on American literature by the now nearly forgotten Van Wyck Brooks are beautifully written and completely absorbing. Brooks read EVERYTHING and reported on it well.
I have already mentioned in other threads some literary history I have been reading recently: Richard D. Altick, The Scholar Adventurers; Mark Cocker, Loneliness and Time: The Story of British Travel Writing; Alethea Hayter, A Sultry Month.