Critics and Reviewers
A note from Novels, Stories, and More on the difference between critics and reviewers.
I have vanishingly little interest in criticism--I find the apparatus often gets in the way of the text and makes it nearly impossible to enjoy or appreciate it. Critics have ruined Ulysses for the common reader for whom it was written. I find that criticism tells me more about the critic than about the work under investigation--and sometimes it tells some very interesting things.
I fall, therefore, into the world of the book reviewer. I'm unlikely to reveal new layers of a text or different understandings or open the world of the book to anyone other than those who have not already read it.
I have vanishingly little interest in criticism--I find the apparatus often gets in the way of the text and makes it nearly impossible to enjoy or appreciate it. Critics have ruined Ulysses for the common reader for whom it was written. I find that criticism tells me more about the critic than about the work under investigation--and sometimes it tells some very interesting things.
I fall, therefore, into the world of the book reviewer. I'm unlikely to reveal new layers of a text or different understandings or open the world of the book to anyone other than those who have not already read it.
Comments
Post a Comment