Book Review of the Day--and Critic of the Century
Peter Robinson ·
Oct 30, 2011 at 4:17pm
Mike Malone, Ricochet's sometime correspondent--meaning, never often enough--dropped me a line just now to point out that today's Wall Street Journal includes a book review by the great teacher, editor and literary critic, Jacques Barzun. An excerpt:
What matters is...work. It is Homer. It is Sophocles. When we say Dante, we do not think of the perpetual fugitive Il Signor Alighieri, but of "Nel mezzo del camin di nostra vita" ("In the middle of the journey of our life").
To anyone who would like to be able to write like that, keep practicing. Next month, Prof. Barzun will turn 103.
- Comment (6)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (1)
Comments :
Sep '10
Re: Book Review of the Day--and Critic of the Century
If you read everything in Barzun's corpus you will be immeasurably changed by the end of your journey.
Jul '10
Re: Book Review of the Day--and Critic of the Century
Who's got the time?
Sep '10
Re: Book Review of the Day--and Critic of the Century
I'd say that if you only read _From Dawn to Decadence_ but slowly and with great care, you will have a classical literary education and what could better constitute being immeasurably changed.
Re: Book Review of the Day--and Critic of the Century
Yes, yes -- but his grandson turns out to be a major Obama fundraising bundler. I know -- the sins of the grandchildren should not be visited on the grandparents, and all that. But it leaves a sour taste nonetheless....
Sep '10
Re: Book Review of the Day--and Critic of the Century
I'd recommend the House of Intellect, first.
Apr '11
Re: Book Review of the Day--and Critic of the Century
Peter Robinson
To anyone who would like to be able to write like that, keep practicing.
I'm just a low-brow guy with a "clear, competent" writing style, so I'd recommend instead H. Allen Smith and Mark Twain.
Starting points: Twain's essay on the literary sins of James Fenimore Cooper, and Smith's How to Write Without Knowing Nothing.
Probably it does no good, but I tell freshmen over and over Smith's advice: to become a good writer, write. Read good writers, and then practice.