Re: skip the critic
oconnort@nyu.edu
Thu, 09 Apr 1998 13:05:52 -0500
On Thu, Apr 09, 1998 at 09:17:45AM -0600, WILL HOCHMAN wrote:
> thinking you posted...IMHO you might have "danced" with Alsen's ideas and
> seen more to your own, but your response made it clear this is not your
> desire. I accept that but hope other bananafish don't, which is why I
> made my dylan post.
Critics get a bad rap because there are so many bad ones out there, and
many readers get sour when they expect to read about the authors they
love, and perhaps gain insight into those authors; then they see critics
who are out to promote their agendas at all costs.
It is a terrible shame that Alsen's book is so hard to get; he's one of
the more perceptive critical readers of Salinger.
Will: It is your mission to turn this ship around <*insert enormous
grin*> as you explore the Salinger readership in the 1990s, which is an
entirely different beast than what Wilson and Updike and critics of the
50s and 60s. I myself am eager to see it.
I've read a lot of the literature (though would not presume to say I
have read anything approaching what you have covered, Will), and some
was good, and some was very bad. I learned a lot much of the time.
Occasionally I learned through disagreement with critics, which caused
me to develop my own notions.
The best critics illuminate or present a slant we never before would
have seen. The worst just make us want to crawl under the covers with a
flashlight and the original book. In my view, I mean.
Cheers!
--tim