Thursday, September 06, 2012

Missing the point …

… Letter to a Young Critic: William Giraldi Defends True Criticism - The Daily Beast. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Of course we should be prepared to tell the truth in no uncertain terms. But the point is that we don't have to be gratuitously nasty about it. There is no moral obligation to be cruel. Fair criticism can be harsh enough, but harshness as an end in itself is hardly a virtue.

Dave sends along this, which is delightful: Letter to a Young Book Blogger.

2 comments:

  1. D.G. Myers finds that "[o]ne of Hogan’s accusations against Giraldi ... rankles because it is a cliché and an error: ...."

    http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2012/09/06/theres-elitist-under-my-bed/

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