"In the finest critics one hears the full cry of the human. They tell one why it matters to read."
I would like to buy that man a drank.
I (gasp!) think Harold's right.
I (gasp!) think Harold's right.
Now, I'm generally not a huge fan of H-bomb's opinions, but I adore him anyway. Confused? Let me explain. I love, love, love to argue with people. You know, in a nice way. I believe we are at our most passionate when arguing. So I like Bloom because he just says whatever he wants, without any concern for how others will feel about it. I dig provocation. It helps me figure things out. And to a certain extent I can see that criticism is just a written version of an argument. I still believe we would all be better scholars (and, people) if we spent a little more time creating actual literature, but I also absolutely accept that criticism is an important part of what we do.
I do, however, question the value of criticism in which the "full cry of the human" is conspicuously absent. It seems we generally only get this kind of full-throated criticism from people whose the celebrity status allows them to be blunt, cantankerous and generally offensive.
We spoke in class about the cult of personality, and how the people who get noticed in academia are the ones who throw caution to the wind, shimmy out on that limb and hope someone else follows. The problem being of course that we're not necessarily encouraged to break protocol (or shimmy, if you will). I wonder how many times we remain silent in class, or play it safe with our seminar papers because we're afraid to be wrong. Or because we imagine that we're less intelligent than everyone around us. Or because we're terrified we won't get into a PhD program or get a job offer.
A few weeks ago I got really frustrated with this idea. Why is it that when we come to grad school we seem to lose all our confidence? I put a post-it up on the wall in my office that says, "what would you write IF?" to remind me that I only get one shot at this. What would I write if I wasn't concerned about being accepted by someone else?
I do, however, question the value of criticism in which the "full cry of the human" is conspicuously absent. It seems we generally only get this kind of full-throated criticism from people whose the celebrity status allows them to be blunt, cantankerous and generally offensive.
We spoke in class about the cult of personality, and how the people who get noticed in academia are the ones who throw caution to the wind, shimmy out on that limb and hope someone else follows. The problem being of course that we're not necessarily encouraged to break protocol (or shimmy, if you will). I wonder how many times we remain silent in class, or play it safe with our seminar papers because we're afraid to be wrong. Or because we imagine that we're less intelligent than everyone around us. Or because we're terrified we won't get into a PhD program or get a job offer.
A few weeks ago I got really frustrated with this idea. Why is it that when we come to grad school we seem to lose all our confidence? I put a post-it up on the wall in my office that says, "what would you write IF?" to remind me that I only get one shot at this. What would I write if I wasn't concerned about being accepted by someone else?
2 comments:
The vagaries of the job market or even just PhD programs are such that half the time it's not even about you. So, I don't worry about it. I do my best. I say what I want; if I fail, I fail. I learn from it. I adjust. If I succeed, then I succeed. Either way, I move on.
But one thing is for sure: I don't spend any time wondering IF anything...I just do it. I deal with the consequences. Because when you get to the end and you've played it safe, and let's say you get a job or get to the next level and you aren't limited by fear or lack of confidence or whatever, well, you'll have had no practice being free. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Dr. Lecter -- I wasn't going to comment on your blog again, but I read Jm's comment and just had to through in a sentence or two. First, Hell yeah! I don't like what-ifs or could-have-beens. Some intelligent person once said, "Forget regret or life is yours to miss." And I know you're not talking about regret but it seems relevant to bring it up. Write for whoever you want for whatever reasons you want but it sucks to imagine sacrificing self-interest and passion for bureaucracy and political / job acceptance stuff.
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