Why Criticism Matters - Essay by Elif Batuman - NYTimes.com

This was fun to read. I admit I have scant knowledge of literary theory, though I have read some Jameson, and the reference here gives us much to think about regarding Proust and other French novels (our sometime collaborator Dirk will no doubt be interested), and the "negative criticism" of "neuro novels" is devastatingly amusing. What I found most stimulating of my own creative impulses (which could no doubt be alternatively explained in the language of neuro novels) was her interpretation of Freud's interpretation of dreams, as applied to fiction.

Why Criticism Matters - Essay by Elif Batuman - NYTimes.com

Yes, I suppose that criticism does matter, though not so much as the creation of the dreams.

1 comment:

Dirk van Nouhuys said...

Your posting raises the issue of the desirability of ethnic states, such as the world recently countenanced in, say, Croatia or Slovakia. Are they a good thing or not? Finland, where I spend a lot of time, is a nearly ethic state (there is a significant Swedish-speaking minority, but there is negligible friction between the groups and intermarriage is over %50) works as well as any state, and in a recent survey of how much states benefited their people all the top scorers, Sweden, Ireland, Iceland etc. were highly homogenous ethnically. But I agree in this case, because of the history and where the populations are, that a multiethnic state is desirable. Some of my Jewish friends would be sad (I am often struck d by the diversity of opinions on these issues among my Jewish friends). I recall an American friend who went to Israel and found her self surprisingly and deeply moved by being in a place where everyone was a Jew (as she perceived it). Yet I think that can’t work for the greater good for the greater number.
However I am skeptical about whether the form of government in neighboring Arabic states matters.
What would matter is withdrawal of US support. I think Erdoğan hit the nail on the head when he called Israel "The spoiled child of the West." If The US disowned Israel and the Palestinians, each would have much more motivation to negotiate. But maybe that is idle, idealistic thinking.