Practical criticism. Let's start small. One thing to watch for in beginning to make evaluations is courage.
Cowardice never made an admirable woman or man, never made an admirable friend, never made an admirable government, and never made an admirable work of art.
"Land of the free and home of the brave." Brave enough to admit having made a mistake? Brave enough to back down from an unjust war? Brave enough to call things by their real names? To get off the safe and comfortable track and convey what you actually feel? To risk unpopularity? If not, no land of the free. (Ta-ta-dum and other appropriate fanfare.)
About Me
- Alfred Corn
- Nine books of poetry, one novel, a collection of critical articles, and a forthcoming book, Atlas: Selected Essays, 1989-2007, published by the University of Michigan Press. I've taught poetry writing at Columbia, UCLA, the City University of New York, the University of Cincinnati, Yale, the University of Tulsa, Ohio State, and Oklahoma State University. Awards and prizes include the Guggenheim Fellowship, the NEA, Academy of American Poets, the Academy of Arts and Letters award, and the Levinson Prize from =Poetry= magazine.
Links:
Poetry Foundation
The Academy of American Poets
2 comments:
Yes! Well-put.
If only W were "listening."
On "brave enought o admit having made a mistake": Here's David Mamet writing in the VILLAGE VOICE on 3/11/08 --
"My favorite example of a change of mind was Norman Mailer at The Village Voice.
Norman took on the role of drama critic, weighing in on the New York premiere of Waiting for Godot.
Twentieth century's greatest play. Without bothering to go, Mailer called it a piece of garbage.
When he did get around to seeing it, he realized his mistake. He was no longer a Voice columnist, however, so he bought a page in the paper and wrote a retraction, praising the play as the masterpiece it is."
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