The noblest task of literary critics is to correct the shoddy work of critics from previous generations. This includes judging with the necessary distance for good judgment, undoing undeserved exaltations and repairing regrettable injustices. From this we can see that it is more than prudent for the critic, as it is for the historian, to establish a timeline beforehand that delimits the subject he will be working on: a cold, rigid and impartial line, exactly as the critics he will have to correct lacked.
Category: Notes
As Much Fun as It Is to Consciously Violate…
As much fun as it is to consciously violate each and every one of the dictates of the new language police, it is unpleasant and painful to watch those who bow down to it. It is fun because, with each transgression, we are reminded of the stupidity of these dictates; and it is fun because we express our insubjection to the foolishness. When, however, we observe the reverse in another conscience, what we see is someone who, out of fear or to please, has sacrificed what should be most valuable to him: freedom. Less than irritate, it pains us to observe it…
It Takes a While for an Artist to Discover…
It takes a while for an artist to discover that the best art he can make is that which is most intimate, most genuinely his own, and not the most acclaimed by the critics. It takes a while because, to the beginner, the idea that he should strive for authenticity will seem nonsensical, when he is a beginner and therefore has to learn and find himself. That is why imitation, to a greater or lesser extent, is a natural and fruitful path. But there comes a time when practice sufficiently highlights what is and is not one’s own. Then it also becomes clear that imitation, if anything, is a stepping stone to great art, and that this can only be done with the substance of what most stirs the individual conscience.
It Should Be Enough for Man…
It should be enough for man to be certain that it is possible to sit down alone and experience a different reality from the outside world through letters, so that his spirit can detach itself from the anguish it may generate. Once one understands how far one can go through the mind, the exuberance of possibilities becomes a powerful respite from the frustration caused by the urgencies, needs and ties of the material world.