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.
Tag: literature
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.
The Greatest Incentive to Literary Fruitfulness
Perhaps the greatest incentive to literary fruitfulness is to live silently, avoiding as much as possible throwing words to the wind that would be much better used on paper. In the wind, only the trivial and of little importance. There are countless advantages to this attitude, which contributes to both life and work, making very clear what belongs to one and the other, separating and defining them, reinforcing how they should be viewed. Above all, it avoids the mistake of taking them for what they are not, distorting them. To live in silence, in short, is to know the right time and the right way to say what has to be said.