Review: “An Evangelical Manifesto”

“An Evangelical Manifesto” is not well-wrought, and so it projects a tradition that is not well-wrought. 
The problems began when I read the title: “An Evangelical Manifesto.”   The word manifesto ought to manifest itself with clarity, but this iteration immediately led me astray.  It was an instance of etymological irony.  I had associated it with [...]

“The Trivium by Sister Miriam Joseph, A Viable Alternative to Gottschall’s Proposal for Scientific Hegemony”

Joseph, Sister Miriam.  The Trivium: The Liberal Arts of Logic, Grammar, and Rhetoric.  Marguerite McGlinn Ed.  Philadelphia: Paul Dry Books, 2002. 292 pp. $18.95
In a recent post, I oppose Jonathan Gottschall’s argument in favor of literary science, maintaining that Gottschall correctly perceives the general problems of contemporary literary criticism while also maintaining that his proposed solution is unwarranted.  I [...]

Review: The Growth and Influence of Classical Greek Poetry by R.C. Jebb

Recently, when people have asked what I’m reading, I’ve had the rare pleasure of responding, “Jebb.” R.C. Jebb that is. He is the author of The Growth and Influence of Classical Greek Poetry, a wonderful collection of lectures delivered at Johns Hopkins University in 1892. You might think a book written in the late 19th-century [...]

Joseph Bottum on What Language Wants to Be, The Weekly Standard, 19 May 2008

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Utilities/printer_preview.asp?idArticle=15094&R=13A832D43C

"Measure for Measure" by Jonathan Gottschall, Boston Globe 11 May 2008

In his recent article on the state of literary criticism, Jonathan Gottschall keenly perceives some of the field’s real and pressing problems. He writes that contemporary literary criticism combines, “obsolete theory, inadequate methods, unbridled theoretical bias, and a spirit of surrender to ‘unknowability,’” an apt description of the broad state of affairs. Yet [...]

Review: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

I read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight last night before bed. It is a short book, first written down around 1400. The first and only other time I read Sir Gawain, in the 10th grade, I also ingested it whole, and after reading it a second time I am led to believe [...]

Review: The Sacred Wood by T.S. Eliot

The Sacred Wood is a collection of literary critical essays by T.S. Eliot, a modern poet and new critical literary scholar. The single best essay is “Tradition and the Individual Talent,” in which Eliot describes his organic understanding of tradition as an evolving order that adapts to incorporate new works:
The existing order is complete [...]

Review: The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

I just finished reading The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco last night, and I thought I’d write down a few thoughts for anyone else interested in reading the book. I read the novel for pure enjoyment, mostly at night before bed, and pure enjoyment it was. The story takes place over [...]