The New York Times Book Review on Sunday went meta for a few of its pages, asking six book critics to write about the state of literary criticism in these perilous times -- when humans who aren't getting paid by the word can leave their reflections on a book in a public place. But that's argumentative: I found the set of little essays (longer versions could be found, gulp, online) instructive and engaging. And if you're interested in the production of cultural commentary (and the fact that you're here is an indication that you just might be!), these brief bouts with the topic might be worth your while, too.
The "Editors," who remain unnamed, asked the following question: "We asked the six to explain what it is they do, why they do it and why it matters. We asked them, additionally, to undertake the assignment in the spirit Alfred Kazin did half a century ago in his ambitious statement of purpose 'The Function of Criticism Today.'" I love Kazin's essay or manifesto or whatever it is. Kazin has passion for what he's doing, and though he's profoundly disappointed in the direction of his culture, with the loss of democratic processes in 1960 America, he remains on the battlefield of public opinion.
Here Kazin is, midway through the essay: "To use Jacques Barzun's significant phrase, the "energies of art" are revealed to us, and so can be described and judged, only when they are seen against the background of man's striving, man's belief that he can help create the future he wants."
