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Monday, April 05, 2004

A good culture is hard to find

Sven Birkerts recently published an essay in Bookforum called “Critical Condition,” in which he reviewed the state of reading, writing, and reviewing in the contemporary literary scene.  But you don’t have to read it in its entirety, because miraculously enough, Flannery O’Connor has already provided us with an all-purpose Shorter Sven Birkerts in her famous short story, “The Life You Save May Be Your Own.”

In the words of Tom T. Shiftlet, “Nothing is like it used to be, lady.  The world is almost rotten.”

The amazing thing about this Shorter Sven Birkerts passage is that it works for everything Birkerts writes.  Go ahead!  Try it at home and see!

(And while we’re on the subject, why is it that these essays-of-literary-lamentations always, always, always cite the glory days of Partisan Review-- but, crucially, without acknowledging that the real reason for that journal’s long, slow, ugly demise was that its editor, in his senescence, was given to writing and publishing things like this lovely little reminiscence of Ralph Ellison?)

Meanwhile, back in the year 2004, Matt Stoller has a fine summary and analysis of the Kos controversy.

Posted by Michael on 04/05 at 06:26 AM
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