Except When I Write: Reflections of a Recovering Critic
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.47 (780 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0199782407 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 224 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2017-07-03 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
I am humbled before Krystal's virtues: clarity, variety, levity, gravity and the single trait without which all others are beside the point-humanity." -- Wyatt Mason, Contributing writer, New York Times Magazine; Senior Fellow of the Hannah Arendt Center for Politics & the Humanities at Bard College "Except When I Write reflects the varied cultural interests of an intellectual son-of-a-gun. Krystal's essays and reviews are unfailingly lucid and balanced-to-a-T, as is customary for this writer (I would highly recommend this and his other two essay collections)." - The Arts Fuse. What makes those subjects interesting is Krystal's personal voice: sympathetic, alert, skeptical, comic, sometimes sharp, sometimes extravagant and with a sharply
He lives in New York City.. He is the author of The Half-Life of an American Essayist and Agitations: Essays on Life and Literature. Arthur Krystal has written for The New Yorker, Harpers, the American Scholar, the Times Literary Supplement, The New York Times Book Review, and other publications. Th
His cardinal rule as a writer? William Hazlitt's "Confound it, man, don't be insipid." No fear of that. In prose that is both vibrant and elegant, Krystal negotiates among myriad subjects-from historical writing as exemplified by Jacques Barzun to the art of screenwriting as not so happily represented by F. Literature may be the bedrock on which these essays rest, but as F. Companionable without being chummy, engaged without being didactic, erudite without being stuffy, he demonstrates that literature, even in the digital age, remains the truest expression of the human condition.Covering subjects as diverse as aphorisms, dueling, the night, and the 1960s, th
Literate essays on a wide variety of topics Bryan Byrd EXCEPT WHEN I WRITE is a collection of ten previously published articles which first appeared in the likes of HARPER'S, THE NEW YORKER, and THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW; and two pieces collected here for the first time. For the most part, they follow the format I am used to seeing in those particular magazines for in-depth reviews and criticism of recently published material - where high-profile critics and writers bring their experience to bear on a particular subjec. Krystal does it again. "There is no such thing as a moral or immoral book. Books are either well written or badly written. That is all." - Oscar WildeI begin with the quote above in part because I was inspired by the chapter " The Art of the Aphorism" included in this latest collection by the extraordinary Arthur Krystal, but more pertinently, because it concisely summarizes my thoughts as I reflect upon what it is that make these essays so compelling and affecting. As the Wilde quote implies. "Treat Yourself" according to Lucy Waldman. Although not much for reading essays, I stumbled across this small collection by a chance recommendation and was quickly hooked. Not everyone may find the subject matter equally interesting (some may prefer to read about F Scott Fitzgerald in Hollywood than about the art of the aphorism), but ultimately it is not the content that is compelling here. Rather it's the journey that Krystal takes us on. His style is light and clever, and his clear presentations make for an e