A Few More Quotes on Critics & Criticism
May 19th 2007 08:57
Here are a few more great quotes on writing critics and writing criticism, just in case you could use another dose of humor, wisdom, irony, or wit. Some of these literary tidbits are serious, some hilarious, some straightforward and some oh so barbed--but all are worth the read!
The best thing you can do about critics is never say a word. In the end you have the last say, and they know it. ~Tennessee Williams~
The critic should describe and not prescribe. ~Eugene Ionesco~
The only really difficult thing about a poem is the critic's explanation of it. ~Frank Moore Colby~
I don't read my reviews, I measure them. ~Joseph Conrad~
Critics of literature have the same essential function as teachers of literature: this is not to direct the judgment of the audience, but to assist the audience in those disciplines of reading on which any meaningful judgment must rest. ~Mark Schorer~
Critics sometimes appear to be addressing themselves to works other than those I remember writing. ~Joyce Carol Oates~
People ask you for criticism but they only want praise. ~W. Somerset Maugham~
When I have to praise a writer, I usually do it by attacking his enemies. ~H.L. Mencken~
One of the greatest creations of the human mind is the art of reviewing books without ever having to read them. ~G. C. Lichtenberg~
Ideal dramatic criticism is unqualified appreciation. ~Oscar Wilde~
Criticism can be instructive in the sense that it gives readers, including the author of the book, some information about the critic's intelligence, or honesty, or both. ~Vladimir Nabokov~
And, finally, for any writer who may need a bit of an antidote to criticism, here's a list of some great ingredients to mix together to make your elixir:
Confronted by an absolutely infuriating review it is sometimes helpful for the victim to do a little personal research on the critic. Is there any truth to the rumor that he had no formal education beyond the age of eleven? In any event, is he able to construct a simple English sentence? Do his participles dangle? When moved to lyricism does he write "I had a fun time"? Was he ever arrested for burglary? I don't know that you will prove anything this way, but it is perfectly harmless and quite soothing. ~Jean Kerr~
Here's to the writing life--despite the critics!
Jeanne
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The best thing you can do about critics is never say a word. In the end you have the last say, and they know it. ~Tennessee Williams~
The critic should describe and not prescribe. ~Eugene Ionesco~
The only really difficult thing about a poem is the critic's explanation of it. ~Frank Moore Colby~
I don't read my reviews, I measure them. ~Joseph Conrad~
Critics of literature have the same essential function as teachers of literature: this is not to direct the judgment of the audience, but to assist the audience in those disciplines of reading on which any meaningful judgment must rest. ~Mark Schorer~
Critics sometimes appear to be addressing themselves to works other than those I remember writing. ~Joyce Carol Oates~
People ask you for criticism but they only want praise. ~W. Somerset Maugham~
When I have to praise a writer, I usually do it by attacking his enemies. ~H.L. Mencken~
One of the greatest creations of the human mind is the art of reviewing books without ever having to read them. ~G. C. Lichtenberg~
Ideal dramatic criticism is unqualified appreciation. ~Oscar Wilde~
Criticism can be instructive in the sense that it gives readers, including the author of the book, some information about the critic's intelligence, or honesty, or both. ~Vladimir Nabokov~
And, finally, for any writer who may need a bit of an antidote to criticism, here's a list of some great ingredients to mix together to make your elixir:
Confronted by an absolutely infuriating review it is sometimes helpful for the victim to do a little personal research on the critic. Is there any truth to the rumor that he had no formal education beyond the age of eleven? In any event, is he able to construct a simple English sentence? Do his participles dangle? When moved to lyricism does he write "I had a fun time"? Was he ever arrested for burglary? I don't know that you will prove anything this way, but it is perfectly harmless and quite soothing. ~Jean Kerr~
Here's to the writing life--despite the critics!
Jeanne
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