Critics Critical Criticism

Some meta-criticism over the weekend, courtesy book critic Dwight Garner in the New York Times Magazine. In his Riff essay, “A Critic’s Case for Critics Who Are Actually Critical,” he suggests that respecting the effort that went into the creation of a work of art with generosity and silence will lead to the creation of a “zombie nation”: “a place no thinking person above the age of 7 would want to spend an afternoon.” I have to admit I found myself in the following description.