I remember a long book review from the 90s of a well-known New York film critic’s collection of weekly reports. The reviewer of the collected reports noted that of the 163 films that were considered, the critic only gave a positive grade to four. The tale is not apocryphal, and is worth retelling because we tend to think that critique or review is finding fault. But there’s a kind of reading that can be affirmative through and through. What I […]

Categories: Ed Mooney, ZiR

I know of few accounts in the press that make sense of a commitment many of us feel to sustain the arts of reading and writing we were taught were the heart of a humanistic education, and near the heart of a culture we could embrace. We have writers who cite the benefits of critical thinking and writing skills for those entering business or the professions. We have scholars who should know better – Stanley Fish, for one – announcing […]

Categories: Ed Mooney, ZiR