![]() ![]() ![]() My first real job was as editorial assistant for The Washington Post’s book reviews section, Book World. It should be noted that my familiarity with these blunders begins with my own early commitment to abusing them. As a writer and editor for more than 20 years, I’ve noted some prevalent tics that blight otherwise fine critical writing even as they guarantee me a living doing something I love. It’s a form that can be learned, a skill that can be improved and refined. Literature may be endlessly elastic, but book criticism has best practices and parameters that are no less potent for being unwritten. It is a challenging, surprising, rewarding endeavor worthy of its conundrums. I love language and admire anyone who takes a run at mastering the linguistic arts. ![]() It’s an admirable, aspirational pursuit that attaches the reviewer to a tradition that trails all the way back to Aristotle. ![]() Insightful commentary on the world’s literary life entered the public discourse 2,500 years ago, and it plays a vibrant, vital role in the health of the arts and society today. It’s easy to see why writing criticism attracts so many authors, aspiring or established, and other students of literature: it offers the opportunity to highlight a love of books while showing off one’s own chops as a writer and thinker. ![]()
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