The issue is that when you're a critic it's hard to tell the difference between the thrill of denouncing and telling the truth. Telling the truth to me feels more often like denouncing than like praising. There are many more concrete advantages in the world for people who praise than for those who denounce. So if you want to tell the truth, oftentimes you're going to err on the side of denouncing. That's just something I have to work on.
If you are made for flight, intended for it, you had better find a pursuer, fast. Otherwise, all that fleeing is going nowhere. - Dan Chiasson
If you are made for flight, intended for it, you had better find a pursuer, fast. Otherwise, all that fleeing is going nowhere.
- Dan Chiasson
I do care about the consequences of being negative toward people who are powerful. But I'm more afraid of not being taken seriously as a critic - by … - Dan Chiasson
I do care about the consequences of being negative toward people who are powerful. But I'm more afraid of not being taken seriously as a critic - by …
The main thing in poetry criticism is that I have all these opinions, and I love having something to do with them. And I think it's important that pe… - Dan Chiasson
The main thing in poetry criticism is that I have all these opinions, and I love having something to do with them. And I think it's important that pe…
I feel most myself when I'm reading, but by that I don't mean that I'm most comfortable when I'm reading. I feel most fully a person who's torn betwe… - Dan Chiasson
I feel most myself when I'm reading, but by that I don't mean that I'm most comfortable when I'm reading. I feel most fully a person who's torn betwe…
It's often said that elephants are the most human of animals - there's something comical about their acquiescence, and tragic also. The long elephant… - Dan Chiasson
It's often said that elephants are the most human of animals - there's something comical about their acquiescence, and tragic also. The long elephant…
I seem to thrive by destroying the last thing I did, in a kind of cartoon Nietzsche way. Emerson says in "Experience" something like "every ultimate … - Dan Chiasson
I seem to thrive by destroying the last thing I did, in a kind of cartoon Nietzsche way. Emerson says in "Experience" something like "every ultimate …
I write to get myself writing. That and read Wallace Stevens' "An Ordinary Evening in New Haven" for the umpteenth time. Certain authors for me, cert… - Dan Chiasson
I write to get myself writing. That and read Wallace Stevens' "An Ordinary Evening in New Haven" for the umpteenth time. Certain authors for me, cert…
I treat myself as one of the sources. And, again, I think that’s accurate. One of the poets I read most frequently is myself. I really do. I read my … - Dan Chiasson
I treat myself as one of the sources. And, again, I think that’s accurate. One of the poets I read most frequently is myself. I really do. I read my …
The issue is that when you're a critic it's hard to tell the difference between the thrill of denouncing and telling the truth. Telling the truth to … - Dan Chiasson
The issue is that when you're a critic it's hard to tell the difference between the thrill of denouncing and telling the truth. Telling the truth to …
Login to join the discussion
Login to join the discussion