• Home
  • About us
  • Contact Us
  • Date/Time
  • Login
  • Subscribe

logo

  • Home
  • Politics
  • Economics & Finance
  • World
  • Arts & Books
  • Life
  • Science
  • Philosophy
  • Subscribe
  • Events
Home
  • Home
  • Blogs
  • Politics
  • Economics & Finance
  • World
  • Arts & Books
  • Life
  • Science
  • Philosophy
  • Subscribe
  • Events
  • Home
  • Magazine

Critical thinking #4: Daniel Mendelsohn

An interview with the author, essayist and critic Daniel Mendelsohn

by David Wolf / December 5, 2013 / Leave a comment
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • Email

Mendelsohn: “I think that any serious author wants one thing: to be read intelligently and generously. What could be the value of praise that’s based on an unintelligent reading?”

This is part of an ongoing series of interviews about the art of criticism. More to follow soon.

Daniel Mendelsohn has been hailed by the New York Times as “our most irresistible literary critic.” His essays, reviews and articles appear in many publications, most frequently in the New Yorker, the New York Review of Books, and the New York Times Book Review, where he is a columnist. His books include two memoirs, The Elusive Embrace (1999) and The Lost: A Search For Six of Six Million (2006), which will be reissued in the UK in January; a two-volume translation of the works of CP Cavafy; and two collections of essays. He lives in New York Cit…

YOU’VE HIT THE LIMIT

You have now reached your limit of 3 free articles in the last 30 days.
But don’t worry! You can get another 7 articles absolutely free, simply by entering your email address in the box below.

When you register we’ll also send you a free e-book—Writing with punch—which includes some of the finest writing from our archive of 22 years. And we’ll also send you a weekly newsletter with the best new ideas in politics and philosophy of culture, which you can of course unsubscribe from at any time







Prospect may process your personal information for our legitimate business purposes, to provide you with our newsletter, subscription offers and other relevant information.

Click to learn more about these interests and how we use your data. You will be able to object to this processing on the next page and in all our communications.

19616533395c71107255e961.03695126

Go to comments

Related articles

From stem to Sterne: how a Yorkshire parson reinvented the novel
Lucinda Smyth / September 18, 2018
250 years since Laurence Sterne's death, Tristam Shandy is as puzzling and entertaining...
The Prospect podcast #52—Is identity a mirage?
Prospect Team / September 26, 2018
Philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah joins the Prospect team to discuss his new book
Share with friends
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • Email

Comments

  1. Fraser Gillies
    December 5, 2013 at 15:44
    Excellent interview. Thanks.
  2. Sapana
    December 6, 2013 at 12:33
    quiet engaging one..
  3. Kevin Calhoun
    December 6, 2013 at 16:48
    A very interesting and informative piece. The interview makes me want to read what Mr. Mendelsohn has written. I wonder what he thinks of Renata Adler's takedown of Pauline Kael. I am surprised that this wasn't asked of him in this interview given the context of criticism that was discussed.
  4. Susan Balee
    December 6, 2013 at 19:03
    Wow. Do I ever agree with DM on a range of topics, especially Theory. I was a grad student at Columbia in the 1980s and remember that era as making lots of people contemptuous of literature, especially grad students (many of whom had been English majors because they loved primary texts, then got seduced by the idea that they --as critics -- could be more important than the writers they'd once revered). That said, it's fun to read good literary essayists and reviewers. I'm a sucker for a good review, a literary genre at which Mr. Mendelsohn excells. Long may he prosper, and long may you, Prospect.
  5. kiwicafe
    December 6, 2013 at 22:13
    Excellent food for thought.
  6. Esther Grobstein
    December 7, 2013 at 01:10
    Mr. Mendelsohn is always penetrating, wrestling the angels of art to the ground and emerging triumphant. My goal is to have him at my shabbos table!
  7. aldousk
    December 7, 2013 at 08:09
    "the rule is that you can’t write anything until you’ve read everything" Let us discuss Keats.
  8. M.G. Piety
    December 7, 2013 at 15:49
    Very interesting interview. Yes, I'd say a deep engagement with original texts is an absolutely essential part of an undergraduate education. See: http://mgpiety.org/2013/11/26/education-and-philosophy/
  9. Gunjan Srivastava
    December 13, 2013 at 02:53
    The way you keep yourself aloof from the excitement of immediate events while writing about the modern age is really praiseworthy.

Prospect's free newsletter

The big ideas that are shaping our world—straight to your inbox. PLUS a free e-book and 7 articles of your choosing on the Prospect website.

Prospect may process your personal information for our legitimate business purposes, to provide you with our newsletter, subscription offers and other relevant information. Click here to learn more about these purposes and how we use your data. You will be able to opt-out of further contact on the next page and in all our communications.

This Month's Magazine

Perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus.

Prospect is the leading magazine of ideas. Each month it is packed with the finest writing on politics, culture, economics and ideas. Subscribe today and join the debate.

Subscribe

Most Popular

  • Read
  • Commented

This proposal for breaking the Brexit deadlock deserves serious consideration

Did the SDP really split the left in 1983?

Nonsense economics: the rise of modern monetary theory

The Conservative Party has a problem—it’s no longer conservative

5 Comments

Even if Britain stays in Europe, we need a new constitutional settlement

2 Comments

If May's deal is in flames, Labour should not seek to put out the fire

2 Comments

The naïve optimism of Liam Fox

2 Comments

Last night’s vote confirms that Brexit is heading towards the rocks

2 Comments

About this author

David Wolf
David Wolf was Arts and Books Editor at Prospect and now works for the Guardian Long Read
  • Follow David on:
  • Twitter
More by this author

More by David Wolf

Book review: Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill
April 24, 2014
The full Pacino
February 11, 2014
Critical thinking #3: Dwight Garner
October 15, 2013

Next Prospect events

  • Details

    Prospect Book Club—Diarmaid MacCulloch

    London, 2019-05-20

  • Details

    Prospect Book Club—Sue Prideaux

    2019-04-15

  • Details

    Prospect Book Club—Andrew Roberts

    2019-03-14

See more events

Sponsored features

  • The future of transport: taking Britain into the fast lane

  • Reforming the pension system to work for the many

  • Putting savers in the driving seat: getting the pensions dashboard right

  • To fix the housing crisis we need fresh thinking

  • Tata Steel UK: Driving innovation for the future of mobility

PrimeTime

The magazine is owned and supported by the Resolution Group, as part of its not-for-profit, public interest activities.

Follow us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • RSS

Editorial

Editor: Tom Clark
Deputy Editor: Steve Bloomfield
Managing Editor (Arts & Books): Sameer Rahim
Head of Digital: Stephanie Boland
Deputy Digital Editor (Political Correspondent): Alex Dean
Creative Director: Mike Turner
Production Editor & Designer: Chris Tilbury
US Writer-at-Large: Sam Tanenhaus

Commercial

Commercial Director: Alex Stevenson
Head of Marketing: Paul Mortimer
Marketing and Circulations Executive: James Hawkins
Programme Coordinator: Oliver James Ward
Head of Advertising Sales: Adam Kinlan 020 3372 2934
Senior Account Manager: Dominic Slonecki 0203 372 2972

  • Home
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Acceptable Use Policy
© Prospect Publishing Limited
×
Login
Login with your subscriber account:
You need a valid subscription to login.
I am
Remember Me


Forgotten password?

Or enter with social networking:
Login to post comments using social media accounts.
  • With Twitter
  • Connect
  • With Google +
×
Register Now

Register today and access any 7 articles on the Prospect’s website for FREE in the next 30 days..
PLUS find out about the big ideas that will shape our world—with Prospect’s FREE newsletter sent to your inbox. We'll even send you our e-book—Writing with punch—with some of the finest writing from the Prospect archive, at no extra cost!

Not Now, Thanks

Prospect may process your personal information for our legitimate business purposes, to provide you with our newsletter, subscription offers and other relevant information.

Click to learn more about these interests and how we use your data. You will be able to object to this processing on the next page and in all our communications.

×
You’ve got full access!

It looks like you are a Prospect subscriber.

Prospect subscribers have full access to all the great content on our website, including our entire archive.

If you do not know your login details, simply close this pop-up and click 'Login' on the black bar at the top of the screen, then click 'Forgotten password?', enter your email address and press 'Submit'. Your password will then be emailed to you.

Thank you for your support of Prospect and we hope that you enjoy everything the site has to offer.

This site uses cookies to improve the user experience. By using this site, you agree that we can set and use these cookies. For more details on the cookies we use and how to manage them, see our Privacy and Cookie Policy.