“The critic lives at second hand. He writes about. The poem, the novel, or the play must be given to him; criticism exists by the grace of other men's genius.”

— George Steiner

"Humane Literacy".
Language and Silence: Essays 1958-1966 (1967)

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George Steiner 74

American writer 1929–2020

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“Criticism is constructive not tattling. Freedom of the press, is not anybody writing anything about anybody. One must write while respecting the facts, even when they are less exciting than the fantasy of those who chose to criticize just to criticize.”

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Original French: La critique est constructive, pas la délation. La liberté de la presse, ce n’est pas que n’importe qui écrive n’importe quoi sur n’importe qui. Il faut écrire en respectant les faits même quand ils sont moins excitants que le fantasme de ceux qui ont choisi de critiquer pour critiquer.
Interview with Le Figaro–September 2001 http://www.maroc.ma/fr/discours-royaux/interview-accord%C3%A9e-par-sa-majest%C3%A9-le-roi-mohammed-vi-au-quotidien-fran%C3%A7ais-%C2%AB-le

“As for literary criticism in general: I have long felt that any reviewer who expresses rage and loathing for a novel or a play or a poem is preposterous. He or she is like a person who has put on full armor and attacked a hot fudge sundae or a banana split.”

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“If they want to write about me in a good way, they should write how I do things that are useful. If they want to criticize me, I don't care, I don't mind. But they must criticize me fairly. Usually the criticism is not fair. Or the praise, even the praise sometimes is not fair.”

Bhumibol Adulyadej (1927–2016) King of Thailand

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“There are two types of writers: those who write to support the existing system and prove and augment its legitimacy through their writings. On the other hand, there are those who critically examine society and make an attempt to restructure and reform it on the basis of fresh ideas.”

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“Criticism will need an injection of humility — that is, a recognition of its role as ancillary to the arts, needed only occasionally in a temporary capacity. Since the critic exists only for introducing and explaining, he must be readily intelligible; he has no special vocabulary: criticism is in no way a science or a system.”

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“Emerson writes in his Journal that all men try their hands at poetry, but few know which their poems are. The poets are not those who write poems, but those who know which of the things they write are poems.”

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“The man writes with such genuine passion for the books he's discussing. With so many critics you feel they're writing so people will say they're good critics.”

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Clive James (1939–2019) Australian author, critic, broadcaster, poet, translator and memoirist

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“The critic lives at second hand. He writes about. The poem, the novel, or the play must be given to him; criticism exists by the grace of other men's genius.”

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George Steiner 74

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