William Zinsser does a superb job of putting the importance of art today into context and provides an almost friction free guideline for both reviewing and criticizing. He doesn’t give absolute rules of dos and don’ts from some invisible writers manual. Instead he shares tips that are valuable and justifies them each with a proper explanation that gives him clarity. After sifting through the difference between the reviewer and the critic, he provides three principles that apply for both: enjoy the medium you are writing about, don’t give away too much of the plot and use specific detail.
To emphasize the validity of his guidance he shows examples of great pieces of writing that reflect the suggestions that he already made. The examples, from Virgil Thomson, a music critic from 1940-1954 for the New York Herald Tribune, John Leonard on Michener’s The Covenant, and Cynthia Ozick on the legacy of T.S. Eliot, are diverse enough to help display a broad spectrum of applicability for all of his advice. Zinsser concludes by going into depth with each example showing the reader why the excerpt qualifies as a good piece of writing. The article was very well constructed, providing clear context, advice and applicability for anyone who wishes to critique and review.
1 comment:
Did you find Zinsser's piece helpful? Personally, I like specific dos and don'ts list because the general tips like 'write about things you like' seems much too general.
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