SMU’s DeGolyer Library has just released a beautifully illustrated anthology of Willard Spiegelman’s art reviews that have appeared in The Wall Street Journal for almost three decades. Its title reflects its author’s basic premise: If You See Something, Say Something: A Writer Looks at Art. Namely, responding to art requires patience, time, energy, and persistence, and it produces intellectual and emotional gratification. The New York Times film critic A. O. Scott titled a book last year Better Living through Criticism: How to Think About Art, Pleasure, Beauty, and Truth. The claim for criticism in his title is considerable, but what makes a good critic? This will be the subject for an evening about aesthetics, writing, and the pleasures of looking.
About Willard Spiegelman
Dr. Willard Spiegelman teaches and writes about English and American poetry. He also has an interest in Greek and Latin poetry, is a regular contributor to the Leisure & Arts page of The Wall Street Journal, and from 1984 until 2016 he was the editor-in-chief of Southwest Review, SMU’s esteemed literary quarterly.
May 10, 7:00 pm; reception at 6:30 pm
Complimentary event; donations welcome
At the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture
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