This is a great article. I've been leaning quite a bit lately on the trust I think I've built up with the reader--using that trust to eschew the parts of critical writing that I think aren't that useful (mostly plot summary and biography). I trust that the reader knows that I read and understood the book, even though I'm not displaying visible markers of authority and mastery.
This is a great article. I've been leaning quite a bit lately on the trust I think I've built up with the reader--using that trust to eschew the parts of critical writing that I think aren't that useful (mostly plot summary and biography). I trust that the reader knows that I read and understood the book, even though I'm not displaying visible markers of authority and mastery.
Totally agree with this practice! I like thinking of most of Substack—and especially my own blog—as a community of scholars and peers.