1802 quotes by critics for you to enjoy

What had brought me to New York in the autumn of 1972 was a letter of recommendation written by Norman Mailer, the author of 'The Naked and the Dead' and American literature's leading heavyweight contender, to Dan Wolf, the delphic editor of 'The Village Voice.' James Wolcott

Me Naked Wolf Autumn Dan Recommendation Brought Voice Had Written Leading New Dead Contender Editor Norman Norman Mailer Author American York New York Heavyweight Literature Village Letter

Broadway purists may deplore the influx of movie-spinoff musicals in recent years, wishing someone would turn off the popcorn machine and let more imaginative brainstorms blow through. James Wolcott

Machine Broadway Musicals Would Someone More Through Wishing Years Off Blow May Turn Turn-Off Popcorn Recent Imaginative Recent Years

It isn't that NPR is matriarchal but that it has dedicated itself to not being patriarchal in its outlook and presentation, stipulating from the outset that its headline voices would not resound across the fruited plains from big male bags of air sent from Mount Olympus. James Wolcott

Big Air Would Outlook Voices Outset Bags Headline Male Itself Mount Being Patriarchal Sent Plains Across Dedicated Presentation

The unhappy irony is that, while 'Glee' is hitting the heights, school arts funding is being slashed across the country due to the steep recession and declining tax revenues. James Wolcott

School Unhappy Country Heights Recession Steep Glee Revenues Due Irony Hitting Arts Being Tax While Tax Revenues Declining Across Funding

Even the most piddling life is of momentous consequence to its owner. James Wolcott

Life Most Owner Momentous Even Consequence

A lost election can have the jolt of a drop through the gallows door, leading to a dark night of the soul in which the future presses down like a cloud that will never lift. James Wolcott

Future Soul Dark Election Will Drop Lost Cloud Down Through Lift Never Leading Like Door Which Night

I never accepted why there should be some invisible, wavy cutoff line separating Great Fiction from phosphorescent beauties and dollhouse miniatures, novels that contain a whole world in a snow globe. James Wolcott

Great World Some Never Beauties Contain Invisible Globe Accepted Line Snow Fiction Should Separating Whole Novels Why

As we divest ourselves of once familiar physical objects - digitize and dematerialize - we approach a 'Star Trek' future in which everything can be accessed from the fourth dimension with a few clicks or terse audibles. James Wolcott

Future Few Trek Approach Everything Once Dimension Ourselves Physical Objects Divest Clicks Familiar Which Star Star Trek Fourth

It's the contemporary woman that movies don't know what to do with, other than bathe her in a bridal glow in romantic comedies where both the romance and the comedy are artificial sweeteners. James Wolcott

Woman Comedy Other Bathe Both Know Contemporary Comedies Glow Than Artificial Romance Where Romantic Romantic Comedies Movies Bridal Her

Who elected Larry King America's grief counselor? We, the viewing public, did, by driving up his ratings whenever somebody famous passes. James Wolcott

Grief King Somebody Ratings Counselor Driving Passes His Up America Did Whenever Famous Public Elected Viewing Who Larry Larry King

A typical 'Larry King Live' is a pastiche whose absurdism defies parody. Wearing his trademark suspenders and purple shirts, he looks as if he's strapped to the chair with vertical seat belts, unable to eject. James Wolcott

The advent of DVD/Blu-ray reissues of classic Hollywood and foreign films has been a boon to film buffs, who can now study their favorites in all their glistening detail and restored palettes. James Wolcott

Films Boon Has-Been Detail Favorites Classic Restored Study Advent Foreign Been Hollywood Who Film Now

Pop music has been all but relegated to the remainder bin at MTV and VH1, where high-maintenance concoctions such as Paris Hilton, Flavor Flav, and Hulk Hogan's biohazard clan of bleached specimens provide endless hours of death-hastening diversion. James Wolcott

Music Clan Has-Been Diversion Paris Paris Hilton Hours Hilton Been Provide Endless Hulk Where Flavor Pop Pop Music Bin

Since I'm a fan of collections and anthologies, believe that the best writing often shines in shards and galloping stretches, I never find myself lobbying for a writer I enjoy reading regularly to hole up in Heidegger's hut for four or five years to bring forth a mountain. James Wolcott

Best Myself Writing Reading Believe Enjoy Lobbying Collections Find Hut Writer Never Since Years Shines Up Five Mountain Often Fan Hole Forth Galloping Regularly Enjoy Reading Four Bring

My high-school papers, my college-application essays, read like Norman Mailer packed in a crunchy-peanut-butter sandwich. James Wolcott

Papers Like Read Norman Norman Mailer Essays Packed Sandwich

High expectations weren't nurtured in my neck of nowhere back then - children weren't fawned over from an early age as 'gifted' and groomed for a prizewinning future; self-esteem was considered something you had to pick from the garden yourself. James Wolcott

Future You Age Garden Yourself Back Nurtured Considered Gifted High High Expectations Something Had Pick Over Self-Esteem Were Expectations Children Then Nowhere Early Neck Early Age

And what could be a hotter ticket than the improbable triumph of 'The Book of Mormon,' the musical-comedy moon shot of the season? Its creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, of Comedy Central's 'South Park,' are the most unlikely Rodgers and Hammerstein team ever to bowl a thundering strike. James Wolcott

Book Comedy Moon Strike Unlikely Triumph Park Parker Mormon Could Thundering Hotter Ticket Most Bowl Hammerstein South Matt Rodgers South Park Improbable Than Stone Central Shot Team Creators Season Ever

'Hairspray' was a movie turned Broadway musical turned Hollywood remake, and that is the 'Lion King' circle of life as we know it in Times Square, the creative loop that swings for the stars and sometimes crashes into the upper deck. James Wolcott

Life Lion Creative Sometimes Circle King Stars Musical Broadway Remake Hairspray Know Loop Square Times Lion King Times Square Upper Movie Crashes Deck Hollywood Turned Swings

With Barack Obama as president and the super-happening Michelle Obama as First Lady, you would think a new tone, a new tune, a kicky new jazzitude, would have entered Washington discourse, but it remains a landlocked island unto itself, held captive by its tribal fevers. James Wolcott

You Tribal First First Lady Think President Entered Obama Would Remains New Unto Island Discourse Itself Michelle Michelle Obama Lady Tune Barack Barack Obama Held Captive Washington Tone

I understand that one of the purposes of bipartisanship is to cram something difficult and necessary down the American people's gullets for which neither party has the fortitude to assume full responsibility. It's a way of turning a possible gangplank into a teeter-totter. James Wolcott

One reason I'm such a wayward prognosticator of rightwing trends is that I'm incapable of blacking out enough neural sectors to see the world through reptilian-brained eyes, a prerequisite for any true channeling of the mean resentments and implanted fears that drive hardcore conservatives. James Wolcott

It was with 9/11 that I came to fully appreciate and embrace NPR's irreplaceability as a sanity preserver, its unique virtues as first responder on the burning scene. James Wolcott

First Virtues Embrace Scene Came Burning Sanity Fully Unique Appreciate

What a turnaround in sentiment 'Glee' exemplifies. It was only a few years ago that pursuing the dream of a Broadway career or cabaret stardom relegated some poor yearning dope to a lavender ghetto of losers, self-deluders, and social rejects. James Wolcott

Quotes by Critics