Quotes by Critics

Imagine someone holding forth on biology whose only knowledge of the subject is 'The Book of British Birds,' and you have a rough idea of what it feels like to read Richard Dawkins on theology. Terry Eagleton
Knowledge You Book Holding Biology Birds Someone Only Idea Feels Like Read Subject Forth Richard Theology Rough Whose British Imagine
What's wrong with a bit of nostalgia between friends? I think nostalgia sometimes gets too much of a bad press. Terry Eagleton
Sometimes Too Much Think Too Bit Press Bad Bad Press Wrong Between Friends Gets Nostalgia Much
I liked early Amis a lot, but I stopped reading him some time ago. I admire Hitchens on literary topics - I think he is very astute. McEwan, I read a bit. But I suppose it's more the ideological phenomenon that they represent together that interests me. Terry Eagleton
Time Me Together Reading Think Bit Topics Astute Admire Some More He Suppose Liked Him Ideological Read Lot Very Represent Stopped Literary Interests Early Phenomenon
Century-old records are the closest thing we have to a time machine. To listen to the voice of Theodore Roosevelt or the piano playing of Claude Debussy is to feel the years falling away like autumn leaves from a maple tree. Terry Teachout
Time Autumn Tree Machine Voice Records Piano Feel Like Leaves Falling Years Debussy Closest Listen Closest Thing Roosevelt Theodore Theodore Roosevelt Maple Away Thing Playing
Maine likes to call itself 'America's Vacationland.' For many artists, though, it's the office. Since the 19th century, painters from all over the country - including Edward Hopper, Alex Katz, John Marin, Fairfield Porter, Neil Welliver and Andrew Wyeth - have spent large chunks of time there. Terry Teachout
Time Country Chunks Spent Though Neil Andrew John Maine Over Since Likes Call Edward Itself Office America Artists Century Large Many Painters Including Porter Alex
I believe deeply that jazz is still a very vital music that has much to say, not just to eggheads, or whatever the musical equivalent of an egghead is, but to ordinary people. Terry Teachout
Music People Whatever Jazz Believe Musical Say Vital Still Equivalent Very Just Ordinary Ordinary People Much Deeply
I don't know anybody in the opera business who isn't worried sick about how best to reach out to underpaid millennials who were suckled on the new on-demand pop culture, which supplies them with cheap, unchallenging amusement around the clock. Terry Teachout
Best Business Culture Sick Worried Out About Cheap Supplies New Reach Know Opera Underpaid Around How Were Clock Anybody Which Them Pop Pop Culture Who Millennials Amusement
The setting of 'Billy Elliot' is the British miners' strike of 1984-85, about which the average American playgoer knows absolutely nothing. Terry Teachout
Nothing Setting Strike Miners About Absolutely Absolutely Nothing Knows American Which Average Average American Billy British
The first play I ever saw - I was in junior high school - was a high school production of Noel Coward's 'Blithe Spirit,' which seemed to me absolutely magical. Terry Teachout
Me School Coward First Saw High Spirit High School Magical Seemed Absolutely Junior Junior High Junior High School Which Production Ever Play
I loved music from earliest childhood - from as long as I can remember. Terry Teachout
Music Remember Long Childhood Loved Earliest
I became a professional musician and played all kinds of music. I played bluegrass, I played classical music, and for many years, I played jazz. Terry Teachout
Music Jazz Musician Kinds Classical Classical Music Became Years Bluegrass Many Professional Played
There wasn't a lot of live music that you could hear where I came from, which was a small town in southeast Missouri. Terry Teachout
Music You Live Small Could Small Town Town Missouri Came Hear Lot Southeast Where Which Live Music
The wonderful thing about theater as an art form is it's a purely empirical art form. It's all about what works. And every show, every production, is created anew right from the moment you go into the rehearsal hall. Terry Teachout
Art You Wonderful Every Anew Purely About Empirical Hall Go Art Form Wonderful Thing Form Theater Created Production Show Moment Rehearsal Works Right Thing
Direction is the most invisible part of the theatrical art. You don't see it. Terry Teachout
Art You See Direction Part Invisible Most Theatrical
In a world without any criticism at all, although there are many actors who would think they would be delighted to see that happen, would in fact be a far more problematic world than they could ever imagine. Terry Teachout
World Criticism Think Would Would-Be See More Fact Delighted Could Although Without Than Any In Fact Problematic Happen Far Who Many Actor Ever Imagine
Critics at their best are independent voices; people take seriously their responsibility to see as many things as they can see, put them in the widest possible perspective, educate their readers. I really do think of myself as a teacher. Terry Teachout
Teacher Best Myself People Perspective Seriously Responsibility Think Independent Possible Critics See Voices Take Put Readers Educate Them Really Many Things Widest
There's a playwright named S.M. Berryman, Sam Berryman, who wrote these kinds of social comedies. They are actually extremely sharp and still quite provocative. Terry Teachout
Playwright Extremely Kinds Sharp Named Comedies Wrote Still Provocative Sam Quite Social Who Actually
David Cromer, from Chicago, I think is the most gifted young director in America. Terry Teachout
Director Young Think Gifted David Most Chicago America
There is still a lot to be said for the well-made, witty, clever, three-act comedy. Terry Teachout
Comedy Clever Said Witty Still Lot
All of the most popular music of the '30s and '40s were deeply informed by jazz. Terry Teachout
Music Jazz Most Were Informed Popular Popular Music Deeply
Tom Stoppard, the English-speaking world's brainiest playwright, thinks that British audiences have grown too dumb to understand his plays. Terry Teachout
World Playwright Too Understand Audiences His Dumb English-Speaking Tom Grown Thinks British Plays
Charles Ives was writing radically innovative music, but nobody performed it, and nobody knew about it. Terry Teachout
Music Writing Innovative Charles About Knew Nobody Performed Radically
Anna Deavere Smith's new one-woman show bills itself as being about health care, but the truth is that 'Let Me Down Easy' is mostly about the grimmer subject of death and dying. Terry Teachout
Death Truth Health Me Truth Is Care Down Easy About One-Woman Anna New Mostly Smith Health Care Subject Itself Being Dying Show Bills
For the critic, the word 'best' is like a grenade without a pin: Toss it around too freely, and you're likely to get your hand blown off. Terry Teachout
Best You Word Too Critic Toss Freely Like Likely Around Without Pin Hand Off Get Blown Grenade Your
Needless to say, anybody who can stumble through a C-major scale knows that Art Tatum always gave his audiences 10 times their money's worth. Terry Teachout
Art Money Worth Stumble Needless Gave Say Scale Through Knows Always Audiences His Times Anybody Who
I don't know of any American playwrights who earn the bulk of their living writing plays. Many of the older ones teach, while a growing number of younger ones write for series television. Terry Teachout
Writing Older Living Playwrights Earn Television Write Know Bulk American Any While Younger Teach Who Many Series Growing Number Plays
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