Samuel JohnsonHe was a servant to the public, a writer for hire. He was a hero, an author adding to the glory of his nation. But can a writer be both hack and hero? The career of Samuel Johnson, recounted here by Lawrence Lipking, proves that the two can be one. And it further proves, in its enduring interest for readers, that academic fashions today may be a bit hasty in pronouncing the "death of the author." |
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... ideal of the learned author , like the ideal of the author as servant of the public , did not originate with him . It represents a classical model , kept alive through the Renaissance , and most eighteenth - century authorities still ...
... ideal of the learned author was more than defensive . It gave him something to work toward , a goal to be achieved by training and study . Professing authorship did not have to be vainglorious ; the honor could be earned . Even his ...
... ideal . This book itself defers to that ideal . In many ways , however , Johnson's example resists the association of lives with works . Readers , he knows , perpetually want to meet au- thors whose writings they love , but readers ...
Contents
the Western Islands of Scotland | 234 |
The Lives of the English Poets | 259 |
Johnsons Endings | 295 |
Copyright | |
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