Reviews for The common pursuit / F. R. Leavis

The average rating for The common pursuit / F. R. Leavis based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-10-01 00:00:00 Matt Gemlo To escape the "burden of the past" (i.e. the problem of following the literary genius of the 17th and 18th centuries) and the false idol of "originality," Bate ultimately prescribes what Keats called an "immortal free-masonry" but what I prefer to call a "literary communion of saints" in which later traditions glory in the achievement of their predecessors and seek, not to turn from them, but by emulation to join with them in producing works of substance and quality. Must-read for the thoughtful writer (and his critic) who says or believes "there is nothing left to say."

Review # 2 was written on 2011-02-10 00:00:00 Barbara Poelker Surprisingly decent. Really dull toward the end, though. I liked it for its applications, and less for its specificity - unfortunately for me the last section was mostly about "the English poet."