Richard Witty made me defensive some time ago by his accusation that I'm a polemicist. Still don't know if the shoe fits. I suppose he was talking about my argumentative streak. Though I've pointed out that polemics is merely a branch of rhetoric. Like tearjerker or homily or hit-job or rant or more-in-sorrow-than-in-anger. And all can be useful. Ezra Pound said the only real test for prose was, accuracy of statement. Jeet Heer also defends polemics:
Well, I happen to think that you can be a good journalist while being a polemicist — think of Orwell, or Sartre, or Mencken, or J. Anthony Lukas or Halberstam
in Vietnam. In fact, having a strong point of view enriches and informs
good writing. What's death to prose is the sort of prissy objectivity
that has unfortunately become the norm in newspaper writing. One good
think about blogging is that it unleashes the polemicist within.
in Vietnam. In fact, having a strong point of view enriches and informs
good writing. What's death to prose is the sort of prissy objectivity
that has unfortunately become the norm in newspaper writing. One good
think about blogging is that it unleashes the polemicist within.
