Abstract
What is a book review? Or rather, what should a book review be? I recently stumbled across the poet W.H. Auden's response to the question, “What is the function of critic?” (The Dyers Hand, New York: Random, 1962, 8–9). I’m not a fan of the word “critic,” because it reminds of me critique, and we have enough critics in academia. But I am a fan of Auden (which is also the name of my firstborn son). While being a critic requires a critical or discerning step, it is by no means the sole purpose. Rather, being a critic is an act of love or charity. Auden goes on to argue being a critic is a moral act. You will be a good critic insofar as you are good. With the freedom of goodness, you can freely praise the the good, true, and beautiful wherever it is found by whoever finds it. And of course, you’ll notice where it fails that standard.
Over the next seven issues, I’ll take up and explain one of Auden's six functions of a critic. In this first installment, I’ll list his six purposes with a brief note on the overall task of good critique:
Introduce me to authors or works of which I was hitherto unaware. Convince me that I have undervalued an author or a work because I had not read them carefully enough. Show me relations between works of different ages and cultures which I could never have seen for myself because I do not know enough and never shall. Give a “reading” of a work which increases my understanding of it. Throw light upon the process of artistic “Making.” Throw light upon the relation of art to life, to science, economics, ethics, religion, etc.
The list is organized in a purposeful way. The first three functions concern knowledge. This is the task of an academic: to know the field and speak into it. You can't replace the hard work that knowledge requires. However, knowledge is not all. Roles four through six require insight. Insight requires knowledge but extends beyond it. Insight is the task of a lifetime: seeing new things in new ways and being able to communicate those revelations to others.
The following reviews are by contributors who seek to do just that: offer knowledge and insight in the fields of Christian education, discipleship, spiritual formation, and leadership. We invite readers to consider a reviewing a book for CEJ, and if interested, contact Alex Sosler at alex.sosler@montreat.edu for guidelines.