Lit Crit 2007

[Dave Monroe]

On 9/19/07, David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com> wrote:

> http://newcriterion.com:81/archives/26/09/the-literary-life-at-25/
>
> "Theory in academic literary criticism seems to be playing itself out
> by the sheer force of its deep inner uselessness. Not a single
> significant book, nor any dazzling essays that I know of, have been
> produced in American literary criticism that are owing to their
> author's adaptation of one or another kind of critical theory,
> imported or domestic, from deconstruction to queer theory. Such stuff
> continues to be taught, as it was taught to the people now teaching it
> and who themselves consequently know little else to teach. But one
> senses that the day of the predominance of theory in English
> departments is coming to a close: the fever has abated, the flame is
> guttering. Derrida and Foucault are no longer fighting but
> yawn-inducing words."

The Old Crysmearion page won't come up for me, which cranky old man of
letters is this there?  And does he even bother to give examples, much
less counterexamples?