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The World in Falseface.
George Jean Nathan (1882-1958) was formative influence on American letters in the first half of this century, and is generally considered the leading drama critic of his era. With H. L. Mencken, Nathan edited The Smart Set and founded and edited The American Mercury, journals that shaped opinion in the 1920s and 1930s. This series of reprints, individually introduced by the distinguished critic and novelist Charles Angoff, collects Nathan's penetrating, witty, and sometimes cynical drama criticism.
Hardcover
Published January 1, 1972
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About the author
George Jean Nathan
309 books2 followers(1882-1958)
American writer, editor, and drama critic George Jean Nathan in 1924 founded and edited the American Mercury with Henry Louis Mencken.
American writer, editor, and drama critic George Jean Nathan in 1924 founded and edited the American Mercury with Henry Louis Mencken.
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February 12, 2013
You have to read GJN to appreciate him -- and you may still be left in shock or offended. He ruminates on theatre, the sexes, art, the world -- and this is, blissfully, yars before the blanding of pol correctness. I appreciate him becos he just puts it There in high devil-may-care style. His kind of voice has been missing fr US Letters for over 60 years. A few examples:
"There can be no wit where there is not at least a measure of disillusion." ~~ "Life is a conflict of principles : drama or emotions." And, "What interests me is the surface of life : its music and color, its charm and ease, its humor and loveliness. The great problems of the world do not interest me in the slightest. What concerns me alone is myself, and the interests of a few close friends."
"The critic who at forty believes the same things that he believed at twenty is either a genius or a jackass." ~~ American drama criticism, he says, is brave in its ignorance when it should be bold in its cowardice : "It needs to be afraid of expressing unsound opinions" that result fr a lack of sophistication, experience and culture.
Intelligence, he adds, is a handicap to actors just as it is to the clergy or song writers, because "intelligence constipates the emotions." In certain fields success depends on the "capitalization of simple passions."
The enduring love, he believes, "is the love that laughs..nothing lives on so fresh as the love with a funny-bone." Anyway, love is never absolute. "There is always elbow room for a glance at someone else." Be advised, love is less great than friendship and less enduring. ~~ Happiness? "It is merely an incident in life, not life itself."
He also says that gin, pineapple juice and a dash of Fernet Branca make a superb cocktail. I'll try it with vodka.
"There can be no wit where there is not at least a measure of disillusion." ~~ "Life is a conflict of principles : drama or emotions." And, "What interests me is the surface of life : its music and color, its charm and ease, its humor and loveliness. The great problems of the world do not interest me in the slightest. What concerns me alone is myself, and the interests of a few close friends."
"The critic who at forty believes the same things that he believed at twenty is either a genius or a jackass." ~~ American drama criticism, he says, is brave in its ignorance when it should be bold in its cowardice : "It needs to be afraid of expressing unsound opinions" that result fr a lack of sophistication, experience and culture.
Intelligence, he adds, is a handicap to actors just as it is to the clergy or song writers, because "intelligence constipates the emotions." In certain fields success depends on the "capitalization of simple passions."
The enduring love, he believes, "is the love that laughs..nothing lives on so fresh as the love with a funny-bone." Anyway, love is never absolute. "There is always elbow room for a glance at someone else." Be advised, love is less great than friendship and less enduring. ~~ Happiness? "It is merely an incident in life, not life itself."
He also says that gin, pineapple juice and a dash of Fernet Branca make a superb cocktail. I'll try it with vodka.
Displaying 1 of 1 review