Levan On Writing—The Art of the Book Review: Academic and Beyond
The Art of the Book Review: Academic and Beyond
September 28, 2021
For many academics, the book review can offer an opportunity to engage in public discourse, as well as a way to learn more about current state of thinking in one’s field. Successful book reviews, however, are different than academic criticism; they must function as lyrical essays in their own right while also presenting an assessment of the work at hand on a variety of levels: criticism and service journalism, as it were. It is a form in which there is no formal training; most reviewers figure it out as they go along. This event will seek to jump-start that process by gathering book review editors and practiced reviewers to address questions that include: What are the qualities of a successful book review? How does the book review in a specialized academic journal compare to a review in a general interest publication? What are the responsibilities of the reviewer in terms of dealing with lay readers? How are book reviews solicited or placed? Our invited guests will share remarks for the first half of the event and devote the remaining time to collaborative Q&A. Registration before the event is required. Attendants outside of USC are welcome.
Speakers:
Colin Burrow, Professor of English and Comparative Literature; Senior Research Fellow, All Souls College, and Contributor, London Review of Books
Anita Felicelli, Author and Contributor, Los Angeles Review of Books
Boris Kachka, Books Editor, the Los Angeles Times
Danzy Senna, Associate Professor of English, USC
James Yeh, Reviews Editor, The Believer
Moderated by Emily Hodgson Anderson, Professor of English and College Dean of Undergraduate Education, and David Ulin, Associate Professor of the Practice of English
This workshop is part of the Levan Institute for the Humanities's “On Writing” series, which offers a set of discussions among academics, writers, editors, and others about the nature of writing — both within the academy and in the wider world. To see more events in this series, including recordings of past events, visit https://dornsife.usc.edu/levan-instit....