James Wood

Tues 11/18, 7pm:
Series: The Once and Future Library, part 3: The New Yorker's literary critic James Wood on Reading and Writing on Reading. A world of libraries presupposes a world of readers; what is the future of that world? Wood gives a brief history of the notion of the common reader, describing how critics and writers have tried over centuries to engage a large, public readership; defends the idea of the common reader against attacks from both populism and faux-populist elitism; and distinguishes between current academic writing and his brand of literary journalism. Wood's new How Fiction Works available for sale and signing thanks to Borders. Free and open to the public! (Series Sponsor: Dan Siegel, M&S Rare Books)