NB by J. C.: A Walk Through the Times Literary Supplement
James Campbell
(Author)
Description
This collection of James Campbell's best columns from the TLS is a delightful guide to the literary absurdities of the past two decades.For over twenty years James Campbell wrote the Times Literary Supplement's popular NB column, signing it as "J. C." The initials weren't intended to disguise him, but to provide complete freedom to the persona--"J. C." was irreverent and whimsical. In his column, Campbell aimed to puncture the literary world's triple-headed monster of pomposity, hypocrisy, and cant, "skewering," as one correspondent put it, "contemporary absurdities, whether those resulting from identity politics or from academic jargon." Readers happily looked forward to reports from the "Basement Labyrinth," where all executive decisions were made, and where an array of annual literary prizes were judged and administered. These included the Most Unoriginal Title Prize, for a new book bearing a title that had already been used by several authors (e.g., The Kindness of Strangers); the Incomprehensibility Prize, for impenetrable academic writing; and the Jean-Paul Sartre Prize for Prize Refusal. James Campbell began writing for the TLS in 1980 and acted as an editor for thirty-seven years. His expansive Introduction offers a history of the paper from birth through its precarious stages of adaptation and survival.
Product Details
Price
$24.95
$23.20
Publisher
Paul Dry Books
Publish Date
May 02, 2023
Pages
357
Dimensions
0.0 X 0.0 X 0.0 inches | 0.0 pounds
Language
English
Type
Paperback
EAN/UPC
9781589881754
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About the Author
James Campbell's books include Invisible Country: A Journey through Scotland, Gate Fever: Voices from a Prison, Talking at the Gates: A Life of James Baldwin, and, most recently, Just Go Down to the Road (Paul Dry Books). For many years he was an editor and columnist at the Times Literary Supplement. He lives in London.
Reviews
"The last unmissable proper diary column left in journalism."―Simon Jenkins
"The secret of J. C.'s weekly column is its unique mix of anonymity with intimacy: this 'stranger', whom we meet over our morning coffee, is the most discreet and delightful of guides to what's happening―good or mostly bad―in the literary world, with all its pretensions, follies, and occasional triumphs. I especially relished J. C.'s prizes―for the worst prose or the silliest blurb. Then again, leave it to J. C. to find the rare edition, the forgotten book of poems that deserves another look. True wit, coupled with wisdom: it's the rarest of writerly feats."―Marjorie Perloff, author of The Vienna Paradox: A Memoir
"I receive immense pleasure from J. C.'s columns. Something more than pleasure: warmth, laughter, gratitude (especially when he is nailing academic unreadability)."--Vivian Gornick, author of Unfinished Business: Notes of a Chronic Re-Reader
PRAISE FOR JAMES CAMPBELL'S OTHER BOOKS: "A life-sized portrait in very broad strokes . . . A lively book that is immensely readable, serious, careful, and informed."―Boston Globe on Talking at the Gates: A Life of James Baldwin "A marvelously illuminating literary biography . . . [and] an affectionate yet critical portrait."―Publishers Weekly on Talking at the Gates: A Life of James Baldwin
"This deftly written memoir . . . is the story of a writer finding his own voice."―The Wall Street Journal on Just Go Down to the Road
"Just Go Down to the Road brings an exciting time in world and literary history to life. It's a remarkable travel account that began with the simple suggestion: 'Just go down to the road, Jim. You'll get a lift .'"―Foreword Reviews on Just Go Down to the Road "[A] brilliantly sympathetic and compelling analysis of the Beat phenomenon."―The Guardian on This Is the Beat Generation "Campbell is simply one of the rare critics on whom, to cite Henry James, 'nothing is lost.'"―Marjorie Perloff on Syncopations "A witty and insightful look at a fascinating, romantic land by a native son."―Library Journal on Invisible Country
"The secret of J. C.'s weekly column is its unique mix of anonymity with intimacy: this 'stranger', whom we meet over our morning coffee, is the most discreet and delightful of guides to what's happening―good or mostly bad―in the literary world, with all its pretensions, follies, and occasional triumphs. I especially relished J. C.'s prizes―for the worst prose or the silliest blurb. Then again, leave it to J. C. to find the rare edition, the forgotten book of poems that deserves another look. True wit, coupled with wisdom: it's the rarest of writerly feats."―Marjorie Perloff, author of The Vienna Paradox: A Memoir
"I receive immense pleasure from J. C.'s columns. Something more than pleasure: warmth, laughter, gratitude (especially when he is nailing academic unreadability)."--Vivian Gornick, author of Unfinished Business: Notes of a Chronic Re-Reader
PRAISE FOR JAMES CAMPBELL'S OTHER BOOKS: "A life-sized portrait in very broad strokes . . . A lively book that is immensely readable, serious, careful, and informed."―Boston Globe on Talking at the Gates: A Life of James Baldwin "A marvelously illuminating literary biography . . . [and] an affectionate yet critical portrait."―Publishers Weekly on Talking at the Gates: A Life of James Baldwin
"This deftly written memoir . . . is the story of a writer finding his own voice."―The Wall Street Journal on Just Go Down to the Road
"Just Go Down to the Road brings an exciting time in world and literary history to life. It's a remarkable travel account that began with the simple suggestion: 'Just go down to the road, Jim. You'll get a lift .'"―Foreword Reviews on Just Go Down to the Road "[A] brilliantly sympathetic and compelling analysis of the Beat phenomenon."―The Guardian on This Is the Beat Generation "Campbell is simply one of the rare critics on whom, to cite Henry James, 'nothing is lost.'"―Marjorie Perloff on Syncopations "A witty and insightful look at a fascinating, romantic land by a native son."―Library Journal on Invisible Country
