Dybbukism and the US Intellectual
Sut,—Whether or not Mr Beichman's thesis about the wrongheadedness and ineffectiveness of the American intellectual has any validity, it is certainly a red herring in relation to Alfred Kazin's new book Starting Out in the Thirties, to which it is applied. Anyone familiar with Kazin's work knows that its peculiar appeal lies in his constant, penetrating con- cern with human issues, in which all experience—of the critic as well as of the writer being dealt with— is relevant to understanding. To suggest, as Beich- man does, that literary critics like Kazin should leave political issues to 'experts,' is to misunderstand what literature is about. Books are (or should be) the living response of an individual to the world around him, in which enthusiasm, outrage, pride and disgust, loyalty. loneliness, fear and love can all play a part. A writer like Kazin who reflects this even in a bewildered way—constantly aware of the moral issues but unable to feel dogmatic about the answers —can help us, sometimes more than the most expert reporter, to understand what is at stake.
JOCELYN DAVEY
37 St. James's Place. SW1
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