Although Adam Kirsch is thinking of literary critics below, his comments hold for critics of any thing, including parents of their children:
Implicit in every criticism is an appeal: Do you feel as I do? If not, why not? Good critics make us think about these questions even when we disagree with their opinions — they do not close down thought and response, but extend their possibilities and heighten their urgency. In that sense, the best tribute a reader can pay to a critic is to become that critic’s critic himself.
(Quoted from page 27 of the September 6, 2015, issue of The New York Times Book Review.)
For a brief biography of Adam Kirsch, click here. For images of or relating Adam Kirsch, click here.
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