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Article: The Lively Arts: Gilbert Seldes and the Transformation fo Cultural Criticism in the United States.
- Article from:
- The Historian
- Article date:
- January 1, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Phi Alpha Theta, History Honor Society, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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By Michael Kammen. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. Pp. x, 495. $35.00.)
This book is an intellectual biography of the popular culture critic, Gilbert Seldes (1893-1970). Seldes is a neglected figure, but Kammen makes a convincing case that he should be noticed. In 1966, Seldes himself noted one reason why we should pay attention: "In my own lifetime I have witnessed more changes in the modes of communication than occurred in all recorded history before [then]" (3). Seldes's critical specialty was what he called the "lively arts": vaudeville, movies, comics, and, later, radio and television. Seldes also participated in the "lively arts"; he wrote plays ...