Recent links of note:
“Jill Bialosky, Poet and Editor, Faces Plagiarism Accusations”
Maya Salam & Matt Stevens, The New York Times
Jill Bialosky, a notable poet and an executive editor at W. W. Norton & Company, recently published a memoir that anthologizes the poems that have been personally important to her life and career. On Wednesday, William Logan, the verse critic of The New Criterion, excoriated what he calls “Bialosky’s naïve, dispiriting book” (its title is Poetry Will Save Your Life: A Memoir) in the Tourniquet Review, condemning its lack of imagination, critical vagueness, and pedestrian storyline. Then Logan really brings the hammer down on Bialosky, pointing out numerous examples of prose from the memoir that Bialosky clearly plagiarized from websites such as the Poetry Foundation and Wikipedia. Logan’s line-by-line comparison of relevant selections from the memoir with the respective online passages is damning. Later that day, The New York Times picked up on the story, underscoring the importance of Logan’s condemnation of the intellectual integrity of what he calls “one of the most important editors of contemporary verse.” Bialosky’s tepid response (reported on in The Washington Post) only substantiates the fundamental truth of Logan’s accusation.
“Madrid’s violent tactics will only push Catalans towards independence”
Daniel Hannan, The Spectator
Daniel Hannan knows a thing or two about independence referenda. During his time as a Conservative MEP representing Southeast England in the Brussels Parliament, he was one of the most vocal leaders of Vote Leave, the official campaign for Brexit. Catalonia has long been the site of one of Europe’s most assertive separatist movements, and the world’s eyes were on Barcelona this week as the Spanish government took violent action to suppress a major referendum on independence. In his latest article for the Spectator, Hannan, a frequent New Criterion contributor, warns that such measures will only inflame Catalan nationalist sentiment.
From our pages:
“‘Bernard Chaet: First Light’ at Alpha Gallery”
Franklin Einspruch