Since its first publication more than fifteen years ago, Literature Against Itself has achieved wide recognition as the first major critique of post-1960s cultural radicalism-and still, one of the best. In it, Gerald Graff argues that the reigning strategies for defending literature now end up by trivializing it, and he analyzes why and how they have gone wrong. He charges that our leading literary critics, whether they claim to be traditionalists or innovators, have taken positions that ultimately undermine the authority of art, literature, and criticism itself. "An extraordinarily important book, biting and cogent on every page."-Robert Boyers, Salmagundi. "In this recoil from the current anarchy of interpretation, Graff has affirmed that `literary thinking is inseparable from social and moral thinking."'-New York Times Book Review. "A wonderfully trenchant and illuminating inquiry... the shrewdness and cogency of his commentary are constantly arresting."-Virginia Quarterly Review.

About the Author
Gerald Graff is George M. Pullman Professor of English and Education at the University of Chicago. His other books include Beyond the Culture Wars, Professing Literature, and The Myth of Cultural Decline.

Reviews
A wonderfully trenchant and illuminating inquiry...the shrewdness and cogency of his commentary are constantly arresting. * Virginia Quarterly Review *
Indispensable. * CHOICE *
An extraordinarily important book, biting and cogent on every page. -- Robert Boyers * Salmagundi *
In this recoil from the current anarchy of interpretation, Graff has affirmed that eliterary thinking is inseparable from social and moral thinking. * The New York Times *



Book Information
ISBN 9781566630979
Author Gerald Graff
Format Paperback
Page Count 276
Imprint Ivan R Dee, Inc
Publisher Ivan R Dee, Inc
Weight(grams) 318g
Dimensions(mm) 212mm * 148mm * 19mm