In a single lifetime, roughly from 1865 to 1930, one finds the pioneering and patterning works of modern fantasy, science fiction, children's literature and detective fiction, of modern adventure, mystery and romance. — Michael Dirda Copy Share Image
Nearly all the writing of our time is likely to disappear in a hundred years. Certainly most readers - and nearly all critics - feel that [Kurt] Vonnegut started to repeat himself, to grow increasingly self-indulgent and meandering, and to sometimes just blather in his later work. But his books up to "Slaughterhouse-Five" do possess a distinctiveness that will insure… — Michael Dirda Copy Share
I sometimes lie awake at night and try to imagine what would be the best period in history to spend one's seventy-odd years. — Michael Dirda Copy Share Image
To my mind, 'Dear Brutus' stands halfway between Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's 'Into the Woods'. Like them,… — Michael Dirda Copy Share Image
The goal of a just society should be to provide satisfying work with a living wage to all its citizens. — Michael Dirda Copy Share Image
Most lyric poetry is about love, whether yearned after, fulfilled, or wistfully regretted; what isn't tends to consist of laments and cris du coeur… — Michael Dirda Copy Share Image
“Books, by their very nature and variety, help us grow in empathy for others, in tolerance and awareness. But they should increase our skepticism… — Michael Dirda Copy Share Image
My gift, if that's not too grandiose a term, is one for describing novels, biographies, and works of history in such a way that… — Michael Dirda Copy Share Image
Once we know the plot and its surprises, we can appreciate a book's artistry without the usual confusion and sap flow of emotion, content… — Michael Dirda Copy Share Image
My wife tells me I should check out 'Downton Abbey', but I gather that series might be almost too intense for my temperate nature. — Michael Dirda Copy Share Image
A reviewer's lot is not always an easy one. I can remember flogging myself to finish Harold Brodkey's 'The Runaway Soul' despite the novel's… — Michael Dirda Copy Share Image
I once read that in vaudeville, it was often the straight guy who got paid more than the comic because that's the tougher job.… — Michael Dirda Copy Share Image
From the late 19th to the early 20th century, the December issue of almost any general-interest magazine regularly featured a holiday horror or two. — Michael Dirda Copy Share Image
