Talk:Dwight Macdonald/Archive 1

Macdonald's final years
I removed the following, and bring it here for discussion:


 * A sympathetic account of Macdonald's final years (including his fight with alcoholism and writer's block, as well as an account of his decade of psychotherapy) can be found in the James Atlas biography of the poet Delmore Schwartz.

I do not find this particularly relevant or appropriate for an encyclopedic entry. If this book says things about Macdonald, sympathetic or not, quote the book. But, this sounds like a capsule review. ---  RepublicanJacobite  The'FortyFive' 14:39, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

Why See Also?
There are no references to William F. Buckley (Whyever?) or Irwin Howe in the article. Until there are, the See Also section should be removed. A better See Also would be Politics (his publication), New York Review of Books, The Other America, War on Poverty, Democratic Socialism, Anarchism.

Dstlascaux (talk) 15:00, 29 July 2011 (UTC)


 * Hi Dstlascaux!
 * I thought the same thing, that "see also" lists the most important links in the article, for easy reference; however, I was wrong. On the contrary, WP policy limits "See also" links to related WP articles that are not discussed in the article.
 * Macdonald was one of the first to be amused and be critical of Buckley, whom he recognized as a confident young man in a hurry to be lecture down to Yale's President and faculty; he discussed Buckley in several articles.
 * Howe worked for MacDonald, as discussed in Howe's Margin of Hope.
 * Best regards, Kiefer .Wolfowitz 15:17, 29 July 2011 (UTC)

Seems to lack neutral point of view
"...Adorno, with the obvious difference that Macdonald's prose was often funny."

The above phrase doesn't seem to be "neutral" and doesn't seem to be supported by a credible reference. It is especially suspect since it has been claimed elsewhere that Adorno in fact had a sense humour, unlike some of his followers. Unfortunately I can't remember where I read this. Dwight does seem to favorably quote Adorno in "Against the American Grain".

The word "funny" itself is somewhat ambiguous in this context. It could mean "bizarre" or not quite right, like a 3 dollar bill. In fact, in a US context, the writings of a ex-Trotskyite, ex-pacifist (a pacifist against US involvement in WW II, when the US was at war), ex-anarchist, might well be considered suspect.

In a collection of essays "Against the American Grain" (1962), he calls Herman Hesse "...a minor German novelist...". It is probably an attempt to be scarcastic, ironic or cruel, given Hesse winning the 1946 Nobel Prize for Literature and continuing cult popularity. In another essay, he claims that King James I was a "...scholar and a theologian..." Is he being sarcastic? ironic or trying to con the reader into supporting his attack on alternative Bible translations?

All in all, it would be more accurate to correct the phrase to read: "...Adorno, with the obvious difference that Macdonald's prose was often like a 3 dollar bill." Sometimes humorous, sometimes bizarre, sometimes just strange.

The above material is not "neutral", it is just there to reinforce the point that the current material is also not "neutral" and is also suspect.

192.30.202.21 (talk) 18:17, 25 August 2009 (UTC)


 * WP is not a blog or discussion forum. Please focus on improving the article by suggesting text based on reliable sources. Kiefer .Wolfowitz 15:18, 29 July 2011 (UTC)

Unsourced statement
"During the Columbia University protests of 1968, Macdonald expressed disappointment about the many red flags on campus that symbolized revolution. He complained that there were no black flags to reflect 'my anarchist tastes.'"

Can't find source for statements above. – Temporal User (Talk) 03:10, 22 March 2013 (UTC)