Talk:Jacques Barzun

Dated conversation
It is my recollection that Barzun's last book, that very odd production, was praised as much as it was in part because it was published posthumously - I don't have it in front of me at the moment, however. Thank you for putting Darwin, Marx and Wagner where it belongs, however. Septentrionalis 01:24, 19 August 2005 (UTC)
 * I don't see an obit on Lexis; I wonder what part of the publicity drew me to that conclusion. Septentrionalis 01:31, 19 August 2005 (UTC)
 * As I noted on the above user's talk page, Barzun was invited to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom by the White House in 2003. As additional corroboration, this site shows happy birthday emails sent to Barzun in 2002 on his 95th birthday. Some of them make reference to Barzun doing television interviews in promotion of From Dawn to Decadence. I feel confident in maintaining that Barzun is still with us, hence my reversion. Anyone with more information will, I hope, provide it, especially if I am in error and the article needs to be changed as Septen suggests. Jwrosenzweig 01:34, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

Barzun is still alive as of this writing (Sept. 23, 2005). He was not only invited to the White House to receive the Medal of Freedom, but actually drove from San Antonio to D.C. in order to accept it personally. As of about a year ago, he was working on at least one new book as well as a new edition of "The Modern Researcher". I have not heard any news of him since then and do not know whether he is still writing or how healthy he is, but I know his assistant and, had he died, I would have received the news within hours.

Barzun is not dead. I am removing the death date. This is absurd, and with Wikipedia being on the news today for getting facts all wrong, this is absolutely unacceptable. Durtal December 12, 2005

Agreed. I'm editing an article on Barzun for Columbia's website; he's alive and living in San An. 128.59.100.63 18:44, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

A little tribute
Above I read that in his 96th year, Barzun drove from San Antonio to Washington DC to accept the Presidential Medal of Freedom. That from a lifelong New Yorker who rarely drove? Barzun's health and vitality is utterly incomprehensible. I very much look forward to reading his biography.


 * Barzun moved to San Antonio several years ago after his doctors advised him to move to a warmer climate. I don't know how much driving he did before moving south, but living without a car in San Antonio must be a lot more difficult than it is in New York.  Btw, the reason he drove to DC (he and his wife took turns at the wheel) is that he had to stop flying when his ears became too fragile to reliably withstand the pressure changes during ascent and descent.  He has driven to many distant locations since moving, and still (I believe) drives to Cooperstown, NY once a year for the opening day of its opera company.


 * Did he and his wife really drive to Washington, DC, to accept the Presidential Medal of Freedom? I seem to remember that a family member accepted the award. Unless hidden behind the podium, Barzun does not appear in this of the 2003 ceremony.  The last of Four More Sidelights on Opera at Glimmerglass was from 2004, so I doubt if he drives there still. LeoWong 17:00, 31 March 2007 (UTC)


 * Barzun did not go to D.C. His grandson Charles Barzun accepted the medal for him. Leo Wong 17:21, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

Rewriting this entry is the least I could do to honor the man I deem the greatest American humanist of the 20th century. I agree with Schneider, by the way, that Barzun cannot be trusted when he (rarely) mentions science.

It is supremely ironic that Barzun, born to bohemian and avant-guarde parents, grew up to become a great American conservative. He represents the best of that conservatism: hard working, good humored, unsentimental about human nature, and respectful of baseball.

I suspect that the decadence Barzun complains of is fading, although I dare not speculate as to what will take its place. If there is anything exciting going on somewhere on the planet, my radar can't detect it. No one seems to care any more about recent novels, art openings, and new musical works. I hear that the fall of the Berlin Wall has led to a New Dawn in German letters, but not in eastern Europe.202.36.179.65 11:47, 21 February 2006 (UTC)
 * Some good additions--I'm going to come back when I have time, as I think the article's a little unwieldy right now. I disagree with the choice to put a very long bibliography in the middle of the article--really disrupts the flow.  I'd suggest moving it to a separate section at the end.  Also, I think the current descriptions in the "Writing" section can be a bit too effusive...we can give an occasional positive adjective in description, but I think some of the prose is a little too glowing.  Lastly, I think the introduction has lost too much...we don't give enough context before launching into a discussion of his life.  Some of the details need to appear at the top in stripped-down form (and then remain in more detailed prose later in the article).  Still, in all, I really like 90% of the additions to the article, and I'm glad you've made them...I hope you'll get a username (it's free!) and stick around to flesh out a few more articles.  We need the help! Jwrosenzweig 07:06, 24 February 2006 (UTC)


 * P.S. I think you're a little too optimistic about the end of decadence, but I'm willing to be won over. :-) --Jwr

Barzun is very much still alive. I spoke to him last summer.

Also, I deleted the link to Dan Schneider's "review" of From Dawn to Decadence, not because it was critical of the book, but because it was a poorly-considered, poorly-written screed, mean-spirited and offensive. It does not deserve the publicity.


 * There is still a Schneider review of the Jacques Barzun Reader, containing statements like "His 2000 opus called From Dawn To Decadence was an ill wrought stereotypical ‘old man’s lament’, which unwittingly did more to show how wholly out of touch the man- born in 1907, was with modern life than bolster his argument that society was, of course, ‘in decline’."


 * Is there any reason we shouldn't remove that one too?Hodgson 19:58, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

I'm a relative of JB's and a science fiction writer. I can state with certainty that JB has little to no interest in science fiction. I've changed the sentence about his pop culture interests to reflect this. 69.226.211.81 02:57, 6 November 2006 (UTC)


 * Removed the Schneider link for the reasons given above and in the absence of objections.Hodgson 17:35, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

Barzun still alive?
Just for additional corroboration, we just received a letter from Barzun today (3/20/06), so he was alive, at least when he sent it (postmarked 3/15/06) from San Antonio TX.

Six years later, still very much alive!
It is a pleasure to note. Profhum (talk) 10:47, 28 June 2012 (UTC)

Copyright violation?
Much of this article appears lifted from Roger Kimball's review in the New Criterion, which appears here: [newcriterion.com/archive/18/jun00/barzun.htm]. I've flagged it for copyright inspection, but not changed it (though the violation seems pretty clear). Christopher M 20:42, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

Reviews added
Two reviews of From Dawn to Decadence added.Hodgson 19:55, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

There was crap and nonsense here, and now there is not.

Barzun birthplace
According to Who's Who in America, Barzun was born in Créteil, a suburb of Paris. He did frequent Grenoble in his youth. LeoWong 19:43, 31 March 2007 (UTC)

Intro's tone
The introduction to the article seems bizarre to me...as though "exposing the truth" about Barzun. It certainly needs an NPOVing, and I think some fleshing out...if we're going to buck conventional wisdom, let's cite upfront the CW, and then be more clear about precisely what an NPOV on Barzun is and cite that. If anyone wants to chime in, please do, but very soon I'm just going to wade in and see what can be done. As a Barzun fan, though, I'm not a great neutral choice and I'd like some other eyes here. Jwrosenzweig 10:39, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

Looking for a book
Can anyone tell me where I might find Barzun's argument that academic degrees should not be awarded in the performing arts? I remember reading that in a book by Barzun some years ago but don't have a clue which book it might be. John Link 03:33, 3 September 2007 (UTC).

Perhaps it was The American University, 1968, pp. 236-238, though it perhaps does not go so far as "should not". Leo Wong 01:23, 22 September 2007 (UTC)

Thank you, Leo. I'll take a look at that. John Link 22:14, 22 September 2007 (UTC)

John, please tell me after you look at it if it is the book you remember. Leo Wong 00:53, 23 September 2007 (UTC)

I finally looked at pages 235-228 of The American University, and while the discussion is related to what I recall, it is not that. John Link (talk) 07:01, 4 August 2011 (UTC)

WikiProject class rating
This article was automatically assessed because at least one WikiProject had rated the article as start, and the rating on other projects was brought up to start class. BetacommandBot 04:09, 10 November 2007 (UTC)

ITN nomination for recent deaths
I have nominated the article for the Recent Deaths ticker on ITN. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:In_the_news/Candidates#Intellectual_Jacques_Barzun_dies_at_104 There are a lot of updaters, and I do not want to sort out so many judgment calls as to who did the most--so if you feel you are qualified, feel free to add yourself to the nom, first come first serve. μηδείς (talk) 16:26, 26 October 2012 (UTC)