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Twenty-four essays by the modern master of literary criticism, ranging from discussion of Gertrude Stein and Jorge Luis Borges to Henry James and "The Evil Demiurge.""Gass's criticism, in the best tradition of eloquence, wit, and passion, is a defense of 'poesy' in a time of need... Nearly all the essays are a pleasure to read and some'it almost seems shocking to say it'are works of beauty. It has happened before'one thinks of Keat's letters and some fragments of Lawrence'that the unlikely combination of criticism, philosophy and metaphorical inventiveness has resulted in a kind of poetry."? New York Times Book Review"For anyone who writes fiction or writes about it, or reads fiction for the solacing sense of potential reality it can provided, Gass's book is the most important and bracing theoretical study I know of. Beside being a miraculous gifted writer he is that rare thing among creators, a trained philosopher. No one I can name has his persuasive power."? Geoffrey Wolff, Newsweek