Miller, Bukowski & Their Enemies: Essays on Contemporary Culture

Joyce (First Born of an Ass, LJ 12/89) is a prime example of the critic as iconoclast. Here, in several extended book reviews, he celebrates the creative spirit of Henry Miller, Charles Bukowski, and Irving Stettner while taking potshots at the academy and commercial publishing. Three essays on contemporary poetry and an article on B. Traven round out the volume. Passionate about literature, Joyce frequently goes out of his way to antagonize a literary establishment that places profit and political correctness before artistic vision. His blunt, sometimes crude language may put off some readers, but Joyce will not put anyone to sleep. The health of literary criticism in America today depends on voices like his.William Gargan, Brooklyn Coll. Lib., CUNYCopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.