The Pulitzer Prize Archive: Cultural Criticism 1969-1990

472 Pages·2003·21.1 MB·English

by  Heinz-Dietrich

säur
THE PULITZER PRIZE ARCHIVE
A History and Anthology of
Award-winning Materials in
Journalism, Letters, and Arts
Series Editor:
Heinz-Dietrich Fischer
Ruhr University, Bochum
Federal Republic of Germany
PART B: OPINION JOURNALISM
Volume 6
Κ • G • Saur
München • London • New York
Paris 1992
Cultural Criticism
1969 -1990
From Architectural Damages
to Press Imperfections
Edited with general and special
introductions by
Heinz-Dietrich Fischer
in cooperation with
Erika J. Fischer
Κ · G • Saur
München • London • New York
Paris 1992
Gefördert durch Dietrich Oppenberg
aus Mitteln der Stiftung Pressehaus NRZ
Essen
Die Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP-Einheitsaufnahme
The Pulitzer prize archive : a history and anthology of award-
winning materials in journalism, letters, and arts I ser. ed..
Heinz-Dietrich Fischer. - München ; London ; New York ;
Paris : Saur.
ISBN 3-598-30170-7
NE: Fischer, Heinz-Dietrich [Hrsg.]
Vol. 6 : Pt. B, Opinion journalism. Cultural criticism 1969-
1990 : from architectural damages to press imperfections / ed.
with general and special introd. by Heinz-Dietrich Fischer in
cooperation with Erika J. Fischer. - 1992.
ISBN 3-598-30176-6
Gedruckt auf säurefreiem Papier I Printed on acid-free paper
Alle Rechte vorbehalten - All Rights Strictly Reserved
K. G. Saur Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, München 1992
A Reed Reference Publishing Company
Printed in the Federal Republic of Germany
by WS Druckerei Werner Schaubruch GmbH, Bodenheim
Bound by Buchbinderei Schaumann, Darmstadt
Cover Design by Manfred Link, München
ISBN 3-598-30176-6 (Vol. 6)
ISBN 3-598-30170-7 (Complete Set)
ν
PREFACE
When, in 1970, a new Pulitzer Prize category was established
called "distinguished criticism or commentary," especially the
"prize for criticism was a long overdue recognition of the
growing importance of cultural affairs as a special field of
journalism," John Hohenberg stated. "Only the wealthiest and
most powerful newspapers, which included most of the large
ones," he added, "could afford to maintain their own critics in
such varied fields as books and drama, movies and television,
art and architecture, and music." What the Advisory Board of
the Pulitzer Prizes as well as the annual juries in this award
category hoped for was to encourage also younger newspaper
people to go in for critical writing in years to come. Although
it is too early to decide whether this gentle aim could be
realized through this Pulitzer Prize category, the deeper sense
behind establishing the new award in the beginning seventies
also might have been a question of image-lifting for a some-
times hated journalistic profession.
"Critic baiting, like riding to hounds," George N. Gordon
said, "is an old and honorable sport that has it roots in Peri-
clean Athens, if not before. Its antiquity derives from the
fact that artistic criticism is certainly as old as the arts -
possibly older, because the absence of anything to criticize
has never stood in the way of the confirmed and devout
critic... The trouble with criticizing critics is that it is
all too easy to do poorly. Critics are vulnerable, and they may
be 'proved' wrong in too many ways. A movie that receives a
negative critical reception can make monkeys out of the most
prestigious reviewer simply by pleasing a large or notable
audience... Press critics with few exceptions tend to hit and
VI
run... A critic is, however, a man or woman who must enjoy
living dangerously... Criticizing critics is dangerous work
too, but safer than being a critic. This peril stems from
misinterpreting standards of evaluation, finding biases and
misconstructions that do not exist..."
This book - covering the history of the Pulitzer Prize for
outstanding critical writing in different cultural fields
during two decades - demonstrates and documents several of the
potential conflicts of critics, too. In several cases, the
stories behind the stories seem to be as fascinating as the
award-winning articles themselves. But there could not be found
any hint to what Mark Twain once stated: "The trade of (the)
critic in literature, music and the drama is (the) most
degraded of all trades." The present volume, which contains
powerful critical texts of various kinds, could not have been
done without the valuable assistance of quite a number of
people. First of all, the authors want to express their thanks
to the very cooperative administrators of the Pulitzer Prizes
at Columbia University in the City of New York: Professor
Robert C. Christopher and Mr. Edward M. Kliment, of the
Pulitzer Prize Office, not only made available the award-
winning entries from the criticism category but also the jury
reports and other background materials containing the annual
discussions and decisions during the selection process.
Executives from award-winning newspapers as well as several
award-winners helped in many ways that a book like this one
could be realized. The following persons kindly granted
permission for reprinting Pulitzer Prize-winning articles: Mr.
Robert L. Bartley (The Wall Street Journal), Mrs. Elsie Carper
(The Washington Post), Mr. Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times), Mr.
Paul J. Gapp (Chicago Tribune), John L. Geldmacher (Field
Enterprises, Inc.), Mrs. Heather Green (The Washington Post),
Mr. Leonard R. Harris (The New York Times), Mrs. Ada L.
Huxtable (The New York Times), Mrs. Jackie Jones (San Francisco
Chronicle), Mr. Walter F. Kerr (The New York Times), Mrs. M.
Jean Kossoff (The News and Observer, Raleigh, N.C.), Mr. David
A. Laventhol (Los Angeles Times), Mr. Frank L. Peters Jr. (St.
Louis Post-Dispatch), Mrs. Cheryl Preston (Los Angeles Times),
VII
Mrs. Irene Schwartz (Newsday) , Mr. David L. Shaw (Los Angeles
Times), Mr. Claude F. Sitton (The News and Observer, Raleigh,
N.C.), Mr. Davis Taylor (The Boston Globe), and Mr. Jonathan
Yardley (The Washington Post).
Out of the numerous other persons helping the authors to
prepare this volume, Mrs. Ursula Bauer (New York) and Mr. Jörg
Strackbein (Düsseldorf) deserve special thanks. From libraries
and archives the following people gave useful information: Mr.
Carroll Brown (American Council on Germany, New York), Mrs.
Sheila Carney (Arthur Hays Sulzberger Library of the Graduate
School of Journalism at Columbia University, New York), Mr.
Frank J. Carroll (The Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.),
Mr. Johannes Dedek (Library of the Institute for Paedagogics at
Ruhr University, Bochum), Mrs. Karen Furey (American Council on
Germany, New York), Mr. Larry Heinzerling (The Associated
Press, New York), Mrs. Brigitte James (Library of the U.S.
Information Service at the Embassy of the United States of
America, Bonn), Mrs. Monika Schröder (Library, J. F. Kennedy
Institute for North America Studies at the Free University of
Berlin) and Mrs. Claudia Stone (Pulitzer Prize Office at
Columbia University, New York) . Thanks also go to Mr. David L.
Shaw: He gave his personal approval to the authors of this book
to divide two of his lengthy Pulitzer Prize-winning articles
into four texts in order to keep the volume within the limits
of its predecessors.
At the Department of Journalism and Communication at the Ruhr
University first of all'Mrs. Ingrid Dickhut has to be mentio-
ned: She not only typed the manuscript and made the layout but
she also was responsible for the indexing of this volume. Mr.
Oliver Krems, Μ.Α., helped to translate parts of the
manuscript, and Mrs. Ulrike G. Wahl, Μ.Α., did the bulk of
proof-reading and formulated new headlines for the reprinted
articles to make the contents more understandable for today's
readers. Mr. Olaf Jubin and Mr. Jürgen Niemann helped gathering
biographical and other needed information. Mrs. Michele A.
Schons of the K. G. Saur Publishing Company at Munich kindly
looked through the introduction chapter as a native speaker in
English. Finally, the authors express their thanks to Dr. Diet-
VIII
rich Oppenberg (publisher of the Neue Ruhr/Rhein Zeitung,
Essen/FRG) who gave a grant for doing the necessary research
for this volume in libraries and archives in Germany and
abroad.
Bochum, FRG
June, 1992 E.J.F./H.-D.F.
IX
C O N T E N TS
PREFACE ,. Ν
INTRODUCTION ΧΝ
By Heinz-Dietrich Fischer, Ruhr-Universität Bochum
HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR
DISTINGUISHED CRITICISM XV
SELECTIONS FROM AWARD-WINNING ENTRIES 1
REMARKS ABOUT THE SELECTIONS CRITERIA 2
ABOUT ARCHITECTURE ISSUES IN 1969 3
By Ada L. Huxtable, The New York Times
MUNICIPAL TRAFFIC PLANS WILL MAIM SOME DOWNTOWN DISTRICTS 4
SENSE OF HISTORY AND ESTHETICS PERVADES A NEW CITY HALL . 8
A BLACK COMMUNITY FIGHTS A STATE OFFICE BUILDING PROJECT 12
RENEWAL PROGRAMS THREATEN CITY DISTRICTS AND NATURAL
ASSETS 16
ABOUT MUSIC TOPICS IN 1970 19
By Harold C. Schonberg, The New York Times
SOVIET AVANTGARDE MUSIC OBSERVED BY THE POLITICAL SYSTEM 20
CONDUCTING MUSIC THE CELLIST VIRTUOSO BECOMES A YOUNG MAN 23
SOME GREAT CLASSICAL COMPOSERS DESERVE TIMELESS RELEVANCE 28
REMINISCENCES OF TWO FAMOUS BUT VERY DIFFERENT CONDUCTORS 32
ABOUT DANCE ARRANGEMENTS IN 1971 37
By Frank L. Peters Jr., St. Louis Post-Dispatah
BALLET PERFORMANCES ENJOY POPULAR UPSWING AMONG FANS 38
FANATICAL DEVOTION OF CHAMBER MUSICIANS TO THEIR WORK ... 42
IN A WORLD OF INDIFFERENCE SOME PEOPLE LIVE THEIR MUSIC . Μ
SENS I VITY TO ALL SORTS OF MUSIC CHARACTERIZES THAT PRODIGY 52
χ
ABOUT TELEVISION OUTLINES IN 1972 55
By Ronald D. Powers, Chicago Sun-Times
YOUNG CREATIVE WRITERS COULD ENLIVEN SILLY TV ENTERTAIN-
MENT 56
OLYMPIC GAMES TV REPORTERS AS CUSTODIANS OF NATIONAL
HONOR 60
SOBERING INSIGHTS INTO ONE OF AMERICA'S MOST POPULAR
TV SHOWS 62
ELECTED TRUSTEES OF PUBLIC TV TRY TO SERVE VIEWERS'
INTEREST 64
ABOUT ART EXHIBITIONS IN 1973 69
By Emily Genauer, Newsday Syndicate
A NORWEGIAN PAINTER SEEN UNDER ASPECTS OF HIS PRIVATE LIFE 70
THE GREAT CUBIST'S POSITION IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY ART 73
NUDITY AND VIOLENCE IN ART AS EXPRESSIONS OF MODERN LIFE 78
THE PAINTER OF BIBLICAL VISIONS HAS GOT HIS OWN MUSEUM .. 82
ABOUT FILM PRODUCTIONS IN 1974 87
By Roger J. Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
FEMALE MOVIE ROLES REPRESENT ONLY STEREOTYPED IMAGES 88
NEW WAVE FILMS AND THEIR TREATMENT OF SEX PROBLEMS 93
A PRIVATE EYE MOVIE AS COMPLEX STORY OF EVIL ITSELF 97
CINEMATIC STRUCTURES OF TWO SUCCESSFUL FILM DIRECTORS ... 103
ABOUT DANCE EVENTS IN 1975 109
By Alan M. Kriegsman, The Washington Post
INTERNATIONAL BALLETIC BRILLIANCE NOW SHOWN FOR DECADES . 110
ASPECTS OF SYMBIOTIC AFFILIATION BETWEEN FILM AND DANCE . 114
MOSCOW'S FAMOUS BALLET COMPANY EXPECTED WITH NEW PROGRAM 120
CERTAIN EFFECTS OF POLITICS ON A DANCER'S CAREER 127
ABOUT BOOK PUBLICATIONS IN 1976 131
By William A. McPherson, The Washington Poet
A PROLIFICE WRITER'S NEW NOVEL IS ABOUT MONEY AND POWER . 132
DISTURBANCE OF EDEN BY PROGRESS IN A SMALL FARM VILLAGE . 136
YOUNG POET BETWEEN EDWARDIAN IDEALS AND OUTRAGEOUS
REALITY 139
LETTERS ILLUMINATING VARIED DECADES OF AMERICAN HISTORY . 143