Bard Professor James Romm Reflects on the Film Turn Every Page for Current

One of the most stunning aspects of writer and editor Richard Gottlieb’s career is the enormous number of books he has edited on a wide spectrum of subjects, writes James Romm, James H. Ottaway Jr. Professor of Classics, for Current. The sheer range in content that Gottlieb has edited—in some six or seven hundred books—speaks to a rare freedom that few book reviewers are allowed. “Most of us have a ‘beat,’ a subject with which we’re deeply familiar and on which we may have published books of our own,” Romm writes. “We’re called upon by an editor who has us on his or her list of those who can cover that beat.” In his view, this practice leaves little room for reviewers to explore new interests and evaluate works outside of the subjects they are traditionally assigned, resulting in the literary world largely lacking the perspectives of offbeat enthusiasts. “Rather than maintain lists of experts who cover specific beats,” he writes, “Perhaps we’d be better served if editors kept lists of writers who, like Gottlieb, can be interested in anything.”

Post Date: 02-21-2023