Biography by the Ground Rules

Biography by the Ground Rules HUGH KENNER

Passions open upon follies, and to the reading of biographies of men of letters we are tempted by our pas- sion for the life of the mind, little enlightenment though these chroni- cles yield. We see the subject dick- ering with a landlord, or catching a train, or buying his wife a necklace: mere events, and full ones, which have gotten into the book because some record of them chances to exist, and biography must compile the rec- ords that chance to exist, however miscellaneous. From time to time he does something even less dramatic: he writes words on a sheet of paper.

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About the Author

Hugh Kenner

Biography by the Ground Rules HUGH KENNER

Passions open upon follies, and to the reading of biographies of men of letters we are tempted by our pas- sion for the life of the mind, little enlightenment though these chroni- cles yield. We see the subject dick- ering with a landlord, or catching a train, or buying his wife a necklace: mere events, and full ones, which have gotten into the book because some record of them chances to exist, and biography must compile the rec- ords that chance to exist, however miscellaneous. From time to time he does something even less dramatic: he writes words on a sheet of paper.