AS I USED TO SAY TO MY BEST FRIEND, "EVERYBODY'S A CRITIC . . . "
By all means, write to me, but please do not do so in anger or over matters of taste. My preferences in actors, directors, humour or politics may differ from yours, but name-calling or profanity isn't going to change that.
In 1964, Nathan Cohen, the dean of Canadian theatre critics, offered this bit of advice to aspiring reviewers: "When you get letters, as you will when you become a critic, always look to see if they are signed. If they are anonymous, throw them in the wastebasket unread.
"If they are signed, and abusive, wait a week, then compose a temperate and courteous reply. If they are intelligent and well-considered challenges of your notice, answer promptly and fairly."
Half a century later, courtesy remains the gold standard in personal communication. If you have thoughts to share or questions that you think I can answer, you can drop me an email — my address is reeling back (at) gmail (dot) com (with no spaces).
Please DO NOT use the form below. My webmaster tells me it has become inoperative due to changes in the mysterious rules of computer coding. He's working to fix it.
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Published: Sep 12 2013, 07:28:pm