Speaker Advocates for Essays as Art

Speaking to an intimate gathering of Harvard’s literary community last night, guest speaker John D’Agata spoke out against the view that most people “are fearful of the essay because they were things that we had to do here in school.”

In place of such a limited conception of the essayistic form, D’Agata advocated for a different critical interpretation—the essay as art.

Holding a public reading in the Barker Center, D’Agata read excerpts from “The Lost Origins of the Essay,” his new anthology. After beginning with a reading from the introduction of the work, a succession of Harvard professors read selected essays from the anthology. The evening concluded with a question-and-answer session with the author himself.

After citing the contractual writings in ancient Mesopotamia as the first system of (albeit primitive) literature, D’Agata proceeded to explain that these writings represented the “worst kind of nonfiction there is”: writing which seeks solely to convey information.

“Instead, I am here in search of art,” the author explained.

D’Agata said he was determined to compile an anthology of essays which could dispel the notion of the essay as a genre devoted solely to instruction and the conveyance of information.

To accomplish this goal, D’Agata included essays from Ziusudra, William Blake, Matsuo Basho, Clarice Lispector, and Jonathan Swift, among others, and he explained that such writers respected the essay as an art form.

Professor of Creative Writing Joanna G. Klink further articulated the miscategorization of the essay when she asserted that “the essay is searching for a way of being in the world.”

To remedy this lack of critical respect, Klink, reading from D’Agata’s book, made use of an essay by Samuel Beckett.

The essay, “Afar, A Bird,” hearkens to Blake’s poetic works, further proof that the essay can be interpreted as a work of art.

Although the audience seemed captivated by the readings throughout, several spoke up to ask questions at the conclusion of the event.

When asked whether the essay could achieve the artistic recognition that other genres have received, D’Agata explained that while students and professors may be forced to classify literary works as pertaining to different genres, essays should, in the artistic sense, exist for their own sake, just as any other painting, novel, or sculpture.