Masocriticism

"These provocative, inventive, and at times outrageous essays on literary theory, philosophy, and cultural criticism describe, in their form and content, the end of criticism, even while performing the endlessness of that endgame. In a sense, the book deconstructs all forms of critique and criticism, including deconstruction, and including its own self. That the book is so painfully aware of the futility of its own enterprise, even while pursuing it relentlessly and with such critical rigor, is what makes this a book of masocriticism as well as about masocriticism."

I ordered and finally received Paul Mann's Masocriticism, which is rather hard to find. Paul Mann, author of The Theory-Death of the Avant-Garde, led the first poetry workshop I took. It was so "painfully aware of the futility of its own enterprise," as to not cause harm. I think that's about the best thing one can say about an undergraduate level poetry workshop. I loved it and I didn't take any more.