WEAK SAUCE OF WORDS

Jessa Crispin, writing for The Smart Set, agrees with Goldsmith that it's all dross, but unlike Goldsmith does not see much value in setting oneself up as a dross broker:

Not even the most idealistic among the cultural critics bother to argue that the system is merit-based. She takes aim at the MFA industry, the overproduction of underdeveloped books, and at the shallow hunger of amateur writers.

Of course, her complaint is not new: "Of making books there is no end," said Ecclesiastes a few millenia ago. Brian Bauld, a retired teacher of secondary school English, has compiled a capacious round-up of sensible essays concerning books and the idea of books, many of which make the same point -- too much noise, too little music. His list of lit crit is also worth checking out.