Joseph Epstein - Essay Quotes

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When I write an essay I don't set out to teach. I set out, usually, on a mission of self-discovery — to find out what I really think about a subject.

Joseph Epstein

Then again, the relative success of the essay may also have something to do with the diminishing national attention span. These days one sees a novel of four hundred pages, sighs, and says, "There goes a week of my reading life.".

Joseph Epstein

The essay seems to be thriving at the moment. This may just be because there are a number of people right now who are fairly good at writing this strange form. Then again, it may have something to do with the fact that fiction is losing some of its prestige, which is not something that pleases me.

Joseph Epstein