In earlier epochs,na critic tormented only the writers…nOf all the cants which are canted in this canting world—though the cant ofnhypocrites may be the worst—the cant of criticism is the most tormenting.nLaurence SternenIn ours, he torments everybody.nRecently a middle-aged father publishedna book about his sordid adventuresnin massage parlors, wife-swappingncommunes and the worlds of easy sexnand prostitution. The critics were gratefulnto Gay Talese. Newsweek said thatn”Talese’s research has an awesomensolidity about it.” Vogue was proud ofn”… Gay’s triumph over the puritanicalnstrictures of Ocean City, strictures thatnso inhibited him that he didn’t evennmasturbate until his second year in college.”nAnd the Chicago Tribune — annewspaper respectable primarily in itsnown eyes—turned its enthusiasm intonpromotion by running excerpts of ThynNeighbor’s Wife for Chicagolandnfamilies to read.nThe state of literary criticism todaynstrongly confirms Laurence Sterne’snwarning: the cant of criticism is thenmost tormenting. To make thingsnworse, the modem media have transformednthe critic into a midwife of massnconsciousness. Regardless of what wenwish to know or ignore, we live withncultural events and their consequencesn— as interpreted by the modem critic.nSadly, what passes for “cultural criticism”nin Time, Esquire, Chicago Tribune,nLadies Home Journal, et al.,namounts to an elitist, moral shoddiness.nThe Critical DifferencenIn Chronicles of Culture, we feel therenis a need for a counterpoise to thosenwho judge cultural offerings withoutngiving any thought to the impact ofnmessages which are liberated from allncodes of moral and intellectual responsibility.nWe firmly believe that culture,nbooks, movies, behavioral trends —ntheir meaning and success —deeply affectnman’s preferences and, consequently,nhis sense of moral and socialnorder. We are not timid when we confrontnthe liberal cultural cant. The NationalnReview remarked that we, “Gonfor the jugular. . . . Chronicles reportsnon the reporters, and reviews the reviewers.nIts verdicts have not beennkind.”nThe Critical ResponsenIn every issue, we challenge the dominantncultural establishment on what itnpreaches about culture, politics andnsocial matters. Malcolm Muggeridgenobserved that”… in Chronicles of Culturenthe Consensus assumptions—thatnthe New York Times is a great newspaper,nthat the South Africans arenuniquely the villains of our time, thatnPresident Reagan is an idiot, that allngood men and true build their hopes onndisarmament talks with Mr. Brezhnev,netc. etc. etc.—are blissfully absent.”nTom Wolfe said about our work, “It hasnbeen a pleasure to watch Leopold Tyrmandnand the Chronicles of Culturenconfront—a la Orwell-the smelly littlenorthodoxies of our time.” And fromnthe London Times, “. . . it is a relief tonreceive an American publication whichnputs forward another view…. [Chronicles]ndisplays a pleasantly open andnironic position Who, among the liberalnmonopoly of power in this sphere,nwill reply to Tyrmand?’^nIf you care about la difference, sendnfor your subscription today.n1 MAILTO: /n1 ChiWides/nCiiurTCnnnS|« /In^”V^iiSiJ 1n1