EPISODE · May 3, 2026 · 29 MIN
A Cherishing Bureaucracy
from The Reith Lectures · host BBC Radio 4
Irish literary critic Denis Donoghue gives the fourth Reith lecture in his series entitled 'The Mystery of Art'. The current Henry James Professor of English and American Letters at New York University explores how critics influence perception of art.In this lecture entitled 'A Cherishing Bureaucracy', Denis Donoghue identifies how the state has created a pluralist and populist approach to art. He believes that every piece of art can be enjoyed because they are sanctioned by the state. Art has become easily comprehendible and this understanding has lead to the death of mystery in art. He argues how the very act of naming pieces of art takes away peoples hesitancy; and without this hesitancy, the mystery art is lost.
What this episode covers
Irish literary critic Denis Donoghue gives the fourth Reith lecture in his series entitled 'The Mystery of Art'. The current Henry James Professor of English and American Letters at New York University explores how critics influence perception of art.In this lecture entitled 'A Cherishing Bureaucracy', Denis Donoghue identifies how the state has created a pluralist and populist approach to art. He believes that every piece of art can be enjoyed because they are sanctioned by the state. Art has become easily comprehendible and this understanding has lead to the death of mystery in art. He argues how the very act of naming pieces of art takes away peoples hesitancy; and without this hesitancy, the mystery art is lost.
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A Cherishing Bureaucracy
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