Letters in Criticism. Edited with an Introduction by John Tasker

This book is a collection, as complete as it has been possible
to make it, of the letters written by Dr. Leavis to newspapers and periodicals over the past forty years. As such, it forms an essential part of the total record of Dr. Leavis's views on the subject with which he has always been most closely concerned: English literature, and its crucial importance to the cultural health of the community.
The letters were not written with a view to their subsequent
publication in volume form; on the contrary, they have the unmistakable stamp of immediacy upon them. But the enduring interest of the subjects with which they deal, quite apart from their authorship, surely justifies giving more permanent form to writings which would normally be treated as ephemeral, and which would · otherwise certainly be inaccessible except to the most
persistent resear'cher.
The letters themselves deal with many of the literary causes cilebres of this century, and contain important texts about the critical debates, the educational disputes, and the cultural controversies of the last fifty years. Above all, they demonstrate the consistency, the conviction, with which Dr. Leavis has always maintained that criticism is an enterprise in collaboration, that it involves 'the common pursuit: of true judgment'.
Mr. Tasker, in addition to performing the difficult job of tracking down and recovering the letters from a multitude of sources, has contributed an Introduction to the volume, and has also provided brief, factual footnotes whenever a reference in a letter required elucidation.