"The purpose of storytelling is to connect manliness to justice."
That’s our Titus, at 44:00 in his recent recorded discussion with Lee Smith, in response to Lee fishing for an affirmation that part of Homer's purpose was to inspire heroism in defense of civilization.
Notice the "The" there--a BIG claim.
Here come a swarm of literary theorists at you, Titus, and what is your response?
(I could care less about any typical objections they might have against your focus on manliness, but they could point us to some plausible other purposes for literature, right? Would the heart of your response be that “story-telling” is merely one part, albeit the seed-part, of literature?)
Not that it’s the first time you’ve made BIG claims on such topics…
Another way of saying this is that one of these days, we'd love to have a little book or series of essays that would stand as the Techeran Poetics.
Most of the examples, I suspect, would be movies, but what would be exciting is how Titus would tie these to his overall view of poetic art.
The latest plan for my own book project, on democracy, is one that weaves together discussions the democratic regime, soul, and poetry, beginning from Plato's starting points, going to Whitman and Tocqueville on the same subjects, and then looking at few poetic-art attempts to do right by modern democratic identity, such as in Ellison, and perhaps in Dylan and Bowie. Feels like Herbert Croly, Wilson Carey McWilliams, and Chantal Delsol need to be in there, too. (Yes, there are days where it threatens to become a Casaubon-ian enterprise!) Anyhow, I would love to cap-off things with a chapter on a few recommended paths for poetic artistry that can defend/cultivate democracy/Christian-civilization in the 21st-century—maybe Whit Stillman (whom I recently published an essay on here) would be part of that, maybe someone like Tolkien or T.S. Eliot (to help us better digest what had learned about democracy and literature from Plato, Whitman, Tocqueville, and Ellison), but most desired would be section on What Titus Says.
It’d be helpful if what that guy says were eventually collected into one place, right? A fine book to have regardless of whatever I do…
In part, that would mean his collecting his various provocative statements on the task of the 21st-century story-teller scattered across his (now impressively comprehensive!) body of film criticism, and his other writings, and tying them to an overall theory.
Let us know what you think, Titus!
I wholeheartedly second this!
I love the outline of your book, Carl, and, like Mr. McGuire, I "wholeheartedly second" your suggestions (challenge?) to Titus. Get cracking, both of you!