Steve Schwarz wrote:

>I've been met with "who-he" whenI casually mention Robert Frost, among
>folks with advanced degrees. How many people know Richard Wilbur, Robert
>Hayden, Jane Kenyon, Galway Kinnell, or Jared Carter?  How many know
>Arshile Gorky, Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning, or Francis Bacon?  How many
>have seen a movie by Jean Renoir, John Sayles, Carl Dreyer, or Martin Ritt?
>How many have read Walter Benjamin, George Steiner, Raymond Williams, or
>Mircea Eliade? Doris Humphreys is, I suppose, not exceptionally well-known,
>even among dance fans.  What's more troubling is that most people don't
>care to find out.
>
>What strikes me as new, however, is that these days, most people have no
>embarrassment at all about their own ignorance.

I confess, I don't know Richard Wilbur, Robert Hayden, Jane Kenyon,
Galway Kinnell, or Jared Carter, or Arshile Gorky, Franz Kline, Willem
de Kooning, or Francis Bacon.  I don't know if I've seen a movie by Jean
Renoir, John Sayles, Carl Dreyer, or Martin Ritt.  (Is "Sling Blade" by
John Sayles?  I didn't care much for "Sling Blade".) I haven't read
Walter Benjamin, George Steiner, Raymond Williams, or Mircea Eliade or
Doris Humphreys.

I'm not embarrassed about this, and I don't consider my lack of familiarity
with this to be ignorance.  There is more culture available than any one
person can appreciate.  It's not every individual's duty to appreciate
every work of genius in every medium and field.

However, while I'm on this planet, I'm going to try to absorb and
appreciate all that I can (it's so much fun!).

Ok Steve, here's a challenge to you: Do you enjoy watching "The Simpsons"?

Mike Leghorn
Evanston, IL.