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First, read Blake-william Blake (1757-1827), poet, engraver, visionary, genius. The father of modern criticism-true criticism-who is now largely ignored. For wholly unsurprising-and dishonorable-reasons. I quote: 1. Man has no Body distinct from his Soul; for that calld Body is a portion of Soul discerned by the five Senses, the chief inlets of Soul in this age. 2. Energy is the only life, and is from the Body; and Reason is the bound or outward circumference of Energy. 3. Energy is Eternal Delight.
What Should Would-Be Critics Do About Criticism? Why cannot the Ear be closed to its own destruction? -William Blake
That William Blake. These maxims come from his critical masterpiece, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1790-1793). Look him up; it's what scholars do. By the way, scholarship is not the enemy of criticism. But it is the cowardly redoubt of bad writers. Lots of them.
II Refuse to let phony criticism go by unnoticed-in writing, in speech, anywhere. Call it out, point to it, castigate it. Make fun of it. Don't take jargon for an answer. "Opposition is true Friendship." Blake said that too.
Ill Write nothing that isn't useful or beautiful. (I'm cribbing William Morris. ) How will you know if it's useful? Ask yourself these questions. Does it give you pleasure to have the ideas that you intend to write down. Did the having of those ideas increase your ability to give and receive pleasureP If the answer is no, then you're in trouble. Stop what you're doing. Right now. How will you know if it's beautiful? If you have to ask, it's probably too late. For you. Still, if you have trouble telling the difference between something that's ugly and something that's not, read Blake. That's why he's here: "Prudence is a rich ugly old maid courted by Incapacity."
IV Encourage all the people you like and respect to write less, maybe stop writing altogether. Writing is like smoking; it's a known health risk. Writing criticism-the kind most critics write-is like smoking unfiltered cigarettes. You ought to quit. And not just for yourself. Second-hand criticism is lethal, just like second-hand smoke. Look at all the harm it does to students, trapped in those unventilated classrooms. They're dying in there. If you don't believe me, ask one of them.