Author Description

In An Appearance On The Dick Cavett Show In 1980, The Critic Mary Mccarthy Glibly Remarked That Every Word Author Lillian Hellman Wrote Was A Lie, Including 'and' And 'the.' Hellman Immediately Filed A Libel Suit, Charging That Mccarthy's Comment Was Not A Legitimate Conversation On Public Issues But An Attack On Her Reputation. This Intriguing Book Offers A Many-faceted Examination Of Hellman's Infamous Suit And Explores What It Tells Us About Tensions Between Privacy And Self-expression, Freedom And Restraint In Public Language, And What Can And Cannot Be Said In Public In America. Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- I. Libel And Life- Writing -- Ii. Language Lessons -- Iii. Words Of Love -- Iv. Choice Words And Political Dramas -- V. Criticism Versus Libel -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Index Alan Ackerman. Bibliographic Level Mode Of Issuance: Monograph Includes Bibliographical References (p. 305-341) And Index. English