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Title: Poethics and Other Strategies of Law and Literature by Richard H. Weisberg ISBN: 0-231-07454-9 Publisher: Columbia University Press Pub. Date: 15 October, 1992 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $53.00

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Average Customer Rating: 2.5 (2 reviews)

Rating: 1
Summary: Pedantic, Self Indulgent, and many times just plain Wrong
Comment: Richard Weisberg's Poethics book seems like a great starting point for exploring law and literature. In fact, it should be the very LAST thing you read. Weisberg cares so much about literature that he disdains the reader. His views on such topics as Billy Budd, Sailor and The Merchant of Venice remind me of people who get high or drunk and then think that their cutesy arguments are somehow noble. Weisberg likes to use 10-cent words where simplicity would be more effective. Weisberg rightly creates a foundation for each of his arguments, but when those arguments fail to pan out, he relies on flimsy spur of the moment theories and his forte, big words that he understands only superficially (it's clear that the man is educated, its also clear he's not educated in language). For example, Weisberg declares decades of scholarship void as he announces that John Claggart is the christ-figure because of the initials J.C. and because the tale was recounted in the News of the Mediterranean. Its almost like Weisberg didn't read the bible, forgot about the meaning of martyrdom and confused the role of the savior with that of the betrayer. Actually, Weisberg's entire book is filled with academic sounding idiocies. Weisberg takes these wacky positions just to sell books. In his class he is unable to defend these positions against the modest queries of students. Weisberg, in the world of law and literature, is the dumb kid on the block who whines to his mom that the other kids won't play with him. Then the dumb kid's mom complains to the other neighborhood moms who make their kids play with the dumb kid. So you have the dumb kid muddying up your games, but the smart kids know to NOT pay him any heed. Weisberg's book is about a giant ego crunch. You should only read this book after to you looked into what Law and Literature is really about. Then you can read the laughable babblings of Prof. Weisberg.

Rating: 4
Summary: Excellent! - an extremely useful and absorbing book
Comment: as a student interested in Law & Literature I found Poethics an approachable, interesting, and understandable introduction into the subject. While Weisberg's position on law and literature is fairly evident he does not continually moralize or hit you over the head with it. His analysis of particular texts are always consistent with his overall propositions, adding to the books readability. I found his commentary on other writers in the field useful and evenhanded. This book broadened my thinking and deepened my understanding on the subject. Well worth the read.