Dalrymple’s short new essay for the City Journal, part of the magazine’s “Eye on the News” feature, is another great example of his ability to glean meaning from seemingly banal events.
Read the essay here
The Skeptical Doctor
Dedicated to the work of Theodore Dalrymple
If your site is going to work on its own rather than be a mega index, then you need to actually write something. It doesn’t have to be a précis of the linked article but some text that identifies it.
From a selfish point of view I like the idea of the site being a good search resource. What was the essay that talked about X.
Don’t take this the wrong way. I’m really pleased you’ve created this site and by and large you have done exactly what I suggest anyway.
TDK, thanks very much for the feedback. May I ask what you mean by “work on its own”?
We created the website to promote the work and interesting life of Dalrymple, who does not have an official website that would otherwise perform that function. The blog portion of the website was intended mostly as an index, so that people could find all of his essays in one convenient place, and also to distribute Dalrymple-related material and information that was previously unavailable on the internet, such as the speeches we have posted and other material soon forthcoming.
The more detailed our summary of each essay, the more people start to read us instead of Dalrymple, and we want people to read Dalrymple. On the other hand, if we provide more detail of his arguments, we foster discussion of those issues on our blog, which might indirectly champion the man and his work. It’s a balance, and maybe we’re overestimating our ability to steal his thunder, but we’re also trying to avoid self-promotion. If we wanted to promote ourselves, we would focus on our own opinions, but then we would be just like every other blog out there.
“we’re also trying to avoid self-promotion.”
Very refreshing. The site is good as it is.