Richard Howard said that he became a writer to justify being a reader, and he regretted that so many would-be writers read so little. The walls of his apartment were almost completely covered in books, one indication among many that his was a life suffused with literature. However, Howard would have argued that he was no different from anyone else, since we all see the world mediated through language. He differed only in being more conscious of the way we use texts to make sense of the world and in having so many different texts at his disposal. To complain that Howard was bookish is to complain that he brought to his work the rich resources of his deep and diverse culture; yet he took after Henry James – one of his most powerful models – in that his erudition was complimented by what…

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Citation: Bergman, David. "Richard Howard". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 March 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2230, accessed 27 July 2024.]

2230 Richard Howard 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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