Book · 1938 · English literature
Enemies of promise and other essays
Why people recommend it
Enemies of Promise and other essays by Cyril Connolly is a classic critical work examining the various traps, distractions, and psychological perils that threaten literary ambition and prose style. Dana Gioia discussed the book on How I Write, noting how the author's structural breakdown illustrates the different ways a writer's career can derail. Stephen Fry also referenced Cyril Connolly's contributions on multiple episodes of The Book Review, describing the author as a brilliant literary critic who founded Horizon magazine and maintained close friendships with prominent twentieth-century writers. Fry specifically highlighted the first half of the book, which categorizes different types of prose writing and analyzes the aesthetic choices confronting authors. Across these podcast conversations, literary figures and guests utilized Connolly's enduring critical insights to explore the craft of writing, prose style, and the timeless intellectual challenges involved in maintaining artistic integrity against the various pressures of the literary world.
Who recommended it
- Stephen Fry Discussed
- Dana Gioia Discussed
Stephen Fry — 2 mentions
“sir Connelly who was a great critic founded Horizon magazine and he was a friend of all the writers... he wrote a book called the enemies of Promise”
“sir Conelly who was a great critic founded Horizon magazine and he was a friend of all the writers of the Bloomsbury group and many others in the 20th century he wrote a book called the enemies of Promise in the first half of which he talks about two types of writing”
Dana Gioia — 1 mention
“his first book called enemies of Promise which each chapter shows you a different way that you'll go wrong as a writer”