海角大神

In 鈥淲ind Sprints,鈥� his latest collection of essays, Joseph Epstein confesses to literary tippling 鈥� sampling bits of prose while in the supermarket line, during television commercials, or even in traffic.

鈥淲hen driving alone, I keep a magazine or book on the empty seat next to me,鈥� he admits. 鈥淚 get in a paragraph or two at a stoplight and am usually interrupted by a honking 鈥� and slightly ticked 鈥� fellow driver.鈥�

Some kinds of books are easier to quickly sample than others, Epstein adds, though he doesn鈥檛 mention whether his own prose is tipple-worthy. In his earlier books, at least, Epstein hasn鈥檛 been the kind of author one can enjoy in a quick snort. He excels at lively, instructive, and often funny essays that sometimes run to 10,000 words. The only complication in starting them is that they鈥檙e so charming and chatty that one cannot easily put them down. A reader who begins an Epstein piece behind the wheel is likely to be stalled聽 on the freeway for a very long time.

Happily, Epstein鈥檚 loyal fans now have a speedier alternative in Wind Sprints, which assembles his briefer pieces, each usually no more than a couple of pages. Most of them originally appeared in the 鈥淐asuals鈥� column of The Weekly Standard, the conservative weekly that begins each issue with a short familiar essay on a light topic.

Despite their earlier presence in The Standard, the pieces in 鈥淲ind Sprints鈥� advance no political views, unless one classifies as conservative Epstein鈥檚 general suspicion of change for change鈥檚 sake. Among the lifestyle trends raising his eyebrows are fad diets and speed-reading, multitasking and cell phones, audiovisual aids and designer coffee, e-readers and happy talk on network news. He is, alas, not even entirely happy with the concept of 鈥淲ind Sprints,鈥� which is writing 鈥� and reading 鈥� that aspires to be short and sweet.

鈥淲riters continue to produce six-hundred page novels and two-volume biographies and, in the case of the Danish writer Karl Ove Kanusgard, continuous autobiographical works running to six and more volumes," Epstein tells readers, 鈥渂ut the current tendency in serious as well as purely entertaining writing is for shorter and shorter pieces, books, even lectures and talks. The world has, if not perhaps run out of patience, considerably shortened its attention span.鈥�

Yes, the word 鈥渃urmudgeon鈥� inevitably comes to mind when reading Epstein, who seems like a smarter and eminently more literate version of Andy Rooney, the now-departed chronicler of quotidian pains and pleasures.

Like Rooney, Epstein excels at essays that simulate the cadence of conversation, a feat so seemingly artless that it鈥檚 easy to take for granted. In an essay here on great talkers 鈥� he cites Samuel Johnson, Coleridge, and Lord Macaulay among the champs 鈥� Epstein defines what makes a master of gab: 鈥渨ide knowledge, deep insight, brilliant formulation, wit, and impressive anecdotes.鈥�

Those qualities perfectly describe Epstein鈥檚 essays, which brim with easy-going erudition and humor. A former professor of English who once edited The American Scholar, Epstein appears to have read everything, and he鈥檚 famous for salting his reflections with colorful quotes from other writers. He ends up writing an essay about this predilection in 鈥淨uote-idian,鈥� one of the more amusing selections in the book. 鈥淚 write down interesting items from my reading, which I keep in small notebooks. I have more than 20 such notebooks,鈥� he writes. 鈥淚 have a weakness for quoting Paul Val茅ry, the French thinker and poet, who said so many smart things usually seasoned with a nice tang of paradox. 鈥楨verything changes but the avant-garde鈥� is a characteristic Val茅ryism, as is 鈥楾he future isn鈥檛 what it used to be.鈥欌��

Though an abiding debunker of popular fashion 鈥� he says, 鈥淚鈥檇 sooner put on Spandex shorts for a bike ride as give the Charles Eliot Norton Lectures in a Speedo鈥� 鈥� Epstein also affirms what he likes, which makes his essays something more than an exercise in iconoclasm.

Not surprisingly, Epstein鈥檚 enthusiasms tend to be traditional ones 鈥� ballpark hot dogs, the company of his pet cat, the joys of book shopping. 鈥淭he remainder of my reading life should be devoted to filling in the gaps of the great books I鈥檝e not yet read or rereading those I read with too little understanding,鈥� Epstein sighs. 鈥淵et I continue to acquire new books. At what point does bibliophilia turn into bibliomania? I fear I may have reached it.鈥�

Epstein has written more than two dozen books, and his fans dealing with their own cramped bookshelves might be tempted to wonder if they can add yet another one to their already crowded collection. Go ahead: 鈥淲ind Sprints,鈥� like Epstein鈥檚 other outings, is a keeper.

Danny Heitman, a columnist for The Advocate newspaper in Louisiana, is also an essayist for Phi Kappa Phi Forum magazine.聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽