Pretentiousness: Why It Matters

Lucidly written and ultimately enlightening, Dan Fox s essay is a must-read. Largehearted Boy
Epoch-making, epic, historic, unforgettable, triumphant, age-old, inevitable, inexorable, and veritable. Pretentiousness will never look the same. Elif Batuman
Pretentiousness is impressively broad in its exploration of its subject . . . there is something deeply humane, and even touching, in Fox s unwillingness to see any form or pretentiousness as bad. . . Fox has written a hopeful and stirring defense not just of pretentiousness in all its forms, but of the value of art itself. Slate
Fox is a nimble writer, and his brief book includes surprisingly rich detours through history, philosophy, criticism, literature, Withnail and I and more besides... Fox is attuned to the way tastes feel important because of everything that goes into them -- class, education, upbringing -- making them the embodiment of where we were from, and where we want to be.
New York Times Sunday Book Review
[Fox] elucidates in an intelligent and conversational style the many complex layers of aesthetic, class and social discomfort that often arise in the face of pretentiousness. Chicago Tribune
This shrewd book argues that pretentiousness is central to our progress and our individuality. The Guardian
This thoughtful essay will be balm to those who dare to be elitist, to snub artistic consensus. Toronto Star
One of this book s delights is its subtle and witty handling of the relevant etymologies. . . . This engaging study is at its most persuasive when it insists that pretentiousness and the permissions it gives the licence to try new experiences, to experiment with ideas, to see if you want to live your life another way is a vehicle not just for social vitality, but for individual freedom. Times Literary Supplement (UK), Pretentious, moi?
If you read only one part of this bracing, lively, espresso shot of a book, I d probably choose the final chapter. But there s so much good stuff in this essay: insights about art, fashion, acting, music, film, culture, as well as urban and small-town life. I read it in one sitting and it spoke to so much of my life experience that it felt like I d been waiting for it for years. The Millions
...what Fox did with this little book is brilliant. It isn t looking down on anybody, rather it s Fox questioning why we re so hellbent on looking down on intelligence, on loving great art, and why Anti-intellectualism seems to be so in fashion when that in itself is really its own brand of pretentiousness. Vol. 1 Brooklyn
Fox s redemption of pretentiousness is a persuasive one, in terms of drawing out its positive creative potential, and revealing the prejudice which often underlies accusations of pretension. Minor Literatures
More than being part of an acceptable creative act, for Fox pretentiousness is integral as an engine of self-creation and we should all be more forgiving of it, at least sometimes. Flash Art
In Pretentiousness, British author Dan Fox writes an unpretentious and effective overview of the role of pretense in the arts. . . . Fox s nonjudgmental tact demonstrates sensitivity to readers of all stripes. Brazos Bookstore
Witty and insightful . . . Knowing what it is like to be someone else is an essential part not just of cultural creation but of empathy itself. Not being ourselves is, as Fox shows, what it means to be human. Intelligent Life, UK
Brief and elegantly righteous. The Guardian, UK
Fox s book is an elegant and convincing defense. Vulture
In this wide-ranging study, Fox, the editor of Frieze, reclaims pretentiousness as a generative force in contemporary art. Flavorwire
Although the title is sure to elicit some knee-jerk reactions, Fox is an even-handed and likable guide on this journey. His ostensible defense of pretentiousness is simply a reminder that we re all figuring it out as we go. The Rumpus
Fox is talking about social mobility: how a working-class boy who appreciates the avant garde might well be improving his life. 'We should encourage these people, ' says Fox, 'not pillory them as pretentious.' Monocle
We level charges of pretension at what violates our tribal sense of normalityas if normal were a definable thing, and as if pretentious art weren t hugely popular. The Rumpus
Dan Fox s Pretentiousness: Why It Matters is as provocative and witty as its title. The New Statesman
Writing in a conversational voice that s flexible enough to lead discussions of Greek theater and Victorian satire, as well as to reflect on his own middle-class upbringing, Fox s encyclopedic knowledge of cultural offerings high and low allows him to ponder what the concept of pretentiousness tells us about the relationship between art and power and the spaces where they collide. Heavy Feather Review
[Pretentiousness provides] a compelling example of. . . the perverse move of taking a pejorative term and reclaiming it as praise March Sadness
A celebration of the weird, the challenging, the ambitious, and everything that makes art, music, pop culture, and life interesting. Porter Square Books, Staff Picks
Can it be a coincidence that my favourite hardcore album of 2016 to date is titled Poser, while my favourite book of 2016 to date is titled Pretentiousness? . . . . In their own ways, however, both harness the social power of their chosen word. The Quietus

Reading Fox is like watching a gymnast perform a floor routine. He vaults and tumbles ideas and arguments, seamlessly incorporating criticism, pop culture, and stories from his own life, and sticks every landing. --Los Angeles Review of Books, Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better

Fox also cites the work of George Orwell and Susan Sontag repeatedly, and in this book he has written an intellectually rigorous study of culture that echoes the scope of their work. His argument is convincing, and it may leave readers with a newfound respect for the term that gives his book its title. --Star Tribune

In Pretentiousness: Why It Matters, Fox... offers a defense of acting like someone you're not. It's the way we cross boundaries and discover new lands. --New York Post, Gwyneth's Pretentiousness May Be a Good Thing After All

Lucidly written and ultimately enlightening, Dan Fox's essay is a must-read. --Largehearted Boy

Epoch-making, epic, historic, unforgettable, triumphant, age-old, inevitable, inexorable, and veritable. Pretentiousness will never look the same. -Elif Batuman

Pretentiousness is impressively broad in its exploration of its subject . . . there is something deeply humane, and even touching, in Fox's unwillingness to see any form or pretentiousness as bad. . . Fox has written a hopeful and stirring defense not just of pretentiousness in all its forms, but of the value of art itself. --Slate

Fox is a nimble writer, and his brief book includes surprisingly rich detours through history, philosophy, criticism, literature, 'Withnail and I' and more besides... Fox is attuned to the way tastes feel important because of everything that goes into them -- class, education, upbringing -- making them the embodiment of where we were from, and where we want to be. --
New York Times Sunday Book Review

[Fox] elucidates in an intelligent and conversational style the many complex layers of aesthetic, class and social discomfort that often arise in the face of pretentiousness. --Chicago Tribune

This shrewd book argues that pretentiousness is central to our progress and our individuality. --The Guardian

This thoughtful essay will be balm to those who dare to be elitist, to snub artistic consensus. --Toronto Star

One of this book's delights is its subtle and witty handling of the relevant etymologies. . . . This engaging study is at its most persuasive when it insists that pretentiousness and the permissions it gives - the licence to try new experiences, to experiment with ideas, to see if you want to live your life another way - is a vehicle not just for social vitality, but for individual freedom. --Times Literary Supplement (UK), Pretentious, moi?

If you read only one part of this bracing, lively, espresso shot of a book, I'd probably choose the final chapter. But there's so much good stuff in this essay: insights about art, fashion, acting, music, film, culture, as well as urban and small-town life. I read it in one sitting and it spoke to so much of my life experience that it felt like I'd been waiting for it for years. --The Millions

.. .what Fox did with this little book is brilliant. It isn't looking down on anybody, rather it's Fox questioning why we're so hellbent on looking down on intelligence, on loving great art, and why 'Anti-intellectualism' seems to be so in fashion when that in itself is really its own brand of pretentiousness. --Vol. 1 Brooklyn

Fox's redemption of pretentiousness is a persuasive one, in terms of drawing out its positive creative potential, and revealing the prejudice which often underlies accusations of pretension. --Minor Literatures

More than being part of an acceptable creative act, for Fox pretentiousness is integral as an engine of self-creation -- and we should all be more forgiving of it, at least sometimes. --Flash Art

In Pretentiousness, British author Dan Fox writes an unpretentious and effective overview of the role of pretense in the arts. . . . Fox's nonjudgmental tact demonstrates sensitivity to readers of all stripes. --Brazos Bookstore

Witty and insightful . . . Knowing what it is like to be someone else is an essential part not just of cultural creation but of empathy itself. Not being ourselves is, as Fox shows, what it means to be human. --Intelligent Life, UK

Brief and elegantly righteous. --The Guardian, UK

Fox's book is an elegant and convincing defense.... --Vulture

In this wide-ranging study, Fox, the editor of Frieze, reclaims pretentiousness as a generative force in contemporary art. --Flavorwire

Although the title is sure to elicit some knee-jerk reactions, Fox is an even-handed and likable guide on this journey. His ostensible defense of pretentiousness is simply a reminder that we're all figuring it out as we go. --The Rumpus

Fox is talking about social mobility: how a working-class boy who appreciates the avant garde might well be improving his life. 'We should encourage these people, ' says Fox, 'not pillory them as pretentious.' --Monocle

We level charges of pretension at what violates our tribal sense of normality--as if 'normal' were a definable thing, and as if pretentious art weren't hugely popular. --The Rumpus

Dan Fox's Pretentiousness: Why It Matters is as provocative and witty as its title. --The New Statesman

Writing in a conversational voice that's flexible enough to lead discussions of Greek theater and Victorian satire, as well as to reflect on his own middle-class upbringing, Fox's encyclopedic knowledge of cultural offerings high and low allows him to ponder what the concept of pretentiousness tells us about the relationship between art and power and the spaces where they collide. --Heavy Feather Review

[Pretentiousness provides] a compelling example of. . . the perverse move of taking a pejorative term and reclaiming it as praise --March Sadness

A celebration of the weird, the challenging, the ambitious, and everything that makes art, music, pop culture, and life interesting. --Porter Square Books, Staff Picks

Can it be a coincidence that my favourite hardcore album of 2016 to date is titled Poser, while my favourite book of 2016 to date is titled Pretentiousness? . . . . In their own ways, however, both harness the social power of their chosen word. --The Quietus