<p>well, BusinessGuy, maybe you object to Graham’s essay because you align yourself with the tradition of rhetoric that he traces. He explains quite well, I think, how that tradition evolved into lit crit. And he didn’t say there was no point to rhetoric – just that it wasn’t an “essay.” An “essay” is an exploration, not an argument. (As in, “how do I know what I think until I see what I say.”)
I spent part of my summer in conference with a range of successful writers, and I’d definitely score Graham’s essay with the best of what they offered at the writer’s conference. But we’re not lawyers.</p>