During a conversation tonight about anthologies ("Anthologics," a future
entry), somebody mentioned Cross-Talk in Comp Theory and, you guessed it,
the Bartholomae-Elbow debate. There are others, but I don’t know them (or
I do, but I don’t want to disturb sleeping giants). I should know them,
list them. But for now I’m casually proposing a collection made up of the
close-handed fisticuffs, an all-time greats in the knock-down-drag-outs of RC
scholarship. Each conflict would be framed as a round with notes
explaining the vitriol’s sources, escalations of fired-up writing, and so on. A
celebration of irreconcilability and over-my-dead-body investments in method,
curriculum and the discipline. Who wouldn’t order a copy of such a thing?