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The Joy of Researching Bad Press
by Laura Ward

Laura Ward is the author of Bad Press: The Worst Critical Reviews Ever!, which takes a glimpse into the history of literary, theatrical, artistic, and general entertainment criticism. Ward has worked for many years in the publishing industry in England -- and still nurtures a shamefaced, but unflagging, enthusiasm for the bad press over the good.

When the book is finally published and everyone along the way (editor, designer, sales and publicity, the publishers themselves) has played his or her part with aplomb, the printed volume, tucked up in its glossy jacket, looks a mighty fine thing. Out there in the world, with a life of its own, it looks as though it could have come together all of its own accord. Oh, how deceptive -- wonderfully so.

I forget now that the big letters dangling in front of me and blurring my vision at the outset spell "Where to begin?" The false starts, excursions up winding lanes and gloomy alleyways of no return, have become a dim and distant memory.

There were so many shelves of books, old and new, back issues of magazines, newspapers and journals -- not to mention the Internet! And opinions galore in each and every direction.

Nonetheless, fancying myself as a latter-day Sherlock Holmes, I doggedly followed up the "clues" wherever and whenever they presented themselves. Some names were obvious "leads" -- Oscar Wilde, Mark Twain, Dorothy Parker and other great literary wits, past and present. Others were rich nuggets to be gleaned via more circuitous routes, but no less funny -- or wicked -- for all that. Others still came straight from the "horse's mouth," as it were, the rewards of a casual inquiry.

As the piles of quotes, snippets, and full-blown reviews grew, it seemed the contents might expand to fill 2,000 pages, not 200 or so. So out came that lethal weapon, the red pen. But what criteria to apply? Answer: personal preference, of course, a.k.a. "whatever tickles my fancy." Which, more often than not, meant that which gave me the heartiest chuckle of the day.

To my mind, this was a pleasant way to while away the hours. What better way to spend the cold, dark days of a long fall and winter than tucked up in the basement of a library where the oldest residents snore in their leather armchairs and the radiators clank and groan? Some friends shuddered at the prospect; for me, it was paradise itself. And each new discovery seemed to merit a cry of "Eureka!"

Yet, toward the end, I thought either that I'd begun to lose my sense of humor, or that -- horror! -- the pieces selected weren't funny or nasty enough.

But, no, it's all right, I've just picked up the book again. I'm still laughing. To quote a line from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: "What is the use of a book," thought Alice, "without pictures or conversation?" Yet who needs images or dialogue with all of the bedfellows sitting snugly between these two covers?

Bad Press: The Worst Critical Reviews Ever!

Further Reading:

• BookSense.com's Daily Pick review of Bad Press
• Jon Hein
• Michael Azerad
• Michela Wrong

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