perspective criticism: the BOOK 
S.B.L. Book Review Session on “Perspective Criticism” (part 8): Response to Yamasaki’s Response
(0)by FRANCIS LANDY I really profited from Gary’s response to my response. It showed me where we differ, and where I have misunderstood him. I think he is right, or at least partially right, in his criticism of my reading of the climactic moment in the story of the Akedah, in which the narrator/narrative focuses… Read More ›
S.B.L. Book Review Session on “Perspective Criticism” (part 7): Response to Yamasaki’s Response
by STEVE BLACK I am beginning to think that I am not sure that I find Yamasaki’s concept of “point of view character” to be useful. I prefer simply to think of “point of view” rather than “point of view character.” In essence, point of view is the point of entry that the narrator gives to… Read More ›
S.B.L. Book Review Session on “Perspective Criticism” (part 6): Response to Whitlock Review
by GARY YAMASAKI Matt’s review of Perspective Criticism provides a relatively rare perspective, that of a biblical scholar who is also a literary critic trained in the study of the modern novel. Such a perspective is most welcomed in the discussion of point-of-view crafting, a topic right in the wheelhouse of literary critics, but so foreign… Read More ›
S.B.L. Book Review Session on “Perspective Criticism” (part 5)
by MATTHEW WHITLOCK It is appropriate to respond to Gary’s work with a quote from the crafter-of-point-of view-in-chief, Marcel Proust: “Only by art can we emerge from ourselves, can we know what another sees of this universe that is not the same as ours and whose landscapes would have remained as unknown to us as… Read More ›
S.B.L. Book Review Session of “Perspective Criticism” (part 4): Response to Black Critique
by GARY YAMASAKI Steve Black’s review of Perspective Criticism reflects a keen grasp of the fact that the essence of point of view relates to the perspective through which readers are led to experience the events described. This is nowhere more evident than in his treatment of the Mark 1 account of Jesus’ baptism, where Steve… Read More ›
S.B.L. Book Review Session on “Perspective Criticism” (part 3)
by STEVE BLACK Gary Yamasaki’s Perspective Criticism uses “point-of-view analysis” as a means to clarify puzzling passages in the Bible. Through point of view, the reader experiences characters as remote or close. If they are viewed as close, then they are also viewed sympathetically, and this can result in a merger of sorts between reader… Read More ›
S.B.L. Book Review Session on “Perspective Criticism” (part 2): Response to Landy’s Critique
by GARY YAMASAKI Francis Landy’s contribution brings to this discussion of point-of-view crafting a wealth of expertise in the study of Hebrew narrative, an expertise resulting in some helpful correctives to my treatment of passages of the Hebrew Scriptures. However, other points on which he considers my findings “extremely odd” or “mystifying” I believe arise from… Read More ›
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE Book Review Session on “Perspective Criticism” (part 1)
by FRANCIS LANDY Perspective Criticism is a wonderfully enjoyable book, which shows us how the manipulation of the point of view of the reader facilitates identification or dissociation from characters, and thus conditions our emotional and evaluative response. Gary intersperses discussions of films, in which point of view is the result of the combination of… Read More ›
NEW BOOK on “Perspective Criticism”
Now available from Cascade Books, Perspective Criticism: Point of View and Evaluative Guidance in Biblical Narrative, a full-length treatment of this methodology of point-of-view analysis. This book is designed as an introduction to analyzing point-of-view crafting in biblical narratives, setting out the full range of storytelling devices used in the manipulation of point of view. One… Read More ›
PERSPECTIVE CRITICISM 