More on the "Author-Critic Feud"

In an article at Salon.com, Mary Elizabeth Williams reminds us that, while author "tweet tantrums" may be the new trend, they're really nothing more than the old sport of critic bashing appearing in a new format. Williams reminds us of the time Dave Eggers called NYT reporter David Kirkpatrick's profile of him "a snippety little thing full of sneering and suspicion." There's also the time Stanley Crouch slapped critic Dale Peck in the face after Peck gave Crouch's Don't the Moon Look Lonesome a negative review. If actual violence is the alternative, perhaps tweet tantrums aren't so bad after all.