Why do critics so slavishly look for this attribute in a work?

I suppose it's a cheap way to assure the reader that the critic has
read everything about the subject.

It's like "full disclosure". Half the time you see "full disclosure"
in a review or op-ed, the writer is just boasting about his
connections, not warning the reader about a possible conflict of
interest. (Full disclosu I write reviews for the Wall Street
Journal


all the best -- Dan Ford
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