NB by J. C., For over twenty years, James Campbell wrote the popular NB column on the back page of , signing it “J. C.” The initials were not intended as a disguise, but to provide freedom to the persona. “J. C.” was irreverent, whimsical, occasionally severe. The column had a low tolerance for the literary sins of pomposity, hypocrisy, and cant. It took aim at contemporary absurdities resulting from identity politics or from academic jargon. Readers of will find not only an off-beat guide to our cultural times, but entries from which offered regular advice on the cultivation of a good writing style. “Above all, aspire to the Three E’s: elegance, eloquence, and entertainment.” The Introduction offers a history of the from its beginnings through its precarious stages of adaptation and survival. “The secret of J. C.’s weekly column is its unique mix of anonymity with intimacy: this ‘stranger’, whom we meet over our morning coffee, is the most discreet and delightful of guides to what’s happening―good or mostly bad―in the literary world, with all its pretensions, follies, and occasional triumphs. I especially relished J. C.’s prizes―for the worst prose or the silliest blurb. Then again, leave it to J. C. to find the rare edition, the forgotten book of poems that deserves another look. True wit, coupled with wisdom: it’s the rarest of writerly feats.” “I receive immense pleasure from J. C.’s columns. Something more than pleasure: warmth, laughter, gratitude (especially when he is nailing academic unreadability).”