“The Critic’s Notebook,” by the Editors

“The Critic’s Notebook,” by the Editors

Nonfiction: Modern Artisan: A World of Craft Tradition and Innovation, by Isabelle Dupuy Chavanat (Flammarion): The title  Modern Artisan: A World of Craft Tradition and Innovation is rather a minefield. Nearly every word has meanings so multifarious as to be rendered unintelligible. Does “modern” mean new or twentieth-century? Is “craft” something less than art or more? Does “innovation” suggest gradual change or something entirely novel? One d…