HYPOCRITICAL MASS

Nice two-for-one (or four-for-two, or whatever the permutation) by following Gerald Nicosia’s hypocritical letter (June 2) on Tom Disch’s mean review of Tom Clark’s miss-the-point biography of Charles Olson with Lise King Couchot’s letter on Gerald Nicosia’s scummy review of Linda Hamalian’s too-sympathetic biography of Kenneth Rexroth (anybody dizzy yet?).

Couchot’s mixed metaphor of “junk-food gossip” is apt. It’s all so catty, so hollow, and so self-serving--about as satisfying as listening to feedback on a p.a. system.

As I read on, I was afraid it was going to achieve critical mass and blow up. Now that would have been satisfying.

JOHN HATCHER, LANCASTER