"Through his technique of listening to literature, William H. Pritchard has educated generations of loyal students in all aspects of what he simply calls 'good reading and writing.' How fortunate then for readers-at-large to have the same access to the sounds gleaned from canonical works from Shakespeare to the Modernists, including music itself. In his inimitable style—brilliant, personable, witty, versatile and, sometimes, cantankerous—he makes literature the first basis of understanding life."
— Paula Deitz, Editor, The Hudson Review
"William Pritchard has two gifts essential to a great critic. First, he has read everything. Second, he is always eager to be surprised, and to revise his opinions accordingly. He has a third gift, however, his solid anchorage in another art form. He has refined his ear for music in tune with his love for poetry and prose. Pritchard is a great critic with perfect pitch."
—Christopher Benfey, author of A Summer of Hummingbirds
Ear Training includes over thirty of William H. Pritchard’s favorite essays and reviews, as well as “Letters to His Students,” written during the Covid semester of his teaching. They exhibit his approach to reading, which he calls “ear training.” On subjects from John Updike to Emily Dickinson to Frank Sinatra to the soap opera The Young and the Restless, these pieces encourage readers to consider how the writing under review actually sounds and how that leads to a sense of play in reading.
