Someone here recommended Lapham's podcast, The World in Time, the last time he came up.
It's amazing! Truly someone out of a different age.
This is a total tangent, but I am amazed by the image at the top of the article. I did not know until today that theatrical sets were ever first designed as models or dioramas, and that one is especially beautiful. I have now embarked on a set design model box research expedition.
Robertson Davies, and E. Anne Proulx used this as a vignette in writing about small town newspaper editors.
The title is explained way down:
> Lewis was fond of saying that “all good editors are pirates”—they steal from everyone
The line between an inspiration and plagiarism is perhaps sometimes blurry but there's definitely a line.
But you have to steal something, themes at least if you want to create a piece in a style.
Trying composing a blues song without any "stealing".
Here are a few of Lewis Lapham's obituaries
Harpers: https://harpers.org/2024/07/remembering-lewis-lapham/ Lapham's Quarterly: https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/lewis-h-lapham-1... LitHub: https://lithub.com/on-the-remarkable-legacy-of-lewis-lapham/