I have never read West at length -- some excerpt in an anthology maybe -- so couldn't judge, and have only seen him on the state of the black union. In those engagements, it's very clear that West sees himself as a performer. I wasn't sure I understood what McLemee's problem was. so? maybe he's tapped out and much more interested in making some dough without a lot of exertion.
But more, I thought one criticism of the article was a good point, at least in principle. I don't know whether West has simply chosen to speak to people outside the academy or if he even does it well. Or, again, maybe he realized he could make a buck, like Maya Angelou's Helen Steiner Rice routine. But the point Theresa makes is important. I remember being taught that it would be a bad bad thing to write a popular book. There were certain exceptions, certain niches where it would work out, but for most people, being a popular writer as an academic was the death-knell for an academic career.
If he's popular, good on him. Why should he lose professorship? Why does he have to write books that other academics want to read?
shag
-- http://cleandraws.com Wear Clean Draws ('coz there's 5 million ways to kill a CEO)