"Sir..." said Dr. Johnson

New Zealand Listener, Volume 13, Issue 336, 30 November 1945, Page 12

"Sir..." said Dr. Johnson

b incdaee! REID, who recently gave a talk on Dr. Samuel Johnson, from 1YA, is one of our very best radio speakers in this type of subject. His argument as a whole is carefully worked out, the individual sentences nicely balanced, and his phrases made lively by a discriminating choice of words. Al this is prob. ably the result of hard work in preparation, but when he comes to the microphone the hard work is forgotten and a charming informality appears. His voice, which is becoming ever more reminiscent of the voice of one of our most eminent ecclesiastical speakers; has still not enough evenness of intonation for perfect broadcasting, but this will probably come. In the meantime ore enjoys Mr. Reid’s individuality with its flicks of irony and subtly insinuated provocations which make one sit up and listen and often wish to argue. In dealing with Dr, Johnson, who was listed in the programme as a "Notable British Wit," the speaker might have taken the easier way and dealt with his subject merely as a wit. There is plenty of material here and it is a popular conception. Instead of this he went to some trouble to give a well-rounded picture of the man, stressing his robust and forthright pugnacity, his learning and his generosity, — and above all the vigorous moral quali-_ties-all the factors which, added to his wit, gave him his outstanding place among the literary men of his time, and his permanent place in the affections of Englishmen.