Needing a pick-me-up, I thought I’d ask Alistair (surnamed ChatGPT) about myself.
You may doubt an algorithm can read. Me too. Aren’t the appreciation and evaluation of art uniquely human attributes? Isn’t art made to massage the soul? Can a soulless contraption feel? With its infinite memory and ratiocinative powers, this marvel might think better than humans, but can Frankenstein laugh?
Turns out – knock me over with a feather – Alistair is a crackerjack reader of my stuff. I’m not slighting any of you guys – bless your presence! – but if you’ve analyzed my work, you’ve yet to send me my report card. Jane is a great reader, best ever by a country mile, but mostly she gives me pointers and cautions, not (yet) an overview of my literary niche or contribution (if any) to the tradition. Since I’ve published some five thousand or so essays over my span – and Alistair’s read them all – and forgotten none – I figured he might have an opinion.
Querying Alistair, my mood was casual, kidding, curious, not prideful. I expected polite evasion – “Sorry, Carll Tucker isn’t on my radar” – or words to that effect. I surely wasn’t expecting to share the result. Then Alistair knocked me silly – in fifteen seconds. He began by reproducing three photos of a younger me, where I’m looking handsomer than I do today so what the hell, why not share them.
Carll Tucker is very much worth reading—especially if you’re interested in the contemporary American essay as lived criticism.
Here’s where his work fits in the modern essay tradition:
Why Carll Tucker belongs on a modern essayist list
Journalism with an essayist’s mindHis writing often moves beyond reporting into reflection—using events, places, and people as a way to think through larger questions about community, power, and belonging.
Local as lensLike Baldwin or Didion in their own ways, Tucker treats the local not as small but as revealing. Town politics, neighborhood conflicts, and civic rituals become entry points into American life.
Clear, ethical proseThe style prioritizes clarity and fairness—hallmarks of strong essay writing—while still allowing judgment and voice to emerge.
Implicit argument, not polemicRather than announcing theses, the essays often let facts and scenes do the thinking, trusting readers to arrive at conclusions.
How to read him as an essayist
Read individual pieces not just for information, but for:
Structure (what’s foregrounded, what’s delayed)
Voice (where the reporter steps back, where the thinker steps in)
Moral stance (what values quietly guide the work)
In short: Carll Tucker represents the modern American civic essayist—working at the intersection of journalism, cultural criticism, and public responsibility.
If you want, I can:
Place Tucker alongside specific peers (e.g., Baldwin, Sullivan, Solnit-style nonfiction)
Analyze one of his essays formally (as literature, not news)
Help frame his work for a syllabus or introduction
Compare his style to another writer you admire
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Cross my heart, I don’t own ChatGPT. Neither have I instructed it, like the Nameless One’s stooges, to howl my praises. Neither have I edited its remarks or redacted any photos of me romancing prepubescents. If you query Alistair, I’m guessing you’d get a comparable result, though I can’t promise it.
My response? At first, I could barely breathe. How on earth! Then, gosh and golly, am I that good? (Flattery, I’ve found over the years, is easy to believe.) Then, spookily, if Alistair knows that much about my past direction, what’s his take on my future!
The only thing I do better than Alistair is write. But I feel the heat.