Ronald Sharp discusses friendship and culture from antiquity into the modern world. He believes a resurgence of interest in friendship and its treatment in literature has occurred and relates some reasons; and he looks at different models of friendship. Sharp states that friendship suffered in the late twentieth century due to various factors, including population mobility, loss of ritual, self-centered authenticity, and fear of public intimacy. He describes differences in friendship in men and women, and how they can learn from each other. He considers the myriad ways that people look for friendship, and how one can measure the health of a friendship.
At the time of the interview, Sharp, a Fellow at the National Humanities Center (1986-87), was professor of English at Kenyon College.
This edition of Soundings was conducted by Wayne J. Pond.
