[CDATA[Too long, too hard, too loose, too crass: these are the problems that abridgment seeks to fix. They are only problems to a writer’s enemies: politicians, skimmers, benefactors, and prudes. (For now we will spare critics, editors, translators, educators, and, naturally, other writers.
(For now we will spare critics, editors, translators, educators, and, naturally, other writers. ) Who, then, abridged The Obscene Bird of Night—and what were they trying to fix.