A sermon preached to the choir, this is not a good starting-point for those unfamiliar with Rich and her views—but it may be...
An uneven collection of occasional pieces by one of America’s foremost poets.
For better or worse, Rich (Midnight Salvage, 1997, etc.) has reached a level of literary acclaim that allows her to publish anything she chooses. This collection spans three decades and consists primarily of papers and interviews given in academic settings. Interestingly enough, the strongest piece (“When We Dead Awaken”) is the oldest; originally presented to an MLA forum in 1971, it explores the consequences of being a female poet in a “white, patriarchal society.” As she puts it, “Until we can understand the assumptions in which we are drenched we cannot know ourselves.” In discussing Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own, Rich senses a deep frustration: “It is the tone of a woman determined not to appear angry, who is willing herself to be calm, detached, and even charming in a roomful of men where things have been said which are attacks on her very integrity.” If there is one thing that Rich has abandoned, it’s a desire to please “the patriarchal hierarchy,” and (in her best pre-1989 idiom) she speaks throughout of the “damage” wrought by the advancement of “North American capitalism.” As the collection progresses, the focus shifts from the plight of women generally to the exploitation of the “powerless” throughout history (predominantly represented here, with no apparent irony, by the Sandinistas). Rich calls for the return of a poetry that is politically engaged: “I have deplored the retreat into the personal as a current fetish of mass-market culture.” If, at the dawn of the 21st century, it is easy to scoff at such sentiments, it must be admitted that there is a touching (and very American) optimism here all the same.
A sermon preached to the choir, this is not a good starting-point for those unfamiliar with Rich and her views—but it may be of some interest to those already attuned to her work.Pub Date: April 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-393-05045-9
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2001
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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