A revelatory, reflective, and gracefully drawn homage to a consummate group of poetic mentors.
Franklin reflects on the poets who inspired his creative spirit in this collection of essays.
Split into two sections, the book first presents essays on the lives and work of editor and author William Maxwell, poets Marie Ponsot and Robert Fitzgerald (in whose memory he dedicates the book), and dancer and choreographer Erick Hawkins. As an aspiring poet struggling with mild dyslexia, Franklin says that he absorbed the masterful work of these artists while learning to be an expressive artist himself. He describes Ponsot as a charismatic presence exuding a “gentle authority” throughout her poetry workshops and classes. Her work is celebrated here alongside that of Maxwell and Hawkins, both of whom Franklin initially met through his parents and went on to befriend in adulthood. Maxwell, displaying a “tough and flinty” side, became a close friend, and the men shared a deep connection; Franklin discusses at length his affinity for Maxwell’s homoerotic novel about male adolescence, The Folded Leaf (1945). In a portrait of Elizabeth Bishop, the author surmises her creative “late-in-life flowering” was due to the attentions of a younger female lover. Franklin shares amusing anecdotes about Bishop and Fitzgerald, both mentors of his at Harvard University (Franklin graduated in 1975), highlighting their charming temperaments and Fitzgerald’s masterful prosody. The second section, split into three illuminating essays, showcases the author’s vulnerability and growth in the context of his relationship with the work of Robert Lowell. Lowell was a prominent poet and Harvard instructor during the author’s undergraduate years, and Franklin charts the ways his ambivalence and antipathy toward Lowell and his work changed over time. Franklin’s initial assessment of Lowell’s poetry, especially verses focusing on his father, found it to contain unforgivable “reptilian cruelty,” but he offers a mature reappraisal in the moving “Coming to Terms with Lowell,” the book’s most resonant piece.
The author’s prose is thoughtful and meditative throughout this fond artistic retrospective. His portraits of other poets are rendered crisply and with clear admiration for their disparate backgrounds and creative processes. Franklin is careful not to deify his subjects. He acknowledges that “none were saints” and that, in fact, their flaws and limitations are part of what the author loves about them and their work. The book is elevated by discussions of class, specifically Franklin’s own privileged background, which “had granted access to several of the exemplary figures” in the book. He also discusses his feelings of ostracism as a gay man. The author is a thoughtful, erudite essayist and a talented poet; these attributes shine in his treatment of the writers whose poetry the book celebrates as well as in his own verse, which is excerpted throughout. His book is both a series of well-written poets’ profiles and a splendid memoir emphasizing how each of these artists individually inspired and informed his own work.
Pub Date: April 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-1737581451
Page Count: 164
Publisher: Nicasio Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 28, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.
A former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.
Discovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters. “I was the only black girl making white girl money,” she boasts, telling a vibrant story about sex and struggle in a bygone era. Frank and unapologetic, Johnson vividly captures aspects of her former life as a stage seductress shimmying to blues tracks during 18-minute sets or sewing lingerie for plus-sized dancers. Though her work was far from the Broadway shows she dreamed about, it eventually became all about the nightly hustle to simply survive. Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. She shares stories of growing up in an abusive household in Albany in the 1940s, a teenage pregnancy, and prison time for robbery as nonchalantly as she recalls selling rhinestone G-strings to prostitutes to make them sparkle in the headlights of passing cars. Complemented by an array of revealing personal photographs, the narrative alternates between heartfelt nostalgia about the seedier side of Manhattan’s go-go scene and funny quips about her unconventional stage performances. Encounters with a variety of hardworking dancers, drag queens, and pimps, plus an account of the complexities of a first love with a drug-addled hustler, fill out the memoir with personality and candor. With a narrative assist from Stanton, the result is a consistently titillating and often moving story of human struggle as well as an insider glimpse into the days when Times Square was considered the Big Apple’s gloriously unpolished underbelly. The book also includes Yee’s lush watercolor illustrations.
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-27827-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2022
A slick, vacuous glimpse into the former first lady’s White House years.
A carefully curated personal portrait.
First ladies’ roles have evolved significantly in recent decades. Their memoirs typically reflect a spectrum of ambition and interests, offering insights into their values and personal lives. Melania Trump, however, stands out as exceptionally private and elusive. Her ultra-lean account attempts to shed light on her public duties, initiatives, and causes as first lady, and it defends certain actions like her controversial “I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U?” jacket. The statement was directed at the media, not the border situation, she claims. Yet the book provides scant detail about her personal orbit or day-to-day interactions. The memoir opens with her well-known Slovenian origin story, successful modeling career, and whirlwind romance with Donald Trump, culminating in their 2005 marriage, followed by a snapshot of Election Day 2016: “Each time we were together that day, I was impressed by his calm.…This man is remarkably confident under pressure.” Once in the White House, Melania Trump describes her functions and numerous public events at home and abroad, which she asserts were more accomplished than media representations suggested. However, she rarely shares any personal interactions beyond close family ties, notably her affection for her son, Barron, and her sister, Ines. And of course she lavishes praise on her husband. Minimal anecdotes about White House or cabinet staff are included, and she carefully defuses her rumored tensions with Trump’s adult children, blandly stating, “While we may share the same last name, each of us is distinct with our own aspirations and paths to follow.” Although Melania’s desire to support causes related to children’s and women’s welfare feels authentic, the overall tenor of her memoir seems aimed at painting a glimmering portrait of her husband and her role, likely with an eye toward the forthcoming election.
A slick, vacuous glimpse into the former first lady’s White House years.Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9781510782693
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
PERSPECTIVES
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