Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Great Regulars: It's slim treatment of a revolutionary.

These [William CArlos] Williams moments are so pared and familiar as to become best-of-Williams wallpaper, a Williams Post-It--allowing us not to see or hear the American giant. What a relief, then, to settle into Herbert Leibowitz's "Something Urgent I Have to Say to You": The Life and Works of William Carlos Williams, a trek through Williams's long career; his loves and dalliances; his delicate relationship with his era's literati; his work as a school doctor and obstetrician in working class, not-yet-suburban New Jersey.

from The Barnes and Noble Review: "Something Urgent I Have to Say to You"

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Phillis Wheatley may be a staple of elementary school curricula across the land, but she hasn't been the subject of a full-length biography until now. This is surprising, given that she's such an iconic figure, but reading Vincent Carretta's fascinating Phillis Wheatley: Biography of a Genius in Bondage, it becomes less surprising, for as Carretta makes clear from the outset, Wheatley is an extremely "challenging and elusive" subject.

from The Barnes and Noble Review: Phillis Wheatley: Biography of a Genius in Bondage

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