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
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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