In this short collection of essays (some previously published in Antaeus and other literary reviews), Pulitzer Prizewinning poet Simic (Hotel Insomnia, 1992, etc.) brings off a masterfully casual beauty, whether discussing the creation of poetry and the poet's social role, praising food and the blues, or relating the travails of youth. Suspicious of all absolutist thought, the Yugoslavia-born Simic (English/Univ. of New Hampshire) is a committed individualist and, like some Eastern bloc poets who have endured socialist realism, a humorous surrealist. In deceptively discursive and casual prose, he touches on simple subjects to delve into deeper matters—for example, an autobiographical sketch chronicles his search for the meaning of human happiness in terms of favorite dishes, including Yugoslavian burek and American potato chips. Whether the subject matter is as academic as Surrealist composition, or as contemporary as the genetic engineering of his favorite fruit, the tomato, Simic gregariously mixes personal conversations with literary quotations (or, just as appositely, folk sayings and songs), and his prose can suddenly flare up into startling images: ``Words make love on the page like flies in the summer heat.'' These essays' variety of approaches and subjects shows the eclectic mix of true multiculturalism, for Simic is an intellectual in the postwar model of immigrant cum exile, versed in European traditions yet enthusiastic about American culture as well. This comes into sharpest relief in his essay on murderous nationalism in Yugoslavia and his album of snapshot reminiscences of Belgrade, Chicago, and New York City. Sometimes, though, Simic's light touch fails to leave a lasting impression on the serious philosophical subjects he addresses, his selection of notebook aphorisms are hit-or-miss, and a couple of brief essays are simply culled from introductions. In one odd notebook jotting Simic projects creating a ``nongenre made up of fiction, autobiography, the essay, poetry, and of course, the joke!''—an apt description of this collection's hodge-podge charm.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-472-09569-2
Page Count: 144
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1994
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
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
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