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WOMEN WRITERS AT WORK

Name: WOMEN WRITERS AT WORK
Author: George Plimpton
ISBN: 0-679-77129-8

THE PARIS REVIEWS INTERVIEWS

edited by George Plimpton ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 1998

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This updated collection offers comforting yet intense views of 16 modern female literary icons from Mary McCarthy to Joyce Carol Oates. This revision of the 1988 collection contains new pieces on Toni Morrison, Susan Sontag, and Maya Angelou, plus many entries familiar to veteran Paris Review readers, like those on Dorothy Parker and Katherine Anne Porter. All together, it makes for a sweet gathering of many of the finest female writers of the century. Margaret Atwood is reliably erudite in her introduction exploring her subjects’ views of what makes a “woman writer,” which is epitomized by Mary McCarthy: “I think they become interested in decor.” The writers themselves are a largely precise, self-effacing bunch, many noting late literary starts and unrelated career intentions. Nadine Gordimer wanted to be a dancer, Joan Didion an actress, Elizabeth Bishop a composer. In addition to digressions on the writing process, there are amusing, endearing asides that draw the writer closer to the reader: Brooklynite Marianne Moore misses the Dodgers (“and I am told that they miss us,” she adds). They are also women who know themselves pretty well; their insights span more than writing. A good collection to have around on principle, and genuinely inspiring.

Pub Date: June 1, 1998

ISBN: 0-679-77129-8

Page Count: 304

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1998

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE MAN IN THE FLYING LAWN CHAIR
by George Plimpton & edited by Sarah Dudley Plimpton

- BOOK REVIEW
LATIN AMERICAN WRITERS AT WORK
edited by George Plimpton

- BOOK REVIEW
HOME RUN
edited by George Plimpton

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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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

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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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.