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O MY LAND, MY FRIENDS

Name: O MY LAND, MY FRIENDS
Author: Hart Crane
ISBN: 0-941423-18-2

THE SELECTED LETTERS OF HART CRANE

by Hart Crane ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 1997

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From the poet Hart Crane's surviving 1,200 letters, a choice selection of 350 (141 published for the first time, and others for the first time in full) that shed substantial light on his creative process, his aesthetics, and the key moments of his life. Crane is one of the unhappy few among poets whose talents burn brightly but all too briefly. He was only 32 when he jumped from the S.S. Orizaba into the Atlantic. Habitually broke and hard-pressed to find work in the midst of the Depression, devastated by mixed reviews of his masterwork, The Bridge (which had consumed five years of effort), he spoke toward the end of feeling like ``a rat in a cage.'' In these letters, we can all too clearly trace his downward spiral. Full of youthful vitality and exhilaration, he skipped college and moved to New York, intent on becoming a poet. Then came quarrels with his family, his inability to hold a job, and a drinking problem that became increasingly serious, leading to a number of ``incidents'' and even arrests. He did have a gift for friendship, and his correspondents include such notables as Eugene O'Neill, Alfred Stieglitz, Malcolm Cowley, Yvor Winters, and Allen Tate. Crane was his own best critic, and he offers up spirited insights into his work, such as his exegesis/defense of his poem ``At Melville's Tomb.'' He also encloses a number of early drafts of his poems, and it is fascinating to watch the creative process at work as he tugs and pulls each verse towards its final form. Editors Hammer (English/Yale) and Weber (editor of The Complete Poems of Hart Crane) have chosen well, and Hammer's commentary is very helpful in placing the letters in their proper biographical context. Long and densely packed, but full of revelations about this important avatar of American Modernism. (illustrations, not seen)

Pub Date: July 1, 1997

ISBN: 0-941423-18-2

Page Count: 608

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1997

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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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.