An unremarkable gathering of fiction, poetry, and essays by writers who have involved themselves over the years with the National Undergraduate Literature Conference held at Weber State University in Utah, where the editors teach. Many of the writers here (e.g., Ann Beattie, E.L. Doctorow, Carolyn Forche) are widely anthologized elsewhere. And lacking a strong thematic focus, this collection can't seem to find its own identity, although a handful of pieces do consider reading and writing as a topic. In Ray Bradbury's pleasantly manic story, a small-town boy meets up with an exotic out-of-town adult who claims to be Charles Dickens but is really a failed writer. The boy's admiration for the Dickens impersonator offers a parable as well as a fantasy—the enthusiastic reader as the best possible crony for any author, whether faux or bona fide. George Garrett's essay is another standout: He crisply tells the tale of his father's right- minded revenge on the bigoted southern burg where he practiced law. ``This is a true story about my father, a true story with the shape of a piece of fiction. Well, why not?'' begins Garrett. ``The purpose of fiction is simply to tell the truth.'' Richard Ford's reminiscence about his early struggles to be published cheerfully dismisses conventional career wisdom about how to enter the literary ranks. Ford's bemusement with bromides leads to a realism that's appealing and convincing. Too many writers, though, don't contribute their best work to the volume. The poems by Garrett, Howard McCord, and Catherine Bowman are unextraordinary, and Doctorow's brief essay about his boyhood discovery of reading is emphatically minor. John Barth's ``Excerpt From the Tidewater Tales'' is a coy, tirelessly self-conscious flirtation with fiction as a genre. Only a small number of pieces included have not been published previously. Mainly, this is a souvenir program for a creative writing symposium.
Pub Date: April 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-87905-794-7
Page Count: 344
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1997
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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