No comments about No Time to Retire.

5 comments about Don't Touch the Poet: The Life and Times of Joel Oppenheimer.

1. A superb listener, Gilmore has tracked down and evoked from an ever-widening circle of Joe Oppenheimer's friends, enemies (few), and family the life of amid-century American poet. It's rare that biography begins from such carefully sorted living testimony. Gilmore's resulting insightful observations are met on the page by an inviting and enlisting set of Joel Oppenheimer's poems. To read DON'T TOUCH THE POET is to be touched by a poet.



2. I am fortunate enough to have known Joel Oppenheimer pretty well. He was my advisor and professor at New England College for a couple years before he passed away. Lymon (also a past professor of mine) has done a fantastic job describing Joel and his workings. There was so much about Joel that I didn't know and wish I had known. What I do know about Joel is that he was a positive presence. He was also very much a positive force in my life as a student.

   Thanks, Lymon. Being taught by you, once again, was a pleasure...




3. As good a biography as we are likely to get of Joel Oppenheimer and perhaps the only one. Joel's earlier years are especially well researched and told. The absence of Amiri Baraka's voice is a pity.

   The book would have benefited with more input from Pete Hamill, Sam Abrams and a few others. Also, a few of Joel's more notable students are silent: Tom Weatherly; and Bob Rixon, who has been telling lovely anecdotes about Joel for years over WFMU in New York.

   Which is maybe a complaint that the book is too short at 246 pages. But Gilmore writes with devotion and leaves us with the belief that "every spring he saw we see still"

   Fine work.




4. I really enjoyed this book. As a 1987 graduate of New England College, I had Joel as a teacher and an advisor, and most importantly as a friend. (and a fellow Mets fan!)
   Joel helped me to transform from a disjointed, disorganized and immature college freshman to a more focused and interested writer.
   The book shed light on his life and reminded me of a few stories he told me in my four years of knowing him.
   I can vividly remember sitting in his smoke filled office arguing over my lack of attention to my studies...:)
   What a great guy, I sure wish he was still here with us.



5. This is by far one of the best biographies of a contemporary poet I've ever read. Gilmore gives us Oppenheimer the drinker, chain-smoker, cuckold, cocksman, lover, friend, good-guy, wise-man, and master of the directly stated, simply worded, poem. Oppenheimer comes across as a person who was--somehow--more than the sum of his parts. That "somehow" was his gift for living close to the bone, surviving break-ups and bouts with the bottle, and ultimately writing well. No hagiography (as so many paeons to the Beats turn out to be), Don't Touch the Poet allows us to hear from enemies and not-so-impressed-ex-wives as well as life-long friends. The end result is similar to Boswell's portrait of Dr. Johnson holding forth in his dressing gown: at one and the same time a bit off-putting, yet somewhat charming, wholly fascinating, and, one feels, totally true to life.

No comments about Impertinences: Selected Writings of Elia Peattie, a Journalist in the Gilded Age.

1 comments about The General and the Journalists: Ulysses S. Grant, Horace Greeley, and Charles Dana.

1. The inherent problem with this book is that it's stretched too thin and tries to cover to many personalities. Charles Dana and Greeley are ancillary players in the civil war drama; there's enough material on Grant and journalists to warrant a study of him alone. In addition, Charles Dana deliberately muddied the historical waters by having others ghostwrite his memoirs and constantly changing this stories or giving conflicting testimony about various events.

   Maihofer writes well and certainly displays a prejudice in General Grant's favor. There are few factual errors and the pace is lively. However, the book would have been improved had he restricted the narrative to U.S. Grant and eliminated Dana and Greeley. Ultimately this makes for a somewhat disjointed book and one is sorely temped to skip over the chapters with the two minor supporting players.

1 comments about Praise, Vilification and Sexual Innuendo, or How to be a Critic: The Selected Writings of John L. Wasserman, 1964-1979.

1. This book brings back the John Wasserman I knew, and I miss him all over again!

   The writing is just like John himself: quirky, funny, a bit self-indulgent, but always interesting and with unexpected twists. Wasserman's range of knowledge and interests was wide, and his sardonic view of the world is as refreshing as a glass of lemonade after some overly-sweet candy.

   These were newspaper columns and thus topical, but they have lost little interest over the years. The Wasserman touch remains individual, the quotations marvelously apt, the conclusions clear. While the book will be of most interest to those who knew John's work when he was alive, I hope it will bring this remarkably talented and sadly short-lived writer's work to a wider audience.

4 comments about Surviving a Writer's Life.

1. I don't know why this wonderful book is not better known. Splendidly written with in-depth autobiographical material interwoven with meditations on writing. Moving yet unsentimental, and the writing aspect comes at you sideways, through her own stories rather than "advice." Stirring, at times harrowing, ultimately affirming.



2. Overcoming adversity is something everyone has to face at one point in his or her lives. How one handles these struggles determines the way an individual goes about their daily lives. Suzanne Lipsett writes of her own personal struggles in her novel, Surviving a Writer's Life. Through the trails and tribulations of her life Lipsett is continually trying to find herself as a writer. Trying to find the time and energy to write is Lipsett's biggest problem. She is married and a mother of two young boys, which take up a large portion of her time. She works as an editor of manuscripts to make ends meet while she pursues her writing career on the side. Waking up at 4:00 and 5:00 a.m. to write for a few hours before the rest of the family gets up is what she had to do to keep her writing career going. The first half of this novel Lipsett writes about how she became interested in writing and some of the struggles she encounters along the way. I enjoyed how she described her troubled relationship with her father. A relationship in which he would never release the secrets of her mothers death in order to protect her from the pain. Lipsett also reaches deep inside her to write on the painful memories of two cases of rape, which she was, the victim off. Cancer was the third major obstacle Lipsett was to overcome on her way to becoming a successful writer. The first half to three-quarters of this novel really kept me interested in the story and her a person. In the end she trails off and starts talking about all these women's groups and how they helped her through everything. All in all I enjoyed the novel and would suggest this piece to anyone.



3. In Surviving a Writer's Life, Suzanne Lipsett tells the story of her life and evolution as a writer. This book is not a how-to about writing, it is one writer's story about life.
   From a brief try at creative writing in high school, to an eye opening trip to Africa, to a life long love of books, to a career as an experienced editor, it was not until the age of 39 that Lipsett decided to write her first novel. Lipsett's book explores the themes of loss, struggle, and an eventual cycle of healing that begins with love and writing. Her depictions of places and situations have a quality of clarity that is enhanced by her use of detail. The reader is able to feel a connection to her writing, to understand her emotions. One of the weaker points of clarity in Lipsett's writing comes from her use of long sentences. Some of her sentences last for entire paragraphs and consist of fifty-word ideas interspersed with frequent commas and dashes. This book is not for readers seeking advice on how to improve their writing skills, but it is a book that gives hope for writers who feel that they have some sort of disadvantage in their field. Lipsett felt discouraged by her gender, her age, and her tendency to draw material straight from life. Her story is one that serves to inspire discouraged writers, to assure them that with time and effort they too can find their voice.



4. No, "Surviving a Writer's Life" is not about how to write. It's about a writer's life. And the author does a great job at giving potential or even established writers a glimpse into her world -- and I honestly would love to read more about her. Her life is interesting in itself, and her literary life is even more interesting.

   
   This book is inspiring on many levels to me -- I get to see a person's world as a worker in the publishing world and as a writer, and how one person deals with life as it's happening as well as the past. I really enjoyed reading about Lipsett's college and after college years. She's experience quite a lot and has been through several if not many tragedies, yet she seems to keep a pointed focus in telling her tale that the reader never feels sorry for her. In fact, I really don't think she wants you to. She's almost too subtle in some areas, so much so, that I had to go back and re-read in order to understand what happened to her.

   All in all, this was a great little find. I love her sense of humor and her honesty, and I'm also interested in her work (author, editor, ghost writer, etc.) so that's just an added bonus. If you're a writer or an aspiring one, and you're just plain interested in interesting people, then you should read this book.

2 comments about Amber, a Very Personal Cat and Conversations With Amber.

1. I loved this book from the first page to the very end. It's a perfect book to read to lift your spirits or to escape into a different world. I absolutely reccomend it to everyone who loves cats.



2. and anyone who isn't "owned by a cat", as Taber puts it, will want to be.

   In these two books combined into one volume, Taber writes of her day-to-day relationship with her Abyssinian cat named Amber. Taber has intuitive insights into the workings of the feline mind and through this work clearly shows how important pets can be to our daily lives and welfare. Amber was a fortunate cat indeed to have such an owner, or rather, to own Gladys Taber!

   Reading this book has made me think of writing my own book about my cat, it was so enjoyable to read about her cat.

   I thought of taking one star away due to some of Taber's inaccurate medical advice for cats (i.e. do NOT ever give aspirin to a cat as Taber indicates), but her intentions were good. Just remember while reading this book that for medical advice concerning your cat, see your veterinarian.

No comments about All in the Day's Work.

1 comments about The Making of an Ink-Stained Wretch: Half a Century Pounding the Political Beat.

1. If you are a fan of Timothy Crouse's Boys on the Bus; or you read Witcover and Germond's Presidential election analyses; or you followed their column (and later just his), then this book will be a blast. Highly insightful and full of great anecdotes (and several practical jokes), I thoroughly enjoyed a more personal perspective about many of the same events detailed in his other books. The book provides an insider's view of the political writer's world with great characterization and great storytelling. Mr. Witcover has had a wonderfully exciting life and has been witness to some of our greatest (and worst) moments. I have always respected his logical and well-researched analysis. All around great stuff!

5 comments about The Opposite of Fate (Brilliance Audio on Compact Disc).

1. I had no idea. I had no idea what a great writer she is, what an amazing person she is, how difficult her life has been. Now that I've read this book, I know. And I am inspired.
   
   I highly recommend this book to any daughter, any Asian, any writer, and any person with an open mind/heart who wants to know a little bit more about an intriguing, challenging life.



2. This book is a personal favorite, as it gives so much insight into Tan's writing and her views, but also because the essays are simply so enjoyable to read. The book is a collection of essays that spans her literary career and is filled with her own special brand of humor. Within the pages we find writing on her authorial intentions, her perspective on critics and scholars who interpret her writing and her intentions, and biographical essays. I can imagine using one or two of these essays as material for teaching a writing class. These essays are overall lovely, clever, and engaging. This book is not just for "fans only." If you weren't a fan before, you may become one after reading this collection.



3. I've always enjoyed her novels, and The Opposite of Fate gave me an even deeper understanding of the origins of her work. I really enjoyed the opportunity to hear, in her own words, the true history of her family, her thoughts on her childhood, young adulthood, and even current day. She's a fun, funky, formidable, & fascinating woman & someone you'd love to know & introduce to all your friends. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to get to know her better!



4. The book is wonderful, so interesting. It is rather like Eat,Pray,Love with a chinese twist.
   
   The AUDIO version of the book is a revelation: Amy Tan has a lively and lovely voice, she is a gifted mimic, and she does a fabulous job of reading this great book.
   
   There are some very sad parts, you will definitely be moved to think and consider wider concepts, but it is completely delightful and thick with insight.



5. I didn't read The Joy Luck Club; I wasn't interested, it sounded like a chick book, and I don't play Mah Jong. This book is more like taking a peek inside Amy Tan. It was great.
   
   I hated literature in high school and college, because all the professors always talked about all the "hidden meaning" and symbolism in persons, objects and events happening in the book. I thought this was a bunch of BS. So thank you Amy for proving me right!
   
   It is a well written compilation of stories, observations and even commencement addresses. My favorite was her thoughts on waiting to be introduced for a talk and seeing the Cliff Notes of her book on display. Nice touch. I would probably appreciate Joy Luck Club after reading this book.