From Publishers Weekly
"[W]ho do I write for? Certainly not only for women... I guess I write for sensitive human beings wherever they are, however young or old, and of whatever sex. But I do not write for academic critics, that's sure. Nor do they like what I write. It is a mutual lack of interest." Her regret over the lateness of critical acclaim for her work is among the revelations about the prolific (with more than 50 books to her credit) and beloved Sarton, poet, novelist and diarist. In a note of appreciation, her friend William Drake says Sarton the letter writer was always swift, candid, blustery, boisterous and even defensive, but, he sums up, "the most difficult people can be the most worth knowing and treasuring." Sherman (who also edited May Sarton: Selected Letters, 1916-1954) presents 200 of the thousands of letters Sarton wrote in the latter part of her life to a wide range of friends, relatives and readers. These letters are best read in conjunction with each of Sarton's published works as they were written and released; Sherman hopes fans and newcomers alike will be left with a clearly delineated self-portrait of the writer and the woman: while writing, both her own and others', is the primary focus of Sarton's correspondence, readers also witness her difficulty in accepting criticism, as well as her generosity and humanity toward friends, strangers and the world at large. Nothing, including her own inner workings, escapes Sarton's scrutiny and consideration. Entertaining, insightful and not the least bit sentimental, Sarton's letters provide a complex yet clear composite of a singularly bright mind. 16 pages of photos not seen by PW. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Like Henry James, Sarton was a prolific writer whose passion for words and relationships emerged in the scores of letters she wrote to her friends, family, and critics. As she did for the first volume of Sarton's selected letters, editor Sherman (May Sarton: Selected Letters, 1916-1954) performs the loving, and herculean, task of sorting through Sarton's voluminous correspondence. In the over 200 letters contained here, Sarton matures into her writing as she corresponds with friends about her most critically acclaimed novel, Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing. In her letters to an array of correspondents including Julian Huxley, Anne Sexton, and Louise Bogan, Sarton discusses topics as wide-ranging as civil rights, Vietnam, and the theory of poetry. Her letters reveal her remarkable self-awareness and lucid insights, even after her stroke in 1986. Sherman annotates each letter, and an appendix includes 13 unpublished poems and the text of letters in French. Together with the first volume of letters, this collection provides a splendid biographical portrait of one of our most neglected artists. Highly recommended for libraries that own the earlier volume; otherwise, recommended for large libraries. (Photographs not seen.) Henry L. Carrigan Jr., Lancaster, PACopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


Book Description
A rich correspondence illuminating the latter half of the life of one of America's most beloved authors. In May Sarton: Selected Letters, 1955-1995 two hundred annotated letters chronicle the mature life of a legendary poet and novelist. A friend to Robert Frost, Elizabeth Bowen, Madeleine L'Engle, and Marianne Moore, May Sarton was a commanding presence, a figure somehow larger than life whose personality undoubtedly informed her work. As writer, traveler, friend, and lover, Sarton corresponded with an array of actors, artists, teachers, admirers, and clergy. While recording the joys and griefs of her craft and her heart, Sarton engaged with major public issues of the last half-century. May Sarton: Selected Letters sheds new light on her breakthrough novel, Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing, and on her revolutionary Journal of a Solitude. There are echoes as well of the lyric poetry that Sarton brought alive in dynamic readings to audiences across America. In this volume, the capstone of her literary legacy, Sarton characteristically speaks to each reader as a friend. 16 pages of b/w photographs.


About the Author
Friend to May Sarton during her late years, Susan Sherman is also the editor of May Sarton: Selected Letters, 1916-1954. She lives in New York.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

A rich correspondence illuminating the latter half of the life of one of America's most beloved authors. In May Sarton: Selected Letters, 1955-1995 two hundred annotated letters chronicle the mature life of a legendary poet and novelist. A friend to Robert Frost, Elizabeth Bowen, Madeleine L'Engle, and Marianne Moore, May Sarton was a commanding presence, a figure somehow larger than life whose personality undoubtedly informed her work. As writer, traveler, friend, and lover, Sarton corresponded with an array of actors, artists, teachers, admirers, and clergy. While recording the joys and griefs of her craft and her heart, Sarton engaged with major public issues of the last half-century. May Sarton: Selected Letters sheds new light on her breakthrough novel, Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing, and on her revolutionary Journal of a Solitude. There are echoes as well of the lyric poetry that Sarton brought alive in dynamic readings to audiences across America. In this volume, the capstone of her literary legacy, Sarton characteristically speaks to each reader as a friend. 16 pages of b/w photographs.

Author Biography: Friend to May Sarton during her late years, Susan Sherman is also the editor of May Sarton: Selected Letters, 1916-1954. She lives in New York.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

"[W]ho do I write for? Certainly not only for women... I guess I write for sensitive human beings wherever they are, however young or old, and of whatever sex. But I do not write for academic critics, that's sure. Nor do they like what I write. It is a mutual lack of interest." Her regret over the lateness of critical acclaim for her work is among the revelations about the prolific (with more than 50 books to her credit) and beloved Sarton, poet, novelist and diarist. In a note of appreciation, her friend William Drake says Sarton the letter writer was always swift, candid, blustery, boisterous and even defensive, but, he sums up, "the most difficult people can be the most worth knowing and treasuring." Sherman (who also edited May Sarton: Selected Letters, 1916-1954) presents 200 of the thousands of letters Sarton wrote in the latter part of her life to a wide range of friends, relatives and readers. These letters are best read in conjunction with each of Sarton's published works as they were written and released; Sherman hopes fans and newcomers alike will be left with a clearly delineated self-portrait of the writer and the woman: while writing, both her own and others', is the primary focus of Sarton's correspondence, readers also witness her difficulty in accepting criticism, as well as her generosity and humanity toward friends, strangers and the world at large. Nothing, including her own inner workings, escapes Sarton's scrutiny and consideration. Entertaining, insightful and not the least bit sentimental, Sarton's letters provide a complex yet clear composite of a singularly bright mind. 16 pages of photos not seen by PW. Agent, Timothy Seldes, Russell & Volkening. (Apr.) Forecast: The price of this seems steep, but that may not deter Sarton's devoted readers, of whom there are many. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal