FROM THE PUBLISHER

Understanding May Sarton introduces readers to the poetry, fiction, and memoirs of a pioneering feminist whose works, acclaimed but underappreciated during her lifetime, have attracted an expanding readership since her death in 1995. With the inclusion of Sarton's final novel, The Education of Harriet Hatfield, her final volume of poetry, Coming into Eighty, and her three final volumes of nonfiction, Mark K. Fulk provides a comprehensive study - and one that does not assume Sarton's writings to be of interest exclusively or even primarily to female readers. Rather than limiting Sarton's literary accomplishments to the categories of feminist and lesbian writing, as other critics have done, Fulk approaches them in a way that he contends "comes closer to the spirit of Sarton's work as she saw it."

SYNOPSIS

The writings of feminist author May Sarton, though often underappreciated during her lifetime, have attracted a wider audience since her death in 1995. This text is a guide to Sarton's poetry, novels, and memoirs for students and the interested general reader. Fulk (English, John Brown U.) provides biographical background information, discusses the primary themes in Sarton's writing, and emphasizes the spiritual dimensions of her thought.