In this Book
- With Robert Lowell and His Circle: Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Elizabeth Bishop, Stanley Kunitz & Others
- Book
- 2012
- Published by: Northeastern University Press
summary
A memoir of a famous poetry circle
In 1959 Kathleen Spivack won a fellowship to study at Boston University with Robert Lowell. Her fellow students were Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, among others. Thus began a relationship with the famous poet and his circle that would last to the end of his life in 1977 and beyond. Spivack presents a lovingly rendered story of her time among some of the most esteemed artists of a generation. Part memoir, part loose collection of anecdotes, artistic considerations, and soulful yet clear-eyed reminiscences of a lost time and place, hers is an intimate portrait of the often suffering Lowell, the great and near great artists he attracted, his teaching methods, his private world, and the significant legacy he left to his students. Through the story of a youthful artist finding her poetic voice among literary giants, Spivack thoughtfully considers how poets work. She looks at friendships, addiction, despair, perseverance and survival, and how social changes altered lives and circumstances. This is a beautifully written portrait of friends who loved and lived words, and made great beauty together.
A touching and deeply revealing look into the lives and thoughts of some of the most influential artists of the twentieth century, With Robert Lowell and His Circle will appeal to writers, students, and thoughtful literary readers, as well as to scholars.
Table of Contents
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- Acknowledgments
- pp. ix-x
- To the Reader
- pp. xi-xii
- Introduction
- pp. 1-5
- The “Family”
- pp. 6-12
- Oberlin and Boston, 1958–1959
- pp. 13-16
- Sylvia Plath, 1959–1960
- pp. 31-42
- Robert Lowell’s Appearance
- pp. 43-46
- Lowell’s Way of Teaching
- pp. 47-52
- Anne Sexton, 1959–1974
- pp. 53-55
- Significant Other, 1959–1977
- pp. 79-83
- Adrienne Rich, 1960s
- pp. 84-88
- Boston and Its Influence: Bishop and Lowell
- pp. 114-125
- Stanley Kunitz, 1971–2006
- pp. 135-142
- Alcohol and Drugs
- pp. 168-169
- Gender and Suicide
- pp. 170-174
- The “Po Biz”: Submission, Rejection, Money
- pp. 180-188
- Final Spring, 1977
- pp. 210-215
- Notes of a Witness
- pp. 221-226
- Selected Bibliography
- pp. 231-238
- About the Author
- p. 241
Additional Information
ISBN
9781555537654
Related ISBN(s)
9781555537883
MARC Record
OCLC
823386814
Pages
256
Launched on MUSE
2012-12-20
Language
English
Open Access
No