Synopsis
The arc of literary giant John Updike''s life emerges in these luminous daily letters to family, friends, editors and lovers—a remarkable outpouring over six decades, from his earliest consciousness as a writer to his final days
As James Schiff writes in the introduction to this volume, of the writer who would eventually express himself in written form as copiously and as elegantly as any American writer before him, "Updike needed to write the way the rest of us need to breathe or eat." With his stunning rhetorical gifts—allowing him to thrive in both fiction and nonfiction, in criticism as well as poetry—he was also a consummate letter writer. From his early writing attempts (he began submitting work to magazines as a teenager) to the 150 eye-opening letters home when he left the farm and family to go to Harvard, to the young adult correspondence with The New Yorker and other publications where his work began to appear, and on into the fullness of a long literary life, his correspondence, Schiff notes,"figures not as an adjunct to but rather an integral part of his astonishing literary output."
The intimacy and lucidity of these letters brings to the fore all matter of subjects and situations, notably the ardent feelings for his first love and wife, Mary, and later the heartbreaking but honestly accounted breakup of their marriage; the uncensored passion for other women, including the neighbor and friend of the Updikes who became his second wife; the concern for his children''s path to adulthood; and the ongoing conversations with many literary peers, from Joyce Carol Oates to Philip Roth, as well as Knopf and New Yorker editors, publicists, and others in the lit business.
Filled with comic observations, opinions, and personal news, told in the exquisitely fluid first-person voice of the writer himself, these missives, taken together, make a page-turning "life in letters" like no other.
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About the Author
JOHN UPDIKE is the author of more than sixty books, eight of them collections of poetry. His novels won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the William Dean Howells Medal of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He died in January 2009.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
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Selected Letters of John Updike
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Selected Letters of John Updike (Hardcover)
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Hardcover. Condition: new. Hardcover. THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS' CHOICE The arc of literary giant John Updikes life emerges in these luminous daily letters to family, friends, editors, and loversa remarkable outpouring over six decades, from his earliest consciousness as a writer to his final days.As James Schiff writes in the introduction to this volume, of the writer who would eventually express himself in written form as copiously and as elegantly as any American writer before him, Updike needed to write the way the rest of us need to breathe or eat. With his stunning rhetorical giftsenabling him to thrive in both short fiction and the novel, criticism as well as poetryUpdike was also a consummate letter writer. When barely a teenager, he began submitting poems and cartoons to national magazines and soliciting famous cartoonists, with flattering requests, for a drawing. His letter writing only increased when he left the family farm in Pennsylvania for Harvard, where he composed more than 150 witty, substantive letters to his parents. The summer after he graduated, The New Yorker began accepting his work, and his exchanges with editors, publishers, and writers would stretch into a correspondence that, Schiff notes, figures not as an adjunct to but rather an integral part of his astonishing literary output.The intimacy and lucidity of these letters brings to the fore all manner of subjects and situations, notably the ardent feelings for his first love and wife, Mary, and later the heartbreaking but honestly accounted breakup of their marriage; the uncensored passion for other women, including his Ipswich neighbor, Martha, who became his second wife; the concern for his childrens path to adulthood; and the conversations with many literary peers, from Joyce Carol Oates to Philip Roth, as well as his Knopf and New Yorker editors, critics, translators, and others in the lit business.Filled with comic observations, opinions, and personal news, told in the fluid first-person voice of the writer himself, these missives, taken together, create a page-turning life in letters like no other. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780593801543
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Hardcover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: New. 1st Edition. FIRST PRINTING W/NUMBERLINE & DJ WRAPPED IN CLEAR MYLAR. Features: Price on Product. Physical Info: 1.8" H x 9.3" L x 6.2" W (2.8 lbs) 912 pages. Price covers book wrapped in paper, then bubble wrapped and secure ship in cardboard box w/track #. Thank you. The arc of literary giant John Updike's life emerges in these luminous daily letters to family, friends, editors, and lovers--a remarkable outpouring over six decades, from his earliest consciousness as a writer to his final days. As James Schiff writes in the introduction to this volume, of the writer who would eventually "express himself in written form as copiously and as elegantly as any American writer" before him, "Updike needed to write the way the rest of us need to breathe or eat." With his stunning rhetorical gifts--enabling him to thrive in both short fiction and the novel, criticism as well as poetry--Updike was also a consummate letter writer. When barely a teenager, he began submitting poems and cartoons to national magazines and soliciting famous cartoonists, with flattering requests, for a drawing. His letter writing only increased when he left the family farm in Pennsylvania for Harvard, where he composed more than 150 witty, substantive letters to his parents. The summer after he graduated, The New Yorker began accepting his work, and his exchanges with editors, publishers, and writers would stretch into a correspondence that, Schiff notes, "figures not as an adjunct to but rather an integral part of his astonishing literary output." The intimacy and lucidity of these letters brings to the fore all manner of subjects and situations, notably the ardent feelings for his first love and wife, Mary, and later the heartbreaking but honestly accounted breakup of their marriage; the uncensored passion for other women, including his Ipswich neighbor, Martha, who became his second wife; the concern for his children's path to adulthood; and the conversations with many literary peers, from Joyce Carol Oates to Philip Roth, as well as his Knopf and New Yorker editors, critics, translators, and others in the lit business. Filled with comic observations, opinions, and personal news, told in the fluid first-person voice of the writer himself, these missives, taken together, create a page-turning "life in letters" like no other. Seller Inventory # 17943
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