William Goyen: Selected Letters from a Writer's Life

by William Goyen, Robert Phillips (Editor), Sir Stephen Spender (Afterword)

Overview

Proclaimed "one of the great American writers of short fiction" by the New York Times Book Review, William Goyen (1915-1983) had a quintessentially American literary career, in which national recognition came only after years of struggle to find his authentic voice, his audience, and an artistic milieu in which to create. These letters, which span the years 1937 to 1983, offer a compelling testament to what it means to be a writer in America.

A prolific correspondent, Goyen wrote regularly to friends, family, editors, and other writers. Among the letters selected here are those to such major literary figures as W. H. Auden, Archibald MacLeish, Joyce Carol Oates, William Inge, Elia Kazan, Elizabeth Spencer, and Katherine Anne Porter.

These letters constitute a virtual autobiography, as well as a fascinating introduction to Goyen's work. They add an important chapter to the study of American and Texas literature of the twentieth century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780292770560
Publisher:	University of Texas Press
Publication date:	02/19/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	471
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

A longtime friend of William Goyen's, editor Robert Phillips is Director of the Creative Writing Program and Professor of English at the University of Houston. He also edited Letters of Delmore Schwartz and Delmore Schwartz and James Laughlin: Selected Letters.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Notes on the Text
• Acknowledgments
• Chronology
• One. Houston, Canal Zone, Oakland, Medford, Taos, Los Angeles, Berkeley, 1937–1947
• Two. Napa, Dallas, Portland, 1947–1949
• Three. London, New York, Dallas, Chicago, Saratoga Springs, Houston, 1949–1951
• Four. New York, Shelter Island, East Hampton, Taos, Rome, Naples, Zürich, 1952–1954
• Five. Taos, New York, 1954–1957
• Six. Bucks County, New York, Boston, West Germany, New York, Weston, Los Angeles, 1957–1978
• Seven. Los Angeles, New York, Los Angeles, 1978–1983
• Afterword by Stephen Spender
• Index of Recipients
• General Index

Editorial Reviews

Considered by many to be a major American writer of short fiction, Goyen (1915-1983) had the quintessential literary career, in which national recognition came only after years of struggle for his authentic voice, his audience, and a sustaining artistic milieu. A prolific correspondent, Goyen wrote regularly to friends, family, editors, and other writers. These letters, spanning the years from 1937 to 1983, chronicle Goyen's participation in the writing life and offer a glimpse of what it means to be a writer in America. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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