Re: The New JDS Biography
Camille Scaysbrook (verona_beach@hotpop.com)
Fri, 17 Sep 1999 19:23:56 +1000
citycabn wrote:
> In general, the book seems hastily put together, misreadings of the
stories
> abound, the post 1965 chapters read like very cheap journalism. This is
> definitely not serious scholarship. (Yet, he has an MFA from Iowa and
has
> published bios on James Dean and Slyvia Plath.)
To rehash the post I wrote on Alexander - the Sylvia Plath biography `Rough
Magic' was a vituperative and very speculatory take on Plath's life, an all
round Nasty Piece of Work in the opinion of myself and many others - and,
like you say, simply a poor piece of journalism.
> I can see why some of the
> big publishing houses passed on it.
Did they? It goes to show that either the coups in it aren't enormous
enough, or they're at least not worthwhile enough to justify the other
detritus (: To discount the existence of other stories - that is, to say
JDS stopped writing with Hapworth - is to plainly deny facts that were
actually tendered in court by JDS himself. Thanks Bruce, I'll check it out
at the library, but no more or less. I'd be interested to see that cover
though ... someone oughta do a thesis on the psychology of book covers ...
Camille
verona_beach@hotpop.com