May Sarton

by Susan Sherman and May Sarton

Book Overview

All her life, May Sarton carried on a voluminous private correspondence--with family, friends, and lovers. From the beginning, as these remarkable letters show, the essence of an extraordinary human being was present, her gifts ready to unfurl and mature.

Fittingly, an early letter thanks parents for books. Later we enter the world of the theater, then years rich with study, travel, teaching, and the discipline of craft. Sarton's deep anguish as World War II approaches pervades many letters, but readers will also encounter the things that gave Sarton joy: her love of flowers, her affection for animals, her celebration of beauty in all its guises.

As Sarton divides her time between America and Europe, in an era when ocean voyages were the norm, illustrious acquaintances and intimates are introduced, among them Eva Le Gallienne, Elizabeth Bowen, Virginia Woolf, Muriel Rukeyser, Julian and Juliette Huxley, and Louise Bogan. Always, Sarton's voice is clear and courageous, startlingly candid about her passions, her moods, and her vulnerabilities. Her words, seeming as fresh as when they were written, stand against the backdrop of the crucial events of the century as she invites old and new readers into her personal world.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393039544
• ISBN13: 9780393039542
• Release Date: June 1997
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 1.89 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.7" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Takes away the sour taste left by Margot Peters's biography.

Sarton was a master of the art of letter-writing. The notes are useful, the editing is superb, and Sarton shines through as a rare, passionate, and exacting friend and lover. My only complaint is that this volume is "selected," not "complete." I'm looking forward to Susan Sherman's next presentation of the gentle art to which Sarton stayed dedicated throughout her life.