The Doctor Stories

By William Carlos Williams

Book Overview

The Doctor Stories collects thirteen of Williams's stories (direct accounts of his experiences as a doctor), six related poems, and a chapter from his autobiography that connects the world of medicine and writing, as well as a new preface by Atul Gawande, an introduction by Robert Coles (who put the book together), and a final note by Williams's son (also a doctor), about his famous father. The writings are remarkably direct and freshly true. As Atul Gawande notes, "Reading these tales, you find yourself in a conversation with Williams about who people really are--who you really are. Williams recognized that, caring for the people of his city, he had a front-row seat to the human condition. His writing makes us see it and hear it and grapple with it in all its complexities. That is his lasting gift."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0811228177
• ISBN13: 9780811228176
• Release Date: September 2018
• Publisher: New Directions Publishing Corporation
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.3" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Perusing Williams' Mind

I feel like I've been able to peruse William Carlos Williams' mind after having read this book because he is so honest with his thoughts and feelings. Nothing, it seems, is held back and that is what I first fell in love with in his writing when I first studied his poetry in college. The raw truth is exposed over and over in this collection and I just kept wanting more. If you crave truth and honesty, this is the book for you. The poetry of Williams' thoughts, his observations of the mundane, show how poetry is in everday life, not in the fantastic, the fancy, the glitterati. Poetry is in the plodding, the hardscrabble, the undaunted...all of us.

A window to another era

I have just finished rereading this book for the first time in over a decade and it has enticed me into ordering a slim book of the poetry of William Carlos Williams. I am not, in general, a great lover of poetry, but he does such an excellent job conveying the exact details of a time and a place, of another era of medicine. Being a doctor myself helps to understand some of the situations, but he writes so specifically that anyone can see what he's trying to say. I like his use of exact, conversational quotes, and his unromantic, but generous view of his, often unhelpful, patients.

Insightful

This is an interesting series of short stories by the great American poet, William Carlos Williams. Williams was actually Dr. Williams and practiced pediatrics for many years. These stories are built around a series of clinical vignettes from medical practice in the early part of the century. While these stories are not great literature, they are very good and Williams is very good at descriptions of clinical phenomena. Some of the clinical entities at the center of the stories are now rarely seen. These stories convey the experience of medical practice in this era very well and several stories have considerable emotional power. This book will be of interest to anyone who likes American literature but will perhaps find the most appreciative audience among physicians.

Stories from a Master Poet

This is an incredible book of short stories by Williams Carlos Williams, the noted American Poet from the thirties, forties and fifties. Like his poems, these stories have to do with human emotions and the human condition, but unlike the poems, they are fully developed with realistic backgrounds and fully fleshed out details. This is because, while Williams was writing poetry, he eeked out a living making pediatric house calls during the depression. He records some of these in this collection. Most of these stories have little do with the parents of his patients, parents who were mostly immigrants and had little faith or hope. But he describes vividly his encounters with unusually fresh and bold children. The masterpiece of this collection is a very short story called "The Use of Force." It is about a fight with a little girl who has throat infection but who will not open her mouth for the doctor to check or culture. The struggle between this obviously beautiful little girl and the doctor, which does come to force, is described candidly and even shockingly, exposing his own pleasure in the struggle and his drive for success at whatever cost. While totally told in the moment, it has the timeless feel of a confession, a morality tale of the way the whole of society treats women, particularly strong-willed, beautiful blonds. Other stories give this same feeling of telling us more about ourselves as a nation than this one man's keen observations of the poverty, grime and grit of depression children.