{"product_id":"twenty-questions-j-d-mcclatchy-9780231111737","title":"Twenty Questions","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eTwenty Questions, \u003c\/i\u003e one of America's finest poet-critics leads readers into the mysteries of poetry: how it draws on our lives, and how it leads us back into them. In a series of linked essays progressing from the autobiographical to the critical--and closing with a remarkable translation of Horace's Ars \u003ci\u003ePoetica\u003c\/i\u003e unavailable elsewhere--J. D. McClatchy's latest book offers an intimate and illuminating look into the poetic mind. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMcClatchy begins with a portrait of his development as a poet and as a man, and provides vibrant details about some of those who helped shape his sensibility--from Anne Sexton in her final days, to Harold Bloom, his enigmatic teacher at Yale, to James Merrill, a wise and witty mentor. All of these glimpses into McClatchy's personal history enhance our understanding of a coming of age from ingenious reader to accomplished poet-critic. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eLater sections range through poetry past and present--from Emily Dickinson to Seamus Heaney and W. S. Merwin--with incisive criticism generously interspersed with vivid anecdotes about McClatchy's encounters with other poets' lives and work. A critical unpacking of Alexander Pope's \"Epistle to Miss Blount\" is interwoven with compassionate psychological portrait of a brilliant poet plagued by both romantic longings and debilitating physical deformities. There are surprising takes on the literary imagination as well: a look at Elizabeth Bishop through her letters, and a tribute to the Broadway lyrics of Stephen Sondheim and the tradition of light verse. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe questions McClatchy poses of poems prompt a fresh look and the last word. Free of scholarly pretension, elegantly and movingly written, \u003ci\u003eTwenty Questions\u003c\/i\u003e is a bright, open window onto a public and private experience of poetry, to be appreciated by poets, readers, and critics alike.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e J. D. McClatchy\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0231111738\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780231111737\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Columbia University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/01\/1999\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 224\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.66lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.94h x 5.98w x 0.50d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooks \u0026amp; Culture\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/01\/2000 pg. 32","brand":"J. D. McClatchy","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47637127168255,"sku":"9780231111737","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_f1fd7a06-df4a-408d-9a1f-dd5f58752c04.jpg?v=1765114084","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/twenty-questions-j-d-mcclatchy-9780231111737","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}