The Journal of Joyce Carol Oates

Starred review from August 6, 2007
Writing is... a drug, sweet, irresistible, and exhausting,” writes Oates in this fascinating and significant record of an artist's life. She was 34 when she began this “experiment in consciousness,” which follows the gestation and writing of many of her most important works. Oates, readers come to realize, is intensely disciplined, exquisitely sensitive, unflaggingly—almost morbidly—introspective, concerned with philosophical issues, attuned to mysticism and acutely responsive to the natural world. Although she abhors being described as prolific, she writes daily, with feverish energy; she herself uses the word “obsessed.” If a day or two passes when she isn't writing, she feels “profound worthlessness.” Teaching, she reveals, is a vital component of her well-being, although it often leaves her exhausted. The journal records her relationships with contemporary authors, including Philip Roth, Susan Sontag, John Updike, Gail Godwin, Stanley Elkin, John Gardner and Donald Barthelme. She is candid about her “intensely” intimate marriage to Raymond Smith, her lack of maternal instinct and the hours she spends at the piano, an obsession almost equal to her writing. Overall, this journal immerses the reader in a complex, searching, imaginative personality—an artist who continues to refine her search for literary expression. 16 pages of b&w photos.

September 15, 2007
In this first of presumably several volumes of her personal journals, Oates ("The Falls") has recorded her day-to-day activities, teaching experiences, meetings with friends, and, especially, thought processes as she works on her poems, short stories, or lengthy novels. She also discusses her interactions with other writers and her activities on several literary committees. Throughout the journal, several topics recur: her happiness in her marriage; her enjoyment of teaching; her initial uncertainty about how her long works will evolve, followed by periods of great production; and her frequent concern with the question of her public vs. private persona and the disconnect between how others view her and how she views herself. Not surprisingly, the volume is quite lengthy, but it is both well edited and fascinating, though best read at a leisurely pace. Highly recommended for academic and larger public libraries. [Packaged in a colored cloth case with embossed lettering.Ed.]Gina Kaiser, Univ. of the Sciences in Philadelphia

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