A Skeptic's Guide to Writers' Houses
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نقد و بررسی
January 10, 2011
The phenomenon of visiting writers' houses as a form of literary homage has existed for centuries, as literary enthusiasts have toured the homes of Shakespeare and countless other writers to connect, become inspired, or pay tribute. Trubek (Writing Material) offers an amusingly jaundiced eye towards this notion by visiting the homes of several writers, from of Louisa May Alcott to Hemingway to Poe, in an attempt to discover what draws people in and what connection they might be able to experience from this much remove. The end result is an interesting jaunt through American literature and the American preoccupation with fashioning (and profiting from) sacred spaces, coupled with genuinely fascinating little-known biographical information about iconic authors. Trubek is brutally honest (and occasionally funny) about what does and does not feel meaningful, and her travelogue is well-written and quick. While she does seem to harp on the same themes again and again, occasional moments of genuine emotion make it worth the trip. Trubek does a great job of following a succinct formula and readers in search of an objective look at writers' houses worth visiting will find this a useful guide.
September 15, 2010
By her own admission, Trubek (rhetoric & composition of English, Oberlin Coll.) is not a fan of writers' houses and affirms that this is not a travel guide to them. "I often find the experiences of visiting these houses deadening, so I kept asking others why they seek them out," she writes. "The truth is, I am addicted to these stories of spiritual fulfillment, the hushed performances of empathy, and the acts of supplication to the aura of creative genius I have found at the twenty or so writers' houses I have visited." Of those, she covers the haunts of Walt Whitman, Mark Twain, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Louisa May Alcott, Ernest Hemingway, Thomas Wolfe, Jack London, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Chesnutt, and Langston Hughes. VERDICT The book, true to its title, starts off snarkily enough. A bit of a spoilsport for those of us who like to go to writers' houses, Trubek redeems herself by the end. Recommended for readers who enjoy American literature or historical preservation.--Lee Arnold, Historical Soc. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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