Just the Thing: Selected Letters of James Schuyler - Softcover

Schuyler, James

4.48

29 ratings by Goodreads

9781885586308: Just the Thing: Selected Letters of James Schuyler

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1885586302 ISBN 13: 9781885586308

Publisher: Turtle Point Press, 2009

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"An extraordinarily rich and compelling book, a wonder . . . the perfect companion to [Schuyler's] brilliant and memorable poems."―Paul Auster

"James Schuyler's letters are all of a piece. . . . They have his virtues: wit, humor, intelligent observations about writing, writers, painting, and painters expressed off-handedly, bits of brilliant description of nature and weather, and a sense of the world lived in, sharply observed, and lovingly accepted for all that it is. All of a piece but with Schuyler's voice adjusted to different friends, pitched to their particular wavelengths. And, of course, his voice changes over the years as he ages and his correspondents extend beyond his contemporaries to younger friends." ―William Corbett, from the Introduction

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From the Back Cover:

"An extraordinarily rich and compelling book, a wonder. James Schuyler’s letters provide the perfect companion to his brilliant and memorable poems—hilarious, self-deprecating, insightful, and moving, ever so moving: I love being in love with you, it makes even unhappiness seem bigger than a pin, even at the times when I wish violently that I could give my heart to science and be rid of it." –Paul Auster

"James Schuyler’s letters are all of a piece. When I took on the project of editing these letters, a friend of Schuyler’s exclaimed, ‘Great! More Jimmy!’ Yes, more Jimmy. Those who know and love his poetry, novels, art criticism, and diary will find the same man and writer present in these letters. They have his virtues: wit, humor, intelligent observations about writing, writers, painting, and painters expressed off-handedly, bits of brilliant description of nature and weather, and a sense of the world lived in, sharply observed, and lovingly accepted for all that it is. All of a piece but with Schuyler’s voice adjusted to different friends, pitched to their particular wavelengths. And, of course, his voice changes over the years as he ages and his correspondents extend beyond his contemporaries to younger friends."—William Corbett, from the Introduction to Just the Thing

About the Author:

William Corbett (1942–2018) was a poet, essayist, educator, editor, and publisher. He taught at Harvard, MIT, and NYU, and lived in Boston’s South End and, later, in Brooklyn.

James Schuyler (1923–1991) was the recipient of the 1981 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry for The Morning of the Poem. He belonged to the first generation of New York School poets, along with Kenneth Koch, John Ashbery, Frank O'Hara, and Barbara Guest. He wrote three novels, including one with John Ashbery.

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