The art of biography discussed by 10 acclaimed biographers. All the
writers included here represent a school known as "pure biography,"
which presents the subject's life as a narrative adventure, a
"novel of facts" rather than as a critical commentary or a
psychoanalytical investigation. Andre Maurois presents some basic
roles: choose a well-known person to write about, go in
chronological order, choose the essential details, practice
detachment towards your subject. Leon Edel calls for shorter
biographies that uncover the subject's "hidden personal myth."
Frank E. Vandiver sees biography as an "agent of humanism,"
embedded in the author's empathy for his subject. According to Mark
Schorer, the biographer must be a drudge, a critic, and an artist.
Barbara Tuchman, in an especially feisty essay, sees biography as a
doorway to history, and provides a list of great biographies in the
English language. Other contributions by Catherine Bowen, Justin
Kaplan, Paul Murray Kendall, Paul Mariani, and the editor confirm
the suspicion that biographers brandish all the literary skills of
novelists and investigative journalists, and that they long for
more critical recognition. Valuable for anyone planning to write a
biography. Otherwise, of interest only to academics - and repentant
critics. (Kirkus Reviews)
This volume is concerned exclusively with biography as a narrative
art, comprising essays by ten people who have actually practiced
the form.
General
| Imprint: |
University of Massachusetts Press
|
| Country of origin: |
United States |
| Release date: |
April 1986 |
| First published: |
June 1986 |
| Editors: |
Stephen B. Oates
|
| Authors: |
Stephen B. Oates
|
| Dimensions: |
229 x 140 x 13mm (L x W x T) |
| Format: |
Paperback
|
| Pages: |
200 |
| ISBN-13: |
978-0-87023-514-6 |
| Categories: |
Books
|
| LSN: |
0-87023-514-1 |
| Barcode: |
9780870235146 |
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