Synopses & Reviews
No star in any genre has affected the world as deeply or has lasted as long without fading as Marilyn Monroe. This thought-provoking and wide-ranging collection of essays examines the undiminished incandescence of Marilyn Monroe -- the impact she has had on our culture, the evolution of her legend since her death, and what she tells us now about our lives and times -- and includes previously unpublished work from some of America's best writers, such as: Joyce Carol Oates, Alice Elliot Dark, Albert Mobilo, Marge Piercy, Lore Segal, Lisa Shea, and many more.
From her troubled family beginnings to the infamous $13 million auction held at Christie's in New York City, All the Available Light paints an unforgettable portrait of Marilyn as you've never seen her before.
This extremely rare cover photo was taken c. 1954, on the set of The Seven Year Itch.
Review
Molly Jong-Fast author of Normal Girl All the Available Light glistens with luminescent essays from many glowing greats. This anthology shines more light directly on the face of America's greatest star.
Review
Natalia Ilyin author of Blonde Like Me: The Roots of the Blonde Myth in Our Culture All the Available Light does what no other book on Marilyn has been able to do: instead of plodding linearly through her facts and myth, pinning her identity under the lightbulb of interrogation, this rich group of essays produces a diffraction pattern, projects a three-dimensional image, delivers her to us like a hologram.
Review
Patricia Kennealy Morrison author of Strange Days: My Life With and Without Jim Morrison Sparkling and startling insights into the person and persona that both were Marilyn Monroe -- this collection reminds us all of what we too often forget: that under every lambent icon dwells a living, breathing, hurting, joyous human soul.
Review
Natalia Ilyin author of Blonde Like Me: The Roots of the Blonde Myth in Our Culture All the Available Light does what no other book on Marilyn has been able to do: instead of plodding linearly through her facts and myth, pinning her identity under the lightbulb of interrogation, this rich group of essays produces a diffraction pattern, projects a three-dimensional image, delivers her to us like a hologram.
Review
Patricia Kennealy Morrison author of Strange Days: My Life With and Without Jim Morrison Sparkling and startling insights into the person and persona that both were Marilyn Monroe -- this collection reminds us all of what we too often forget: that under every lambent icon dwells a living, breathing, hurting, joyous human soul.
Review
Molly Jong-Fast author of Normal Girl All the Available Light glistens with luminescent essays from many glowing greats. This anthology shines more light directly on the face of America's greatest star.
Synopsis
No star in any genre has affected the world as deeply or has lasted as long without fading as Marilyn Monroe. This thought-provoking and wide-ranging collection of essays examines the undiminished incandescence of Marilyn Monroe -- the impact she has had on our culture, the evolution of her legend since her death, and what she tells us now about our lives and times -- and includes previously unpublished work from some of America's best writers, such as: Joyce Carol Oates, Alice Elliot Dark, Albert Mobilo, Marge Piercy, Lore Segal, Lisa Shea, and many more.
From her troubled family beginnings to the infamous $13 million auction held at Christie's in New York City, All the Available Light paints an unforgettable portrait of Marilyn as you've never seen her before.
This extremely rare cover photo was taken c. 1954, on the set of The Seven Year Itch.
About the Author
Yona Zeldis McDonough is the author of the novels THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS and IN DAHLIA’S WAKE. She is also the editor of the essay collections THE BARBIE CHRONICLES: A LIVING DOLL TURNS FORTY and ALL THE AVAILABLE LIGHT: A MARILYN MONROE READER. Her short fiction, articles, and essays have been published in anthologies as well as in numerous national magazines, and newspapers. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Table of Contents
ContentsINTRODUCTION (Yona Zeldis McDonough)
FREEZE FRAME: MARILYN AS ICON
ICONOMANIA: FAME, SEX, PHOTOGRAPHY, AND THE MYTH OF MARILYN MONROE (Richard B. Woodward)CENTERFOLD (Joyce Carol Oates)
SOME LIKE HER HOT: MARILYN AND SEX
TOO SEXY, SEXY TOO (Alice Elliott Dark)SCRATCHING TOM EWELL'S ITCH (Albert Mobilio)
BOOT IN THE FACE: MARILYN AS VICTIM
THE WOMAN WHO WILL NOT DIE (Gloria Steinem)MARILYN, WE HARDLY KNEW YOU (Kate Millett)
THE "LOVE GOODDESS" WHO NEVER FOUND ANY LOVE (Clare Boothe Luce) Looking Good (Marge Piercy)
GOLDEN GIRL: MARILYN IN HOLLYWOOD
WE WOULD HAVE HAD TO INVENT HER (Molly Haskell)FACE VALUE (Sabrina Barton)
SEXY AND HER SISTERS (Lore Segal)
THE PRINCE AND THE SHOWGIRL (Sir Laurence Olivier)
PERSONAL GEOGRAPHY: MARILYN IN CULTURE
FRENCH KISS (Catherine Texier)MARILYN AT THE MIKVAH (Evan Zimroth)
TWO DAUGHTERS (Dennis Grunes)
THE SUM OF THE PARTS: MARILYN RECONSTRUCTED
MOTHER, DAUGHTER, SIREN, LOVER: MARILYN IN SONG (Lisa Shea)THE HUNTED (Melissa Holbrook Pierson)
RELIQUARY (Yona Zeldis McDonough)
CHRONOLOGY
NOTES
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS