Synopses & Reviews
This is the much awaited authorized biography of American writer and artist Kenneth Patchen (1911-1972). Smith has completed an earlier critical study KENNETH PATCHEN (Twayne) and a video docu-drama KENNETH PATCHEN: AN ART OF ENGAGEMENT (1989). Here this American rebel artist stands exposed as a person of great strength and perseverence. His and wife Miriam's story is one of the great love stories in American literature.
Review
From CHOICE magazine, American Association of Libraries:
"Like so many leftist writers of the 1930s, Patchen (1911-1972)has suffered under modernist interpretations of US literature, which established an ironclad canon and for the most part ignored the others. In his fables, love poems, and picture poems Patchen developed a complex mythology that conveys his compassionate fascination with the world's brutality. ....The quintessential starving, angst-ridden artist, Patchen was buoyed up in life by the devotion of his wife. Smith (Bowling Green State University) here concentrates on the details of Patchen's life. . . . the book is a long-awaited treatment of a negelected Promethean poet. [Recommended to] all poetry collections." - J.Shreve
CHOICE 2000
Review
"He represents all that a poet should, whether expressing himself in verse, in prose, in paint, or in action." -Henry Miller
"Kenneth Patchen was a poet; he was that all the time. He is that still. That is what is meant by 'Poet.' The poetry never stops working if it is real." -Miriam Patchen
"It has taken more than 25 years for this poet's life to see the light of day in this rich, thorough, and compelling biography." -Norbert Blei
Synopsis
This is the long awaited authorized biography of this important American writer and artist.