New Selected Essays: Where I Live

New Selected Essays: Where I Live

"There isn't a dull or conventional page, or an unlovely sentence in the book."â€”Scott Eyman, The Palm Beach Post
For most of his Broadway plays Tennessee Williams composed an essay, most often for The New York Times, to be published just prior to openingâ€”something to whet the theatergoersâ€™ appetites and to get the critics thinking. Many of these were collected in the 1978 volume Where I Live, which is now expanded by noted Williams scholar John S. Bak to include all of Williamsâ€™ theater essays, biographical pieces, introductions and reviews. This volume also includes a few occasional pieces, program notes, and a discreet selection of juvenilia such as his 1927 essay published in Smart Set, which answers the question â€œCan a good wife be a good sport?â€

Wonderful and candid stories abound in these essaysâ€”from erudite observations on the theater to veneration for great actresses. In â€œFive Fiery Ladiesâ€ Williams describes his fascinated, deep appreciation of Vivien Leigh, Geraldine Page, Anna Magnani, Katharine Hepburn, and Elizabeth Taylor, all of whom created roles in stage or film versions of his plays. There are two tributes to his great friend Carson McCullers; reviews of Cocteauâ€™s film Orpheus and of two novels by Paul Bowles; a portrait of Williamsâ€™ longtime agent Audrey Wood; a salute to Tallulah Bankhead; a political statement from 1972, â€œWe Are Dissenters Nowâ€; some hilarious stories in response to Elia Kazanâ€™s frequent admonition, â€œTennessee, Never Talk to An Actressâ€; and Williamsâ€™ most moving and astute autobiographical essay, â€œThe Man in the Overstuffed Chair.â€

Theater critic and essayist John Lahr has provided a terrific foreword which sheds further light on Tennessee Williamsâ€™ writing process, always fueled by Williamsâ€™ self-deprecating humor and his empathy for lifeâ€™s nonconformists.
Country USA
Brand New Directions
Manufacturer New Directions
Binding Paperback
ItemPartNumber 9780811217286
ReleaseDate 2009-04-21
UnitCount 1
EANs 9780811217286

Country	USA
Brand	New Directions
Manufacturer	New Directions
Binding	Paperback
ItemPartNumber	9780811217286
ReleaseDate	2009-04-21
UnitCount	1
EANs	9780811217286

New Selected Essays: Where I Live

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