GETTING PERSONAL: Selected Writings
Phillip Lopate, . . Basic, $25 (399pp) ISBN 978-0-465-04173-2
Essayist, poet and cultural critic Lopate gleans from his previous works a selection representing various interests and illuminating his life. The essays form a discontinuous but satisfying whole. The first three sections center on his personal life and resemble fictional narratives, with fully drawn characters (e.g., Osao, a romantic interest whose love was "like the bonsai tree, perfect in its own limited way... doomed to grow no higher than one's knee," and a landlord who thinks typing will bring the ceiling down). Lopate captures speech so believably, it's easy to trust his memory for long-ago conversations. Craftily etched scenes draw readers into his second-grade classroom, onto a subway ride, along streets and into watching
Reviewed on: 09/29/2003
Genre: Nonfiction
Hardcover - 978-0-465-03646-2