The Annotated Letters of Christopher Smart

Rizzo Ph.D., Betty [Editor]; Mahony A.B. Ph.D., Robert [Editor];

ISBN 10: 0809316099 / ISBN 13: 9780809316090

Published by Southern Illinois University Press, 1991

About this Item

New - unused and unread.

Seller Inventory # G1W-0809316099

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Annotated Letters of Christopher Smart
• Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press
• Publication Date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0809316099
• ISBN 13: 9780809316090
• Binding: hardcover
• Condition: New
• Weight: 18 ounces

About this title

Synopsis

The only collection of all known letters of Christopher Smart provides the best psychological explanation to date of that complex and elusive eighteenth-century poet.

The significant characteristics that distinguish Smart’s prose letters from his poetry, Betty Rizzo and Robert Mahony note, are that his letters were requests for assistance while his verses were bequests, gifts in which he set great store. Indeed, it was Smart’s lifelong conviction that he was a poet of major importance.

As Smart biographer Karina Williamson notes, "The splendidly informative and vivaciously written accounts of the circumstances surrounding each letter, or group of letters, add up to what is in effect a miniature biography."

About the Author

Betty Rizzo is professor of English at the City College of New York.

Robert Mahony is associate professor of English and director of the Center for Irish Studies at Catholic University of America.