Leaving New York (Us)

A collection of essays and poems explores the attitudes of writers over the years toward the New York they left--or thought of leaving--behind, including Frank Conroy, Mona Simpson, Truman Capote, A. J. Liebling, and Toni Morrison. IP.

Celebrated writers past and present reflect on the theme "New York is a state of mind" in this fine collection. Although ostensibly about "leaving" New York, the thrust of these essays and poems is that leaving is not really possible; the experience of having once lived in New York is indelibly impressed on the creative spirit. Five essays were written expressly for this collection, including a piece by editor Norris (Dakota: A Spiritual Geography, LJ 12/92). The rest have been published previously. Many, such as those by Toni Morrison, Truman Capote, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Joan Didion, Tom Wolfe, and Henry James, are masterpieces. (One can only speculate about who might have been excluded.) Norris has loosely grouped the pieces into seven thematic clusters such as "Lyrics of the City" and "The City-Affectionate Shadows." Regardless of the book's external structure, a single thread runs through all of the authors' works: that New York and artistic endeavor are inextricably linked. Highly recommended.
Diane G. Premo, SILS, SUNY at Buffalo
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

New York has long been a mecca for aspiring writers, but it has exhausted and alienated as many literary pilgrims as it has lured and inspired. This unusual anthology, the inaugural title for the Hungry Mind Press, presents a quirky but nonetheless involving selection of essays, poems, song lyrics, and slices of fiction describing writers' experiences in that most challenging of cities. Norris, poet and author of Dakota: A Spiritual Geography (1992), herself a writer with conflicting feelings about New York, has chosen works that span several generations of writers wise to New York's inherent give-and-take. There's Henry James, Truman Capote, and Joan Didion, all a pleasure to encounter under any circumstances, as well as Mona Simpson, Frank Conroy, Bill McKibben, and Jamaica Kincaid. Some of Norris' choices are puzzling, especially in the poetry section, the book's weakest component, but in spite of its flaws, this is an anthology that will intrigue readers with a passion for American literature. Donna Seaman