By Herself: Women Reclaim Poetry [Paperback]

Molly McQuade (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2000

Have women finally moved beyond the status of cultural outsiders to become full participants in American poetry and its criticism? In By Herself: Women Reclaim Poetry, contemporary women poets reconsider their art form on their own terms, and the results are both telling and fascinating. This lively and richly varied collection offers more than two dozen essays that are uniformly original, challenging, playful, and ruthlessly individualistic.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"While McQuade likes the 'lavish, unpredictable' qualities a poet can bring to criticism, she grants no superiority to women poets and critics per se. She does argue that, as longstanding outsiders to critical writing, women can often bring a freshness to its practice. This collection of essays by accomplished poets more than justifies her claim . . . No poet will read this book without learning something new about the nuances of the craft, and no critic will read it without realizing the need for such liveliness."—Library Journal

About the Author

Molly McQuade is the author of Stealing Glimpses: Of Poetry, Poets, and Things in Between and Barbarism, a collection of poems. Currently, she is a contributing editor for Graywolf Press, a correspondent for Booklist, and a board member of the National Book Critics Circle. She lives in New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Graywolf Press; First Edition edition (February 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1555972977
• ISBN-13: 978-1555972974
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #573,820 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

S.X. Rosenstock is the author of United Artists: Poems. Her essay, "Love in the Time of College Angst" appeared in Autumn of 2010 as part of a collection from St. Martin's Press, entitled I'm Going to College, Not You. Her writing about music, including Daft Punk, The Dead Weather, The Tallest Man on Earth, CocoRosie, Brandon Flowers' solo tour, and more, appears regularly on The Huffington Post. She is a contributor to the book of essays, By Herself: Women Reclaim Poetry. Her poetry had its debut in The Paris Review and was selected for inclusion in The Paris Review Book of Heartbreak, Madness, Sex, Love . . . : The Best of Fifty Years of The Paris Review. Rosenstock is a member of PEN American Center. Her website is devoted to music/poetry/meaning . . . served in a snark-free zone. Visit S.X. Rosenstock at www.littlebiggerroom.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Readable, Provocative Collection, November 6, 2000

By 

David Graham "The author" (Wisconsin USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: By Herself: Women Reclaim Poetry (Paperback)

A bountiful and highly lively set of critical essays on a wide range of topics, handsomely produced and intelligently selected. McQuade favors zesty prose and multiple perspectives; you won't find many more readable and varied collections than this.