In the Midst of Winter: Selections from the Literature of Mourning [Paperback]

Mary Jane Moffat (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 3, 1992

Death silences not only those it takes, but those it leaves behind: All too typically we can neither express our grief nor express sympathy for the bereaved. In his sensitive collection, toss finds a voice -- or several voices -- in the poetry, fiction, letters, and diaries of the world's great writers. Here are James Agee, recording the shock of his father's death; William Shakespeare, making poetry of Cleopatra's grief; the Biblical wisdom of The Book of Lamentations"; the psychological acuity of Marcel Proust. Here are mourners from classical Rome to eleventh-century China, from the Paiute Indians to present-day Ireland. Arranged in sections that correspond to the stages of mourning, In the Midst of Winter is a collection whose breadth and resonance make it invaluable and utterly unique.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"It is hard to have patience with people who say, There is no death or Death doesn't matter. There is death. And whatever is matters."

-- C.S. Lewis

From the Inside Flap

Death silences not only those it takes, but those it leaves behind: All too typically we can neither express our grief nor express sympathy for the bereaved. In his sensitive collection, toss finds a voice -- or several voices -- in the poetry, fiction, letters, and diaries of the world's great writers. Here are James Agee, recording the shock of his father's death; William Shakespeare, making poetry of Cleopatra's grief; the Biblical wisdom of The Book of Lamentations"; the psychological acuity of Marcel Proust. Here are mourners from classical Rome to eleventh-century China, from the Paiute Indians to present-day Ireland. Arranged in sections that correspond to the stages of mourning, In the Midst of Winter is a collection whose breadth and resonance make it invaluable and utterly unique.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (March 3, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679738274
• ISBN-13: 978-0679738275
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #388,925 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Profoundly conceived, moving and helpful, July 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: In the Midst of Winter: Selections from the Literature of Mourning (Paperback)

This wonderful anthology is for anyone who loves poetry, but can be a miracle for those who both love poems and who find themselves in grief. It is so simply and intelligently organized, into sections that approximate stages following the loss of one who is loved, with selections of poetry ranging from classic Chinese poets Mei Sheng and Fu I, whose first century B.C. verse hit my sensibilities as strongly as Anne Sexton's, to the incredible unvarnished strength of several Edna St. Vincent Millay poems, that forced me to see that poet in a different light. Each section can be read as its own anthology.

I salute Mary Jane Moffat for this wonderful volume and commend it to everyone. It grew from the author's personal loss, and its careful selections and great strength reflect this. For me, facing the greatest loss I could ever imagine, it was a great gift, the only writing that matterred to me for months. The volume closes with the wonderful "Dear Men and Women" of John Hall Wheelock. Please read it all!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best "mourning anthology" I've seen, February 9, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: In the Midst of Winter: Selections from the Literature of Mourning (Paperback)

Wide-ranging, well-chosen short works (mostly poems, some chapters and essays) on death and grieving. I particularly liked how it was divided into "seasons" of grieving, so I could pick a section depending on how I was feeling in my bereavement that particular day (e.g., "Winter" is divided into Shock, Idealization and Anger, Sing Sorrow, Consolations, etc; "Summer/Fall" have Memory, Dreaming the Dead, Grief's Wisdom, etc). There are individual sections on Mourning the Loss of a Child and The Grief of Children.

I have had my own losses and grief work in the past, and now work with the dying. I cannot recommend this book highly enough to families and friends. This is the one to go to to get some solace, find something for the eulogy, have a poem for the memorial service, or just find a like mind months and years after the loss. This is it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good literary anthology, July 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: In the Midst of Winter: Selections from the Literature of Mourning (Paperback)

This is an excellent collection of literary selections about grieving. I was given this book and one other (Dying: A Book of Comfort, ed. Pat McNees) when my mother died. I couldn't read anything very long -- couldn't concentrate -- so it was helpful to have these books with short passages on what I was going through.