The Virgin of Bennington [Paperback]

Kathleen Norris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2, 2002

Shy and sheltered as a young woman, Kathleen Norris wasn't prepared for the sex, drugs, and bohemianism of Bennington College in the late 1960s-and when she moved to New York City after graduation, it was a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire. In this chronicle, Norris remembers the education she received, both formal and fortuitous; the influence of her mentor Betty Kray, who shunned the spotlight while serving as a guiding force in the poetry world of the late 20th century; her encounters with such figures as James Merrill, Jim Carroll, Denise Levertov, Stanley Kunitz, Patti Smith, and Erica Jong; and her eventual decision to leave Manhattan for the less-crowded landscape she described so memorably in Dakota. This account of the making of a young writer will resonate with anyone who has stumbled bravely into a bigger world and found the poetry that lurks on rooftops and in railroad apartments-and with anyone who has enjoyed the blessings of inspiring teachers and great friends.

"Norris's engaging memoir describes her coming-of-age as a college student in Vermont, and her subsequent immersion in the vibrant, often incestuous poetry world of Manhattan in the early 70's--a milieu that proved to be both suffocating and inspiring for the young poet...As Norris shares the lessons she learned in her younger years--among them, that boorishness and emotional suffering are not useful in becoming a poet--she offers valuable, practical advice on the art of writing." (Newsday)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this absorbing coming-of-age memoir by the author of Dakota: A Spiritual Geography and Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith, Norris appeals to every reader's struggle to achieve adulthood, both personally and professionally. She tells of her own transformation via the New York art world of the 1960s and 1970s from a homesick first-year college student to a well-known poet and writer living in South Dakota with a strong sense of literary mission. Like many of her Bennington classmates, Norris moved after college to New York City, where she felt much like "Nick Carraway [adapting]... to the dazzling but dangerous world of the East Coast." Norris landed a job as an assistant to Elizabeth Kray at the Academy of American Poets the center of the poetry world which provided her "an opportunity to attend poetry readings, night after night, for close to five years." While in New York, Norris came into contact with an entire host of famous figures, from the decadent folks at Warhol's Factory to some of the most highly respected poets of the day, like Denise Levertov, Stanley Kunitz and James Wright. While gaining an education in urbanity and sophistication that might have made another soul more cynical and self-destructive, Norris managed to maintain a certain appealing innocence and optimism, evident in her receptivity to new experiences and new people, and her hesitancy to judge others. This inner strength leads her eventually to sever her dependency on Manhattan. Norris writes with warmth, frankness and amazing vividness about formative moments and events in her life, many of which readers especially those with artistic aspirations will be able to identify with and to learn from. (Apr.) Forecast: The strong sales of Norris's earlier books pave the way for this memoir, which should sell handsomely.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Poet and nonfiction author Norris is best known for her memoirs, including Dakota: A Spiritual Geography and The Cloister Walk. In her latest autobiographical installment, she traces her coming-of-age as a writer, from her years as a na ve "outsider" at freethinking Bennington College (1965-69), through her job as a program assistant at the Academy of American Poets (AAP) in New York City, to settling into marriage and an ancestral home in North Dakota in 1974. Large portions of the book detail and eulogize the career of her mentor, Elizabeth (Betty) Kray (1916-87), longtime director of the AAP and an innovator in making poets and their work accessible to the general public. Besides being a tribute to Kray and a meditation on personal growth, Norris's memoir provides an insider's account of early AAP efforts to gain funding for promotion of a Poets-in-the-Schools Program, poetry readings, retreats for writers, and other projects. Straightforward reading, with few highs or lows, this book shifts the focus away from Norris herself and is not as involving as her previous works. Recommended as a general-interest title at academic and public libraries.
- Carol A. McAllister, Coll. Of William & Mary Lib., Williamsburg, VA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Riverhead Trade (April 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157322913X
• ISBN-13: 978-1573229135
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #417,786 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kathleen Norris is the award-winning poet, writer, and author of the New York Times bestsellers The Cloister Walk, Amazing Grace, and Dakota: A Spiritual Geography. An oblate of Assumption Abbey, Norris divides her time between Hawaii and South Dakota.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars False Advertising - but some good moments, September 8, 2002

By 

Sheryl Katz (Chatsworth, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Virgin of Bennington (Paperback)

I picked up this book at the airport bookstore coming home from a vacation in the Bahamas. I was starved for something reasonably meaty to read having failed to bring enough books with me and having forgotten that they don't have Borders in Freeport. I hadn't read anything by Kathleen Norris but this book looked like an interesting, thoughtful coming of age story from the era during which I went to college.

It seemed to start out that way. The first few chapters were an enjoyable retelling of the author's experience at Bennington where she was the proverbial "fish out of water". Those chapters were well written and fun to read.

Then she went on to tell of her time as a young woman in New York City. Here the book derailed into more of a biography (hagiography might be a better description) of her mentor. If I were into the politics of the small world of modern poets, this might have been interesting. Instead, I found it laborious and not very interesting reading. Since I work in the publishing industry (although not in New York) and have occassionally been involved in business with some of the bigger publishing companies, it might have been fun to read about the politics of the publishing world. But this book was too narrow for that.

The were parts though from time to time that were interesting, and I did enjoy the first chapter. I think this book sets the reader up for disappointed by its title and what it seems to promise on the cover. But I think if the book were more appropriately described its audience would be very small.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Introducing a Virgin: Miss Marketed, June 8, 2002

By 

Virginia Lore "rumtussle" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Virgin of Bennington (Paperback)

The Virgin of Bennington by Kathleen Norris is misnamed, mismarketed and misleading to potential readers. Described as a memoir beginning at Bennington college and moving on to her first years in New York, the book focuses much less on Norris's coming of age than it does on the events before, during and after her friendship with Betty Kray, the executive director of the Academy of American Poets.

The primary fault with the book does not lie with the author, who admits at the end of the first chapter that the story begins with "an untidy but cheerful job interview" at the end of her college years. It lies instead with whoever decided to sensationalize what could be described as a quiet but interesting book of tribute to a woman who devoted herself to poets and poetry. Norris's prose is clear and easy to read. But her description of her brushes with famous and not-so-famous poets in New York in the 1970's are not that interesting, as the encounters themselves tend to be of the mundane variety. The true kernel of this book is Norris's love and admiration for Elizabeth Kray, which is only briefly alluded to on the book's cover. In sum, a bit of a disappointment.

For a true coming-of-age memoir, check out Susanna Kaysen's Girl Interrupted or the more recent humorously written Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Good Book from Kathleen Norris, May 7, 2001

By 

"mcferrans" (Eddy, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Virgin of Bennington (Hardcover)

I purchased this book the day it came out and returned to my favorite bookstore a few days later to find a large display of "The Virgin of Bennington" with the description "Sex, Drugs and Poetry". If you are looking for the first two, you would find more in a few minutes of a sitcom. Poetry, however, is the main context in which Norris tells the story of ten years of her life, from entering college to moving to her mother's childhood home in South Dakota. While the world of late sixties-early seventies poetry may not seem the most interesting of subjects, Norris mananges to hold the reader's interest until we encounter the real subject, Elizabeth Kray, the arts administrator who headed the Academy of American Poets.

Norris' abilities as a storyteller were evident in her earlier works, especially "Dakota: A Spiritual Geography", and again she takes what might be for some an uninteresting subject and grabs our attention. Readers who are looking for a spiritual read similar to Norris' earlier prose may be disappointed, but I feel that Norris probably sees God's hand in her experiences with Kray.

Highly recommended, well-written and, more importantly, well thought out.