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Editorial Reviews
From Kirkus Reviews
A Pulitzer Prize-winning poet (1987) occasionally gives her gift free rein in this somewhat mechanically rendered first novel- -about a young artistic black woman and her search for self. Virginia King returns to Akron, her hometown, as an artist-in- the-schools. Her interest in classical cello has become little more than a hobby since the end of her affair with a fellow cellist; her studies of drama and mime led to a dead end because Nixon-era America had no work for a serious black actress; and the experimental puppetry troupe she worked and lived with has gone under. But now, at Washington Elementary School, everything seems at first to go her way: she all but effortlessly captivates the children, as well as a gorgeous man who wears great-smelling cologne and helps heal past disappointment. For drama, there's the revelation of a family secret, the conflict between marriage and career, and an accident to a child. In between, Virginia visits her wise grandmother, delivers essaylike disquisitions on the history and psychology of puppetry, and has serious thoughts about the cello's classical repertoire. In these sections--even the didactic ones--the author seems to care about her subject and her own words. Perhaps adherence to conventional structure and development hindered Dove's vision: the telling of Virginia's personal story often seems driven more by obligation than inspiration. Virginia worth knowing, but she's not alive enough on the page to be of interest for herself instead of just for her situation. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside Flap Copy
A debut novel by the 1987 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. When a woman returns to her Midwestern hometown as an artist-in-residence to teach puppetry to schoolchildren, her homecoming also means dealing with memories of racism, rejected love--and truths about her family. Author readings. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
A Pulitzer Prize-winning poet (1987) occasionally gives her gift free rein in this somewhat mechanically rendered first novel- -about a young artistic black woman and her search for self. Virginia King returns to Akron, her hometown, as an artist-in- the-schools. Her interest in classical cello has become little more than a hobby since the end of her affair with a fellow cellist; her studies of drama and mime led to a dead end because Nixon-era America had no work for a serious black actress; and the experimental puppetry troupe she worked and lived with has gone under. But now, at Washington Elementary School, everything seems at first to go her way: she all but effortlessly captivates the children, as well as a gorgeous man who wears great-smelling cologne and helps heal past disappointment. For drama, there's the revelation of a family secret, the conflict between marriage and career, and an accident to a child. In between, Virginia visits her wise grandmother, delivers essaylike disquisitions on the history and psychology of puppetry, and has serious thoughts about the cello's classical repertoire. In these sections--even the didactic ones--the author seems to care about her subject and her own words. Perhaps adherence to conventional structure and development hindered Dove's vision: the telling of Virginia's personal story often seems driven more by obligation than inspiration. Virginia worth knowing, but she's not alive enough on the page to be of interest for herself instead of just for her situation. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside Flap Copy
A debut novel by the 1987 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. When a woman returns to her Midwestern hometown as an artist-in-residence to teach puppetry to schoolchildren, her homecoming also means dealing with memories of racism, rejected love--and truths about her family. Author readings. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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26
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- Conversations With Rita Dove (Literary Conversations Series) by Rita Dove on 13 pages
- Rita Dove's Cosmopolitanism: Poems by Malin Pereira on 6 pages
- First Words: Earliest Writing from Favorite Contemporary Authors by Paul Mandelbaum on 5 pages
- The Courage to Write: How Writers Transcend Fear by Ralph Keyes on page 119, page 131, and Back Matter
- The Courage to Write: How Writers Transcend Fear by Ralph Keyes on page 124, page 137, and Back Matter
See all 26 books citing this book
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