Chasing Bright Medusas: A Life of Willa Cather

By: Benjamin Taylor

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Synopsis: A tender biography of one of the greatest authors of the twentieth century and an elegant exploration of artistic endurance, as told by a lifelong lover of Willa Cather&’s workThe story of Willa Cather is defined by a lifetime of determination, struggle, and gradual emergence. Some show their full powers early, yet Cather was the opposite—she took her time and transformed herself by stages. The writer who leapt to the forefront of American letters with O Pioneers! (1913), The Song of the Lark (1915), and My Ántonia (1918) was already well into middle age. Through years of provincial journalism in Nebraska, brief spells of teaching, and editorial work on magazines, she persevered in pursuit of the ultimate goal—literary immortality.Unlike Hemingway, Faulkner, and Fitzgerald, her idealism was unironic, and she stood alone among the great modern authors—at odds with the fashionable attitudes of her time. Combining intricate analysis with an empathetic, lyrical voice, Benjamin Taylor uncovers the reality of Cather&’s artistic development, from modest beginnings to the triumphs of her mature years. His book is simultaneously an homage to her character, a warm consideration of her work, and a case being made to read Cather with renewed vigor.

Book Quality:: Publisher Quality
Book Size:: 192 Pages
ISBN-13:: 9780593298831
Related ISBNs:: 9780593298824
Publisher:: Penguin Publishing Group
Date of Addition:: 12/04/23
Copyrighted By:: Benjamin Taylor
Adult content:: No
Language:: English
Has Image Descriptions:: No
Categories:: Nonfiction, Art and Architecture, Biographies and Memoirs, Literature and Fiction, Language Arts
Submitted By:: Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:: This is a copyrighted book.