Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #950033 in Books
• Published on: 2001-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 528 pages

Synopsis
Explores the work and tormented life of the American poet, a woman who struggled with mental illness throughout her career, finally taking her own life in 1974.

Customer Reviews

Fascinating insight into a sorely neglected poet
Diane Wood Middlebrook's account of Anne Sexton's life is both absorbing and well written, with Sexton's life being neatly divided into sensible chunks for the less than casual reader - which makes it ideal for the university student who does not have time to commit to the whole biography, but who wants to go one step further than an index search. Saying this, however, once you start it is very hard to put down. Sexton's life is fascinating: raised by questionable parents and traumatised by the mental illness of her Aunt "Nana" (also called Anne), Sexton developed into an adult with a tendency to fall into trances, and experience severe hysteria. Indeed, despite the fact she gave international and highly dramatic poetry readings, she often needed a chaperone to accompany her outdoors due to her intense fear