May Sarton Summary

Now in her vigorous seventies, May Sarton has produced fourteen books of poetry, as well as eighteen novels, several nonfiction "journals," books for children, and autobiographical works. Her range is... Read more

In the following review of The Lion and the Rose, Bacon comments favorably on Sarton's execution and expression. May Sarton is an artist of remarkable powers. She is one of those rare poets who... Read more

In the following essay, Taylor presents a retrospective of Sarton's career as a poet up to the publication of her Collected Poems. I The retrospective exhibition of a poetic career may be eithe... Read more

In the following essay, Hunting argues against critics who consider Sarton's works to be simplistic and overly genteel. In his Preface to A History of Science, George Sarton, the pre-eminent sc... Read more

In the following essay, Mandel explores major themes and poetic forms in Sarton's early poetry and discusses them as part of the “signature” of her work. A painter's hand m... Read more

In the following essay, Casey discusses Sarton's humanistic poetics. The mysterious muse, the source of poetic vision, has been the central focus of May Sarton's poetry and poetics for o... Read more

In the following review, Ringold lauds the vitality and clarity of the poems in Letters from Maine as well as the entries in her journal At Seventy. In a year of what seems to be the celebration of th... Read more

In the following essay, Code explores issues of responsibility, morality, and dependency in Sarton's As We Are Now. I Introduction In her short novel As We Are Now,1 the American novelist May S... Read more

In the following essay, Otis compares the language in“Because What I Want Most Is Permanence” to a river flowing ever deeper, “offering tranquility and continuity.” Because... Read more

In the following essay, Heilbrun views Sarton as an outsider and speculates how this position has affected her work. May Sarton's life is a mirror image of the usual American success story. In ... Read more

In the following essay, DeShazer analyzes Sarton's complex treatment of “crucial relationship between the woman poet and her muse” as evidenced in the poems of A Durable Fire. &#x... Read more

In the following essay, Sibley identifies the theme of communion as central to Sarton's later novels. In the second group of Miss Sarton's novels, published before Kinds of Love (1970), ... Read more

In the following essay, Stout explores the importance of silent communication in Sarton's novels. This voice itself and not the language spoken. —May Sarton, “A Voice” The... Read more

In the following review, Lockett delineates the defining characteristics of Sarton's verse in her Collected Poems (1930-1993). Even the most devout reader of May Sarton's work may be rel... Read more

In the following essay, White scrutinizes Sarton's struggle with depression as expressed through her journals. It is tricky business offering the world a story that does not fit into mainstream... Read more

In the following essay, Bakerman emphasizes the themes of self and personal relationships in Sarton's work, perceiving them as the unifying forces of her oeuvre. With the publication of As We A... Read more

In the following review, Prothro offers a positive assessment of A Reckoning. In May Sarton's A Reckoning, Laura Spelman learns she has inoperable cancer, then realizes how ill-prepared she is ... Read more

In the following essay, Woodward traces Sarton's approach to aging in her novels and journals, contending that her “portrayal of old age is a welcome departure from the Western literary ... Read more

Critical Essay by Doris Grumbach May Sarton is very good, has always been very good, in suggesting personal bonds which hover on the edge of what we used to call "irregularity." Subtly p... Read more

Critical Essay by Edward Weeks Miss Sarton is usually best in her portraits of women, and Poppy [the protagonist in Crucial Conversations], with her feelings of outrage and despair, is altogether beli... Read more

Critical Essay by Jane S. Bakerman With the publication of As We Are Now (1973), May Sarton added another perspective to her continuing examination of two central and important themes. She treats in h... Read more

Critical Essay by James Finn Cotter [In Selected Poems of May Sarton], the poems shift between established forms and free verse, the best being the least technically tight. When subject and technique ... Read more

[In the interview below, originally conducted in September 1990, Sarton discusses various aspects of her career, life, and writing process.] May Sarton has written several novels, poems, and journal e... Read more

[Miner is an American novelist, short story writer, editor, critic, and educator. In the essay below, she examines the ways in which Sarton represents lesbians and single women in her writings, noting... Read more

[Schwartzkopff is an American editor. In the review below, she provides a favorable assessment of Encore.] May Sarton will never be a candidate for sainthood. She's crabby when she feels ill, s... Read more