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By
Alan Shapiro
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Bibliographic Detail
Publisher
Univ of Chicago Pr
Publication date
October 1, 1996
Pages
229
Binding
Hardcover
Book category
Adult Non-Fiction
ISBN-13
9780226750323
ISBN-10
0226750329
Dimensions
0.75 by 6.25 by 7.75 in.
Weight
1 lbs.
Original list price
$25.00
Other format details
university press
Summaries and Reviews
Summary
The author traces his coming-of-age as an aspiring poet in a Jewish household in the late sixties, exploring how his discovery of particular poems shaped his life, from his relationship to Judaism to the death of his sister. UP.
Amazon.com description: Product Description:
"The literary criticism is sharp, but what enthralls the reader more is Shapiro's humorous but honest perspective on his younger self, a perspective that is critical without being condescending."—Heller McAlpin, Newsday
The Last Happy Occasion is the coming-of-age story of an American Jew and aspiring writer in the sixties and seventies. In this memoir in six movements, Alan Shapiro recalls how poetry helped him make sense of his own and other people's lives. Events unfold, including his sister's death, that make him reconsider the transformative power of art and accept the limitations of poetry in confronting the untransformable pain of mortal loss.
A refreshingly honest, lovingly crafted work, The Last Happy Occasion is a treasure map for anyone interested in exploring the intersections of life and art.
A refreshingly honest, lovingly crafted work, The Last Happy Occasion is a treasure map for anyone interested in exploring the intersections of life and art.
Nominated for the 1996 National Book Critics Circle Award.
"[Shapiro] seeks what lies at the deepest level of the human heart to mitigate his—and our—separateness from others."—Chase Collins, Chicago Tribune Books
"The Last Happy Occasion is touching and intelligent, emotionally satisfying and eloquent testimony to the power of poetry to instruct, heal and inspire."—Emily Barton, New York Times Book Review
"Shapiro, not unlike Auden, doses his wordplay with a certain sly irony. . . . We come away from Shapiro's book with an intimate appreciation of the little subversions that poetry can work in one's life."—Jonathan Kirsch, Los Angeles Times
"He is an acute observer of moments, people, art and language. And he packs even seemingly simple stories with many layers of meaning. . . . He shows us the power and importance of transformative art in life."—Publishers Weekly, starred review
"The Last Happy Occasion is touching and intelligent, emotionally satisfying and eloquent testimony to the power of poetry to instruct, heal and inspire."—Emily Barton, New York Times Book Review
"Shapiro, not unlike Auden, doses his wordplay with a certain sly irony. . . . We come away from Shapiro's book with an intimate appreciation of the little subversions that poetry can work in one's life."—Jonathan Kirsch, Los Angeles Times
"He is an acute observer of moments, people, art and language. And he packs even seemingly simple stories with many layers of meaning. . . . He shows us the power and importance of transformative art in life."—Publishers Weekly, starred review
"The literary criticism is sharp, but what enthralls the reader more is Shapiro's humorous but honest perspective on his younger self, a perspective that is critical without being condescending."—Heller McAlpin, Newsday
Editions
Hardcover
The price comparison is for this edition
from Univ of Chicago Pr (October 1, 1996)
9780226750323 | details & prices | 229 pages | 6.25 × 7.75 × 0.75 in. | 1.00 lbs | List price $25.00
About: Describes how poetry can illuminate and influence an ordinary-seeming life, and recounts the author's middle-class Jewish childhood, his youth in the 1960s, including his attendance at Woodstock, the birth of his son, and other episodes
About: Describes how poetry can illuminate and influence an ordinary-seeming life, and recounts the author's middle-class Jewish childhood, his youth in the 1960s, including his attendance at Woodstock, the birth of his son, and other episodes
Paperback
from Univ of Chicago Pr (December 1, 1997)
9780226750361 | details & prices | 6.00 × 8.00 × 0.75 in. | 0.65 lbs | List price $23.00
About: The Last Happy Occasion is the coming-of-age story of an American Jew and aspiring writer in the sixties and seventies.
About: The Last Happy Occasion is the coming-of-age story of an American Jew and aspiring writer in the sixties and seventies.
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