A Momentary Taste of Being

Nice presentation and commentary on "The Far Field."  Things like this are what make the internet so wonderful.  Outside of a college class, there are few chances to share in this kind of reflection and, dare I say it, true love of literature and of a poem.  My deepest thanks and appreciation to the commentator--nicely shared, beautifully done.

In this case, Theodore Roethke's The Far Field

In several post over the last few days, I've exposed some of what I've considered the weak points of this short and lively survey of part of the world of Detective literature.  Ms. James admittedly confines much of her work to a consideration of the British Detective novel, though truth to tell, this intent does not emerge until late in the book.  So there is no mention of Rex Stout, Ed McBain, or any number of American authors.  All those mentioned tend to be in the mode of the Noir Detective--Raymond Chandler, Ross McDonald, Dashiell Hammett, and so forth. However, once one realizes and and adjusts to the scope of the work, much of what Miss James has to say about individual works and contributions seems accurate, if laden with a certain amount of chronological bias.  Her comments on the Golden Age female writers and treatements of women,while balanced does betray a preference for the "modern" treatment. However, her comments on Agatha Christie, as I pointed out,...