Real West Marginal Way: A Poet's Autobiography
- Book Review,
by Ripley Hugo
From Publishers Weekly
Hugo's poetry is about the search for roots, our need to adapt to change so that everywhere is home; his poems embrace the whole American landscape. These loosely assembled, autobiographical and critical essays by the poet take us from his neurotic childhood in Seattle, where he was raised by strict grandparents who beat him, through a stint of teaching and hard drinking in Montana, to his treatment in psychotherapy and his happy, productive second marriage. One piece about his World War II experience as a pilot draws sardonic parallels to Catch-22. The title essay on West Marginal Way, a street in his hometown near Puget Sound, reveals that Hugo (who died in 1982) continually returned to rivers and to nature for inspiration. Also included are occasional pieces on his obsessions, baseball and movies, and an amusing essay explaining how his over-identification with Wallace Stevens enabled him to keep writing. Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
A distinguished poet and teacher, and editor of the Yale Younger Poets Series, Hugo died of leukemia in 1982. As was Making Certain It Goes On: the collected poems of Richard Hugo (Norton, 1984), the present volume is being issued posthumously. Not a typical autobiography, this collection of personal essays followed by an interview creates a composite picture of the poet's life and art. Hugo's difficult childhood, his love of softball, his service in World War II, his marriages, and his drinking problem are among the topics covered. Hugo comments on his poems throughout, and his explanations of their background provide a rare glimpse into the poet's creative process. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries with strong contemporary poetry collections. William Gargan, Brooklyn Coll. Lib., CUNYCopyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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