A William Maxwell Portrait: Memories and Appreciations

by Charles Baxter (Editor), Michael Collier (Editor), Edward Hirsch (Editor)

William Maxwell, who died in July 2000, was revered as one of the twentieth century's great American writers and a longtime fiction editor at The New Yorker. Now writers who knew Maxwell and were inspired by him—both the man and his work—offer intimate essays, most specifically written for this volume, that "bring him back to life, right there in front of us."

Alec Wilkinson writes of Maxwell as mentor; Edward Hirsch remembers him in old age; Charles Baxter illuminates the magnificent novel So Long, See You Tomorrow; Ben Cheever recalls Maxwell and his own father; Donna Tartt vividly describes Maxwell's kindness to herself as a first novelist; and Michael Collier admires him as a supreme literary correspondent. Other appreciations include insightful pieces by Alice Munro, Anthony Hecht, a poem by John Updike, and a brief tribute from Paula Fox. Ending this splendid collection is Maxwell himself, in the unpublished speech "The Writer as Illusionist."

236 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2004

About the author

Charles Baxter was born in Minneapolis and graduated from Macalester College, in Saint Paul. After completing graduate work in English at the State University of New York at Buffalo, he taught for several years at Wayne State University in Detroit. In 1989, he moved to the Department of English at the University of Michigan--Ann Arbor and its MFA program. He now teaches at the University of Minnesota.

Baxter is the author of 4 novels, 4 collections of short stories, 3 collections of poems, a collection of essays on fiction and is the editor of other works. His works of fiction include Believers , The Feast of Love (nominated for the National Book Award), Saul and Patsy , and Through the Safety Net . He lives in Minneapolis.

Reviews

[Diane Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for fans of William Maxwell. I revere his writing and apparently so do the authors of these memories and essays. They go me one better though, they have all met him and spent time with him, and they revere the man as well.

He was a prolific letter writer and I have read his correspondence with Eudora Welty, but there are two other collections I'd like to read, his letters with Sylvia Townsend Warner and Frank O'Connor. He was a magnificent editor during his 40 years at The New Yorker, and adored his two daughters and his wife Emily. In fact, he died just 8 days after she did, no longer interested in life without her by his side.

These essays cast a revealing light on his life of friendship and literature. I have two more of his novels left to read, and I'm going to begin one of them today.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading this piece by authors remembering their experiences with William Maxwell, I have a greater appreciation for So Long, See You Tomorrow. It made me want to read other pieces written by Maxwell.

[Paul Wilner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Words fail to do this collection justice, so I won't try here. But if you read it, I believe you will see what I mean.