Essays for Richard Ellmann: Omnium Gatherum

by Susan Dick, Declan Kiberd

Ellmann's sensitivity to what it meant to be an artist shaped his work from the outset: "The life of an artist ... differs from the lives of other persons in that its events are becoming artistic sources even as they command his present attention. Instead of allowing each day, pushed back by the next, to lapse into imprecise memory, he shapes again the experiences which have shaped him." Richard Ellmann died in 1987. His life and work have touched the lives of many. Some of the essays in this collection commemorate Richard Ellmann and his committment to Twentieth Century literature: most provide a continuing investigation of the Twentieth Century literature to which he devoted his carrer. Contributors include: Alison Armstrong, Daniel Albright, Christopher Butler, Carol Cantrell, Jonathan Culler, Elizabeth Butler Cullingford, Andonis Decavelles, Rupin Desai, Susan Dick, Terence Diggory, Terry Eagleton, Rosita Fanto, Charles Feidelson, James Flannery, Charles Huttar, Bruce Johnson, John Kelleher, Brendan Kennelly, Frank Kermode, Declan Kiberd, Peter Kuch, Bruce Johnson, James Laughlin, A. Walton Litz, Dominic Manganiello, Ellsworth Mason, Christie McDonald, Dougald McMillan, Sean O'Mordha, Vivian Mercier, Mary T. Reynolds, William K. Robertson, Joseph Ronsley, S.P. Rosenbaum, Ann Saddlemyer, Sylvan Schendler, Daniel Schneider, Fritz Senn, Jon Stallworthy, Lonnie Weatherby, Thomas Whitaker, and Elaine Yarosky.

496 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[Paleofuture · Rating 3 out of 5]

Richard Ellmann is now mostly known for his biography on James Joyce, but he also wrote on Yeats, Wilde and Beckett, as well as others. This book is a sort of appreciation of him and his subjects. It began to get cobbled together as Ellmann's body was fulfilling the ends of his mortality and was finished after. It has some remembrances of him, as well as some insightful articles on his usual subjects. As is the case with such a book, it is hit and miss, but overall a good read. It is on the academic side, but if you're into any of the above authors mentioned, there are a few articles on each so you're bound to find something interesting. One of my favorites was a lone article on D.H. Lawrence and his interest in animism, (the idea that all natural objects have a living 'soul' or essence). Worth checking out if you come across it at a library, (where I did), or garage sale. Not widely available now I presume, but you never know.