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Peter Taylor: A Writer's Life
“Splendid. . . . McAlexander’s biography only makes it clearer than ever that Peter Taylor was our last great southern man of letters.”― Chicago Tribune
“For those of us to whom Taylor’s writing is among the chief glories of 20th-century American literature, Peter A Writer’s Life has much to tell us about how he emerged from what he called ‘the small old world we knew...in Tennessee’ and explored that world with such acuity, clarity, and unsentimental love.”―Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post Book World
“McAlexander has done a splendid job of tracing the progression of Taylor’s writing through the circumstances of a surprisingly frenetic life...Anyone interested in the evolution of fiction writing in the last century will be delighted to come upon this volume...fascinating, sometimes amusing, and often heartbreaking.”― New York Times Book Review
Hubert H. McAlexander’s accomplished portrait of Peter Taylor (1917–1994) achieves a remarkable intimacy with this central figure in the history of the American short story and one of the greatest southern writers of his time. McAlexander knits together the facts of Taylor’s life in a compelling, seamless his deep and distinguished family roots in Tennessee; his close bonds with writers from three generations, including
Allen Tate, Robert Lowell, and James Alan McPherson; his establishment of the dysfunctional family as a force in American literature; and his perseverance as a writer, finally rewarded with the Pulitzer Prize at age seventy. Exhaustively researched and engagingly written, Peter Taylor presents a vivid picture of the man, the artist, and his literary milieu.
“For those of us to whom Taylor’s writing is among the chief glories of 20th-century American literature, Peter A Writer’s Life has much to tell us about how he emerged from what he called ‘the small old world we knew...in Tennessee’ and explored that world with such acuity, clarity, and unsentimental love.”―Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post Book World
“McAlexander has done a splendid job of tracing the progression of Taylor’s writing through the circumstances of a surprisingly frenetic life...Anyone interested in the evolution of fiction writing in the last century will be delighted to come upon this volume...fascinating, sometimes amusing, and often heartbreaking.”― New York Times Book Review
Hubert H. McAlexander’s accomplished portrait of Peter Taylor (1917–1994) achieves a remarkable intimacy with this central figure in the history of the American short story and one of the greatest southern writers of his time. McAlexander knits together the facts of Taylor’s life in a compelling, seamless his deep and distinguished family roots in Tennessee; his close bonds with writers from three generations, including
Allen Tate, Robert Lowell, and James Alan McPherson; his establishment of the dysfunctional family as a force in American literature; and his perseverance as a writer, finally rewarded with the Pulitzer Prize at age seventy. Exhaustively researched and engagingly written, Peter Taylor presents a vivid picture of the man, the artist, and his literary milieu.
338 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 16, 2021
By chance I came across a Library of Congress (L.C.) program produced in 1967 which featured Peter Taylor and John Updike, who each read from one of their stories, moderated by poet James Dickey (see URL below). Taylor read his "The Elect;" Updike read his "Harv is Plowing Now."
After reading Peter Taylor's stories and novels, Mr. McAlexander's biography was most helpful in relating the man to the work, and is one of the better literary bio's I have read.
It happens that my own serious literature journey began with Updike, both since his novel 'Poorhouse Fair' was assigned in my college freshman English class, enjoying many of his stories and essays in The New Yorker over the years, and then later with my desire to read all of Updike upon his passing in 2009.
Both authors have, of course, been praised for their short stories. Strangely, McAlexander's book contains a most poignant episode where Updike, as a book reviewer for The New Yorker, was brutal with Taylor's late-in-life novel 'A Summons to Memphis.' Updike was supposed to regard his reviews not as "critical essays" but as "reviews," where he said that he preferred to take a book on its own terms rather than scold the author for not writing "some other book," which he often accused literary critics of doing (especially with regard to Updike's own work!). So I found it startling that Updike was seemingly so mean? insensitive? tone deaf? to Taylor on this occasion. Then to see the two of them together in this (much earlier, 1967) L.C. reading just blew me away. Strange, sad irony.
The L.C. program also gives one the opportunity to see these two authors speak and hear their voices. On this detail, Taylor was far superior to Updike, as his smooth, nuanced Southern accent, placement of emphasis within sentences, and depth of feeling was powerful throughout. Updike had an incredible command of language in written form; but his speaking voice not nearly as dramatic. Taylor's reading ability was fully up to the task of giving an audience a robust experience, and indeed it reflected a certain depth of humanity.
Each author was courteous to the other in their remarks in the L.C. program. [Moderator Dickey added little and seemed tongue-tied.]
How does one regard a literary biography - the author's works, his or her life, the level of detail, the record of contemporaneous reaction to the work, etc.? McAlexander's book is heavy on certain aspects such as all of Taylor's friendships, his dizzying penchant for buying and selling houses, his love-hate relationship with teaching, his movement and travel, etc. It is perhaps light on getting into, explaining and critiquing the stories themselves. It gives glimpses of what critics liked or disliked about his work, but could have done more here.
Most authors say, "don't study my life; read my stories." Taylor's life had a particular background, given his impressive lineage. In any case, most fiction writers do write autobiographically one way or another (think Thomas Wolfe and John Updike). But Taylor's focus on certain relationships, especially within families (to build into his stories) was unique.
I have my own criticisms of Taylor's stories, but this is not the place to go into that. The pace of Taylor's stories, slower than most writers, including Southern writers, certainly took some getting used to. I've now read all of F. O'Connor, C. McCullers, W. Faulkner, T. Wolfe, E. Welty, and now Taylor. There is certainly no single Southern style - that is one thing that makes its members so interesting to me, a non-Southerner.
McAlexander's book is massively researched and documented; Taylor essentially designated him as his official biographer. The book is recommended to any and all Peter Taylor fans, and belongs in the canon of literary history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6twI...
After reading Peter Taylor's stories and novels, Mr. McAlexander's biography was most helpful in relating the man to the work, and is one of the better literary bio's I have read.
It happens that my own serious literature journey began with Updike, both since his novel 'Poorhouse Fair' was assigned in my college freshman English class, enjoying many of his stories and essays in The New Yorker over the years, and then later with my desire to read all of Updike upon his passing in 2009.
Both authors have, of course, been praised for their short stories. Strangely, McAlexander's book contains a most poignant episode where Updike, as a book reviewer for The New Yorker, was brutal with Taylor's late-in-life novel 'A Summons to Memphis.' Updike was supposed to regard his reviews not as "critical essays" but as "reviews," where he said that he preferred to take a book on its own terms rather than scold the author for not writing "some other book," which he often accused literary critics of doing (especially with regard to Updike's own work!). So I found it startling that Updike was seemingly so mean? insensitive? tone deaf? to Taylor on this occasion. Then to see the two of them together in this (much earlier, 1967) L.C. reading just blew me away. Strange, sad irony.
The L.C. program also gives one the opportunity to see these two authors speak and hear their voices. On this detail, Taylor was far superior to Updike, as his smooth, nuanced Southern accent, placement of emphasis within sentences, and depth of feeling was powerful throughout. Updike had an incredible command of language in written form; but his speaking voice not nearly as dramatic. Taylor's reading ability was fully up to the task of giving an audience a robust experience, and indeed it reflected a certain depth of humanity.
Each author was courteous to the other in their remarks in the L.C. program. [Moderator Dickey added little and seemed tongue-tied.]
How does one regard a literary biography - the author's works, his or her life, the level of detail, the record of contemporaneous reaction to the work, etc.? McAlexander's book is heavy on certain aspects such as all of Taylor's friendships, his dizzying penchant for buying and selling houses, his love-hate relationship with teaching, his movement and travel, etc. It is perhaps light on getting into, explaining and critiquing the stories themselves. It gives glimpses of what critics liked or disliked about his work, but could have done more here.
Most authors say, "don't study my life; read my stories." Taylor's life had a particular background, given his impressive lineage. In any case, most fiction writers do write autobiographically one way or another (think Thomas Wolfe and John Updike). But Taylor's focus on certain relationships, especially within families (to build into his stories) was unique.
I have my own criticisms of Taylor's stories, but this is not the place to go into that. The pace of Taylor's stories, slower than most writers, including Southern writers, certainly took some getting used to. I've now read all of F. O'Connor, C. McCullers, W. Faulkner, T. Wolfe, E. Welty, and now Taylor. There is certainly no single Southern style - that is one thing that makes its members so interesting to me, a non-Southerner.
McAlexander's book is massively researched and documented; Taylor essentially designated him as his official biographer. The book is recommended to any and all Peter Taylor fans, and belongs in the canon of literary history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6twI...
January 7, 2012
I don't really know how to review biographies--are you reviewing the life of the individual, or the biographer's skill (art?)? Nevertheless, this is a readable, enjoyable telling of the life of a writer I feel is tragically under-read. The connections and relationships he has with other major 20th century literary figures, Robert Lowell and Randall Jarrell in particular, are fascinating, and make this worth reading for anyone interested in the direction and history of 20th century American literature generally. For Taylor fans, it's a no-brainer, as his work and his life explicate each other. McAlexander writes a little too sweetly sometimes, but his personal relationship with Taylor makes that inevitable; nevertheless, a well-done and thoughtful story of a life.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews