Selected Letters of William Styron by William Styron (2012, Hardcover) 1ed/1prt

Alley Cat Books
(3224)
Seller's other items
Contact seller
US $13.99
ApproximatelyS$ 18.17
Condition:
Very Good
“DUST JACKET SHOWS minor WEAR”
Breathe easy. Returns accepted.
Shipping:
US $4.00 (approx S$ 5.19) USPS Media MailTM.
Located in: Choctaw, Oklahoma, United States
Delivery:
Estimated between Thu, 20 Nov and Mon, 24 Nov to 94104
Delivery time is estimated using our proprietary method which is based on the buyer's proximity to the item location, the shipping service selected, the seller's shipping history, and other factors. Delivery times may vary, especially during peak periods.
Returns:
30 days return. Buyer pays for return shipping. If you use an eBay shipping label, it will be deducted from your refund amount.
Coverage:
Read item description or contact seller for details. See all detailsSee all details on coverage
(Not eligible for eBay purchase protection programmes)
Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing.
eBay item number:173845766034
Last updated on Jun 28, 2024 09:07:49 SGTView all revisionsView all revisions

Item specifics

Condition
Very Good
A book that has been read but is in excellent condition. No obvious damage to the cover, with the dust jacket included for hard covers. No missing or damaged pages, no creases or tears, and no underlining/highlighting of text or writing in the margins. May be very minimal identifying marks on the inside cover. Very minimal wear and tear. See all condition definitionsopens in a new window or tab
Seller Notes
“DUST JACKET SHOWS minor WEAR”
Features
1st Edition
Special Attributes
1st Edition
ISBN
9781400068067
Category

About this product

Product Identifiers

Publisher
Random House Publishing Group
ISBN-10
1400068061
ISBN-13
9781400068067
eBay Product ID (ePID)
114078731

Product Key Features

Book Title
Selected Letters of William Styron
Number of Pages
704 Pages
Language
English
Topic
Letters, American / General, Literary, Books & Reading
Publication Year
2012
Illustrator
Yes
Genre
Literary Criticism, Biography & Autobiography, Literary Collections
Author
William Styron
Format
Hardcover

Dimensions

Item Height
1.9 in
Item Weight
38.9 Oz
Item Length
9.5 in
Item Width
6.5 in

Additional Product Features

Intended Audience
Trade
LCCN
2012-013783
Reviews
Advance praise for Selected Letters of William Styron   "The Bill Styron revealed in these letters is altogether the Bill Styron who was a dear friend and esteemed colleague to me for close to fifty years. The humor, the generosity, the loyalty, the self-awareness, the commitment to literature, the openness, the candor about matters closest to him-all are on display in this superb selection of his correspondence. The directness in the artful sentences is such that I felt his beguiling presence all the while that I was enjoying one letter after another."-Philip Roth   "Bill Styron's letters were never envisioned, far less composed, as part of the Styron oeuvre, yet that is what they turn out to be. Brilliant, passionate, eloquent, insightful, moving, dirty-minded, indignant, and hilarious, they accumulate power in the reading, becoming in themselves a work of literature."-Peter Matthiessen, Advance praise for Selected Letters of William Styron   "I first encountered Bill Styron when, at twenty, I read The Confessions of Nat Turner . Hillary and I became friends with Bill and Rose early in my presidency, but I continued to read him, fascinated by the man and his work, his triumphs and troubles, the brilliant lights and dark corners of his amazing mind. These letters, carefully and lovingly selected by Rose, offer real insight into both the great writer and the good man."-President Bill Clinton "The Bill Styron revealed in these letters is altogether the Bill Styron who was a dear friend and esteemed colleague to me for close to fifty years. The humor, the generosity, the loyalty, the self-awareness, the commitment to literature, the openness, the candor about matters closest to him-all are on display in this superb selection of his correspondence. The directness in the artful sentences is such that I felt his beguiling presence all the while that I was enjoying one letter after another."-Philip Roth   "Bill Styron's letters were never envisioned, far less composed, as part of the Styron oeuvre, yet that is what they turn out to be. Brilliant, passionate, eloquent, insightful, moving, dirty-minded, indignant, and hilarious, they accumulate power in the reading, becoming in themselves a work of literature."-Peter Matthiessen
Dewey Edition
23
Dewey Decimal
813/.54 B
Synopsis
In 1950, at the age of twenty-four, William Clark Styron, Jr., wrote to his mentor, Professor William Blackburn of Duke University. The young writer was struggling with his first novel, Lie Down in Darkness, and he was nervous about whether his "strain and toil" would amount to anything. "When I mature and broaden," Styron told Blackburn, "I expect to use the language on as exalted and elevated a level as I can sustain. I believe that a writer should accommodate language to his own peculiar personality, and mine wants to use great words, evocative words, when the situation demands them." In 1953, Styron was awarded the Rome Prize of the American Academy in Rome, which crowned him a literary star. In Europe, Styron not only married Rose Burgunder of Baltimore but found himself immersed in a new generation of expatriate writers. His friendship with George Plimpton, Peter Matthiessen, and James Jones culminated in Styron introducing the debut issue of The Paris Review . Surrounded by young, ambitious litterateurs, Styron wrote in conversation and competition with his peers. As he embarked on a long and celebrated career, Styron was always keenly aware of his growing reputation and his increasing cultural clout. Accordingly, literary critic Alfred Kazin described him, along with Norman Mailer and James Baldwin, as the postwar "super-egotists" who helped transform American letters. Over the course of the next half-century, Styron would write three more novels, a novella, and two books of nonfiction. His controversial The Confessions of Nat Turner won the 1968 Pulitzer Prize while Sophie's Choice, the 1980 National Book Award winner, cemented his reputation as one of the greatest American authors of any era. Darkness Visible, Styron's groundbreaking recounting of his ordeal with depression, not only was a literary triumph but became a landmark in the field. Part and parcel of Styron's literary ascendance were his intimate friendships with Norman Mailer, James Baldwin, John and Jackie Kennedy, Henry Miller, George Plimpton, James Jones, Peter Matthiessen, Carlos Fuentes, Wallace Stegner, Robert Penn Warren, Philip Roth, C. Vann Woodward, and many of the other leading writers and intellectuals of the second half of the twentieth century. Styron's letters to all these personalities appear in this collection. In addition to correspondence dating from the age of eighteen until his final years, Selected Letters of William Styron documents the major events and cultural developments of the twentieth century through letters written by William Styron to some of the people who helped shape that history. Some of the incidents and people Styron writes about in his correspondence include the 1939 world's fair, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, World War II, the dropping of the atomic bomb, the Korean War, Thomas Wolfe, Ernest Hemingway, Patrice Lumumba, Richard Nixon, Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan. This incredible volume takes readers on an American journey from FDR to George W. Bush through the trenchant observations of one of the country's greatest writers. Not only will readers take pleasure in William Styron's correspondence with and commentary about the people and events that made the past century such a momentous and transformative time, they will also share the writer's private meditations on the very art of writing., In 1950, at the age of twenty-four, William Clark Styron, Jr., wrote to his mentor, Professor William Blackburn of Duke University. The young writer was struggling with his first novel, Lie Down in Darkness, and he was nervous about whether his "strain and toil" would amount to anything. "When I mature and broaden," Styron told Blackburn, "I expect to use the language on as exalted and elevated a level as I can sustain. I believe that a writer should accommodate language to his own peculiar personality, and mine wants to use great words, evocative words, when the situation demands them." In February 1952, Styron was awarded the Prix de Rome of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, which crowned him a literary star. In Europe, Styron met and married Rose Burgunder, and found himself immersed in a new generation of expatriate writers. His relationships with George Plimpton and Peter Matthiessen culminated in Styron introducing the debut issue of The Paris Review . Literary critic Alfred Kazin described him as one of the postwar "super-egotists" who helped transform American letters. His controversial The Confessions of Nat Turner won the 1968 Pulitzer Prize, while Sophie's Choice was awarded the 1980 National Book Award, and Darkness Visible, Styron's groundbreaking recounting of his ordeal with depression, was not only a literary triumph, but became a landmark in the field. Part and parcel of Styron's literary ascendance were his friendships with Norman Mailer, James Baldwin, John and Jackie Kennedy, Arthur Miller, James Jones, Carlos Fuentes, Wallace Stegner, Robert Penn Warren, Philip Roth, C. Vann Woodward, and many of the other leading writers and intellectuals of the second half of the twentieth century. This incredible volume takes readers on an American journey from FDR to George W. Bush through the trenchant observations of one of the country's greatest writers. Not only will readers take pleasure in William Styron's correspondence with and commentary about the people and events that made the past century such a momentous and transformative time, they will also share the writer's private meditations on the very art of writing. Advance praise for Selected Letters of William Styron "I first encountered Bill Styron when, at twenty, I read The Confessions of Nat Turner . Hillary and I became friends with Bill and Rose early in my presidency, but I continued to read him, fascinated by the man and his work, his triumphs and troubles, the brilliant lights and dark corners of his amazing mind. These letters, carefully and lovingly selected by Rose, offer real insight into both the great writer and the good man."--President Bill Clinton "The Bill Styron revealed in these letters is altogether the Bill Styron who was a dear friend and esteemed colleague to me for close to fifty years. The humor, the generosity, the loyalty, the self-awareness, the commitment to literature, the openness, the candor about matters closest to him--all are on display in this superb selection of his correspondence. The directness in the artful sentences is such that I felt his beguiling presence all the while that I was enjoying one letter after another."--Philip Roth "Bill Styron's letters were never envisioned, far less composed, as part of the Styron oeuvre, yet that is what they turn out to be. Brilliant, passionate, eloquent, insightful, moving, dirty-minded, indignant, and hilarious, they accumulate power in the reading, becoming in themselves a work of literature."--Peter Matthiessen
LC Classification Number
PS3569.T9Z48 2012

Item description from the seller

About this seller

Alley Cat Books

100% positive feedback•3.8K items sold

Joined Oct 2002
Usually responds within 24 hours
Welcome to Alley Cat Books! We are based in Choctaw, OK. We have a wide variety of books on our shelves, and, the occasional record (vinyl). Please check back frequently as we are constantly adding ...
See more
Visit storeContact

Detailed Seller Ratings

Average for the last 12 months
Accurate description
5.0
Reasonable shipping cost
5.0
Shipping speed
5.0
Communication
5.0

Popular categories from this store

See allcategories
Architecture ShelfArt & Photography ShelfAutobiography/Biography ShelfBeat Generation/60s ShelfChildren & Young Adult ShelfCollectibles ShelfCollections ShelfCooking ShelfFiction & Literature Shelf

Seller feedback (1,955)

All ratingsselected
Positive
Neutral
Negative
See all feedback