Reviews for American literary almanac

The average rating for American literary almanac based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2009-06-12 00:00:00 Cecil Sansbury Looking at a cross-section of writers' drinking lives, Alcohol and the Writer attempts to find a connection between alcohol and writing - is it alcohol that fuels the compulsion to write or vice versa? One of Goodwin's interesting angles is his posit that some writers may experience a sort of fractured personality syndrome. They may feel the pain and joy of people around them, and retreat to write through it, cloaked in the skins of others, essentially using drinking to control the symptoms. Except for Malcolm Lowry, who may have just been outright nuts. I also enjoyed how Goodwin tested each author against clinical definitions, asking questions of us to lead us to our own conclusions. There are some questions, however, that have no answers, but the drama played out in these writers' lives more than makes up for the certain diagnostical function demanded by a previous reviewer. If you're a writer who drinks or even if you love reading about the lives of writers, this is definitely worth a read.

Review # 2 was written on 2014-08-21 00:00:00 Carolyn Baxter *UPDATE March 27th, 2021* I was so, so sad when I read that Beverly Cleary passed away on March 25th, 2021. On April 12th she would have celebrated her 105th birthday. Her books about “regular kids” have been an important part of my life since I first began to read independently (so long ago!), and I have treasured memories of reading them aloud to my two sons. Proud to say they can still remember certain scenes and quotes! A few years ago, my family and I had the privilege of visiting Portland, Oregon, and seeing the bronze statues of Ramona, Henry, and Ribsy in the park, as well as visiting the real Klickitat Street! I feel like I lost a dear friend on 3-25-21.🙁However, I know for sure that her wonderful stories will be read and loved by many more generations of children to come. 💜Thank you, Beverly. You will be greatly missed.💜