Reviews for How I became Hettie Jones

The average rating for How I became Hettie Jones based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-05-29 00:00:00 Sue Thomas Everybody knows of the male poets and authors of the Beat Generation, those such as Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Joel Oppenheimer, Frank O'Hara and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Well, what about the women of the group?! I wanted to check them out too. Having recently enjoyed the writing of Joyce Johnson, next up to try was this--How I Became Hettie Jones by Hettie Jones. The two were friends. The autobiographical piece here is about Hettie’s younger years in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, living in Manhattan—Greenwich Village, Chelsea and Cooper Square on the Lower East Side. She rubbed shoulders with many of the Beat Generation living here, those mentioned above and many more. Quite a few I had not heard of before. She writes of her life, on the periphery of their lives. Together, they partied, smoked grass, took drugs and exchanged views and partners. They were into jazz, wrote poetry and strove to get their writings published and known. Through Hettie’s life we view the Beat scene. Let me backtrack—born Hettie Cohen in 1934, in Brooklyn, New York, Hettie was of Jewish descent. She turned down Vassar and chose instead to study at Mary Washington, an all-girls college in Virginia. Later she continued her studies at Columbia University, with a side job at a foundation to make ends meet. When the funding there dried up, she took on a job at the Record Changer, a magazine published for record collectors. She was the subscription manager. There she met her to-be husband, LeRoi Jones, employed as the magazine’s shipping manager. He is black. She is white. This doesn’t matter; they love each other. She is naïve, he less so. Both are caught up in the poetry, arts and music scene. Both have writing ambitions. In 1957, they together start the literary magazine Yugen. It promoted the authors of the Beat scene. Then in 1958, they got married. Soon after, follow two kids—Kellie born in 1959 and Lisa in 1961. Then, of course, arises the question of who should do what? Who will mind the kids? Their marriage begins to fall apart. Readers are not subjected to screaming battles, but social standards being what they were in the 50s if she wanted a job it was up to her to make it work. A nanny is employed, but when LeRoi fathers a daughter with poet Diane DiPrima, Hettie and LeRoi divorce. This after a little less than seven years of marriage. He moves to Harlem, she stays in place. The book draws the Beat Generation through the lens of Hettie’s life. Through her, readers are shown what it was really like, in the 1950s, to have an interracial marriage, to be white skinned and have kids of color, how it was to be a single mother, to both love your kids but at the same time yearn for a job that fulfills one’s own interests. Such a job gives a woman a sense of freedom. Social standards being what they were, men and women simply could not view having a job of one’s choice in the same way. Readers are served up New York City in the 1950s. Having myself lived on the East Side during the 50s, I think the author has captured the tone and the feel of the place extremely well. All is drawn in a straightforward prose, with an added touch of humor. One example must suffice. Kellie says to her Mom, i.e. Hettie, “You know, Ma, your lap is fine, but you ought to sit on Grandma!” Hettie’s relationship with her own mother was not the best. LeRoi’s parents, living in Newark, became much closer to her and the two kids I do feel that what we are told has some holes. I would have liked to have learned more about Hettie’s relationship with her kids. I didn’t come to know LeRoi very well. We are privy to her thoughts, but not his. Nor does the book cover Hettie’s entire life. Although we get a good feel for the lifestyle of those of the Beat Generation, there are few specifics detailing the lives of the group’s trendsetters. In reading this book I have gotten a good sense of how Hettie grew into herself, how she came to stand on her own two feet. Hettie is today still alive. She continues to reside in the apartment at Cooper Square 27, where she and LeRoi set up home in 1962. She is now eighty five years old! Bernadette Dunne narrates the audiobook very well. The prose demands good pacing, and she does this well. Four stars for the audio narration. It is easy to follow; the words are clearly spoken. ***************** Female authors of the Beat Generation: *In the Night Cafe 5 stars *Bad Connections 4 stars *Come and Join the Dance by Joyce Johnson 4 stars *How I Became Hettie Jones by Hettie Jones 3 stars

Review # 2 was written on 2014-10-19 00:00:00 Norverta K. Scott I really enjoyed reading this book. An old friend recommended it to me many months ago and I ordered a used copy, but it sat in a stack until we reached the unit on the Beats in a MOOC course I am taking for the third time, ModPo (Modern and Contemporary American Poetry, Coursera:Penn). So I started it to get more insight into the Beats and the New York School and I couldn't put it down. We all need motivation, inspiration, and renewal and this memoir contains all and more in spadefuls. It also reveals the seamy side of a time we might tend to over-romanticize, but in a very human and uplifting way. As a librarian, I can say it is a narrative chocked full of meaty and juicy metadata. As a poet, I can attest that it is a wonderful cross-sectional slice of poetry, music and art - live and breathing. I love this book!