The Self-Portrait of a Literary Biographer
Joan Givner. University of Georgia Press, $24.95 (195pp) ISBN 978-0-8203-1552-2
Givner, an English professor in Canada and the biographer of writers Katherine Anne Porter and Mazo de la Roche, here offers her own memoir, organized into short serendipitous diary-like paragraphs that span large stretches of time and varied settings. Frank and occasionally harsh in tone, English-born Givner's most interesting entries deal with her father's death and a troubled, ambivalent relationship with her mother. She devotes a good deal of space to defending herself against the criticism that erupted after Katherine Anne Porter: A Life was published. Included is a description of a meeting between Givner and writer Eudora Welty, who was a friend of Porter's, when Givner was researching Porter's life. Welty's letter expressing her reservations about Givner's intentions is reproduced here, along with other correspondences related to the Porter biography. (Jan.)
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Reviewed on: 01/03/2000
Genre: Nonfiction