May Sarton Among the Usual Days:  A Portrait
For decades Sarton has been a successful writer, if not the darling both of the critics and the book-buying public. In a marketplace dominated by quick, easy reads, Sarton's thought and art are marked by an old-fashioned volubility. Her indomitable spirit is positively inspiring: "the only creative way is dissatisfaction, relentless self-criticism, and a new start each time," she writes. Sherman has published excerpts from Sarton's unpublished writings in an ingenious format that groups the passages around common topics (writing, gardening, travel, etc.) and links them via Sherman's own comments. If some of the linking comments seem excessively worshipful of a writer who has had, at best, a modest impact on contemporary letters, even readers who don't know or appreciate Sarton's work will recognize this book as a model compilation of its kind.- David Kirby, Florida State Univ., TallahasseeCopyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.