Robert Coles
By: Susan Hilligoss.
Series: Twayne's United States authors series ;; TUSAS 681
Publisher: Twayne Publishers; Prentice Hall International
Published: 1997
Place of publication: New York; London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 205
Subjects: Coles, Robert -- Criticism and interpretation; Coles, Robert, 1929- -- Criticism and interpretation; Poor -- United States -- Historiography; African Americans -- Historiography; African Americans in literature; Poor in literature; Psychoanalysis
Description: Susan Hilligoss presents a dynamic appraisal of Coles's multifaceted contributions to American letters. Evaluating thirty-eight of the writer's books, Hilligoss concentrates on Coles's achievements in psychoanalysis, socio-psychological studies of children and adults, photography and drawings, literature, and spirituality.

A gracefully drawn overview introduces readers to the principal people and events influencing Coles and identifies themes in his books, of which the quest is chief among them.

Central to Coles's intellectual works, Hilligoss argues, is a "tension among three aspects of the searching mind," elements she terms "the scientist, the artist, and the pilgrim." The scientist, Hilligoss posits, seeks precision and neat truths; the artist, visual representation of existential issues; and the pilgrim, the idealistic and spiritual.

Also of appeal is the study's integration of Coles's interest in the visual arts - a subject usually treated separately - with his psychiatric and literary concerns. A spirited and thought-provoking analysis of a complex body of work, Robert Coles will be welcomed by students and scholars in a range of disciplines. Supplementing the textual narrative are a preface, acknowledgments, chronology, notes and references, selected bibliography, and index.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 183-199) and index.