The Amateur
An Independent Life of Letters
Published on 14. April 2010
288 pages
978-0-307-87420-7 (ISBN)
Description
In this unusual memoir of the life of the mind, the founding editor of The Threepenny Review reflects upon the choices she has made in pursuit of her vocation as a self-described "eighteenth-century man of letters." Wendy Lesser, one of our shrewdest cultural observers, describes how her education, her experiences, and the works of her favorite writers, artists, and performers have shaped and deepened her understanding of the world. She shows us how she has created an independent life as a writer, editor, and critic, free to follow her enthusiasms where they lead her.
Whether her subject is Mark Morris's choreography, the delights of e-mail, the odd assortment of words that were born the same year she was, or the moral implications of giving to beggars (pondered by way of Charles Dickens and Henry James), Lesser's acute wisdom and elegant prose render a beguiling portrait of a remarkable mind at work.
Whether her subject is Mark Morris's choreography, the delights of e-mail, the odd assortment of words that were born the same year she was, or the moral implications of giving to beggars (pondered by way of Charles Dickens and Henry James), Lesser's acute wisdom and elegant prose render a beguiling portrait of a remarkable mind at work.
More details
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
03/2000
Vintage Books
€17.10
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Wendy Lesser
The Amateur: an Independent Life
Book
02/1999
Random House USA Inc
€42.28
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Person
Wendy Lesser lives in Berkeley, California.
Content
- Intro
- About the Author
- Other Books By This Author
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Chapter 1 - Overture
- Chapter 2 - In Washington Square
- Chapter 3 - Wish Fulfillment
- Chapter 4 - Vocabulary
- Chapter 5 - Mr. Jones
- Chapter 6 - Thinking Back on Harvard
- Chapter 7 - An American In England
- Chapter 8 - Consultants
- Chapter 9 - Strange Meeting
- Chapter 10 - Report on a Site Visit
- Chapter 11 - Founding a Magazine
- Chapter 12 - Drafted
- Chapter 13 - On Philanthropy
- Chapter 14 - Out of Academia
- Chapter 15 - Dance Lessons
- Chapter 16 - Passionate Witness
- Chapter 17 - Portrait of a Ballerina
- Chapter 18 - A Night at the Opera
- Chapter 19 - Ralph
- Chapter 20 - The Conversion
- Chapter 21 - Chasing Daldry
- Chapter 22 - Thom Gunn
- Chapter 23 - Elegy for Mario Savio
- Chapter 24 - My Imaginary New York Life
- Copyright
