The Key to Everything: May Swenson, A Writer's Life

Synopsis

An intimate portrait of the twentieth-century American poetMay Swenson (1913–1989) was one of the most important and original poets of the twentieth century. The Key to Everything is a biography of this experimental American modernist that draws directly from her unpublished diaries and her letters to friends, family, and colleagues, most notably Elizabeth Bishop. In 1952, Swenson wrote in her diary, &“I want to confirm my life in a narrative—my Lesbianism, the hereditary background of my parents, grandparents, origins in the &‘old country.&’&” Taking up Swenson&’s uncompleted autobiographical plan, Margaret Brucia tells Swenson&’s story as much as possible through her own words.While chronicling the whole of Swenson&’s life, this book focuses on the period from 1936 to 1959, when she came of age artistically and personally in New York City. Against the backdrop of the Great Depression, the Federal Writers&’ Project, Greenwich Village, and the emergence of gay culture, Swenson&’s diaries lay bare her aspirations, fears, joys, and disappointments. Readers see the poet and person emerge, inextricably entwined, as Swenson describes her struggles with poverty, anonymity, and predatory men; her romantic relationships; and the people she met, the books she read, and the work she produced.The most detailed and intimate biography of Swenson to date, The Key to Everything is a unique portrait of a poet who resisted labels throughout her life.

Copyright:

2025

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

Book Size:

288 Pages

ISBN-13:

9780691247229

Related ISBNs:

9780691247236, 9780691247212

Publisher:

Princeton University Press

Date of Addition:

07/08/25

Copyrighted By:

Margaret A. Brucia

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

History, Nonfiction, Poetry, Biographies and Memoirs, Literature and Fiction, Social Studies

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.