Reviews of Letters to a Stranger

“Self-dramatizing, brilliantly imaginative, wildly sad, they long, with romantic futility, to be heard, reveling and wallowing in the wide spaces of their privacy.”

—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, starred review

“Letters to a Stranger is a book of dark intensities and deeply felt connections, both haunted and haunting, at once brooding, sensual and lucid . . . The voice in these poems – painfully lonely and filled with longing, estranged and religious – has stayed with me for more than twenty years. It deserves to be remembered.”

—THE WASHINGTON POST

“There is a truth to this reading that draws on the similarity between these poems and the work of earlier poets like [Sylvia] Plath and [Robert] Lowell, in particular the way that moments of emotional laceration are embedded in a fabric of controlled, formal diction and imaginary narrative. James is more than a late ‘confessional’ poet, though…he seems to be moving toward a softer, more milky tone, more impressionist than expressionist.”

—HARP & ALTAR

“Thomas James (1946-1947) published only one book in his lifetime. Letters to a Stranger—lush and stark at once, cool and fierce, drunk on the dark allure of Plath’s Ariel but distinctly its own, Gothic original—was little acknowledged upon publication. But James has quietly haunted the conversation of American poetry for more than thirty years. Now this legendary book returns, here with thirteen uncollected poems and a riveting introduction by Lucie Brock-Broido that is itself an urgent missive ‘to a stranger’—a love letter, a biography and exorcism all at once.”

—MARK DOTY, Series Editor

“Sometimes contemporary poetry feels so afraid of its own love, and the risk of overexposed emotion is one aspect of what is so refreshing in James.”

—TIN HOUSE

Home Job Openings Latest News Events and Author Tours Poem of the Week
	Search by keyword, title, author last name, or ISBN. Browse and Order Books: Creative Writing Cultural Criticism Essays For Educators Gay and Lesbian Literature Literary Criticism Memoir Novels Poetry Short Stories Translations View all books Request a copy of our Spring 2011 catalog DONATE ONLINE! Contact Us About Graywolf Internships Request an Exam Copy Job Openings Submission Guidelines Permission Requests Media Requests	Reviews of Letters to a Stranger “Self-dramatizing, brilliantly imaginative, wildly sad, they long, with romantic futility, to be heard, reveling and wallowing in the wide spaces of their privacy.” **—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, starred review** “Letters to a Stranger is a book of dark intensities and deeply felt connections, both haunted and haunting, at once brooding, sensual and lucid . . . The voice in these poems – painfully lonely and filled with longing, estranged and religious – has stayed with me for more than twenty years. It deserves to be remembered.” —THE WASHINGTON POST “There is a truth to this reading that draws on the similarity between these poems and the work of earlier poets like [Sylvia] Plath and [Robert] Lowell, in particular the way that moments of emotional laceration are embedded in a fabric of controlled, formal diction and imaginary narrative. James is more than a late ‘confessional’ poet, though…he seems to be moving toward a softer, more milky tone, more impressionist than expressionist.” *—HARP & ALTAR* “Thomas James (1946-1947) published only one book in his lifetime. Letters to a Stranger—lush and stark at once, cool and fierce, drunk on the dark allure of Plath’s Ariel but distinctly its own, Gothic original—was little acknowledged upon publication. But James has quietly haunted the conversation of American poetry for more than thirty years. Now this legendary book returns, here with thirteen uncollected poems and a riveting introduction by Lucie Brock-Broido that is itself an urgent missive ‘to a stranger’—a love letter, a biography and exorcism all at once.” —MARK DOTY, Series Editor “Sometimes contemporary poetry feels so afraid of its own love, and the risk of overexposed emotion is one aspect of what is so refreshing in James.” *—TIN HOUSE*	In your cart: Your cart is currently empty.
©2004 Graywolf Press All rights reserved. wolves@graywolfpress.org This website was made possible through a grant from the Bush Foundation.

Browse and Order Books:

Reviews of Letters to a Stranger