Aiken, Conrad (Vol. 1) - Aiken, Conrad 1889–
Aiken, Conrad 1889–
Aiken, Pulitzer Prize winner and one of America's foremost men of letters, is a poet, novelist, short story writer, and critic. (See also Contemporary Authors, Vols. 5-8, rev. ed.)
Conrad Aiken is one of the most remarkable figures modern American literature has produced. The extent and variety of his writings are so impressive as to defy classification, or so it may seem at the beginning. But, within the richness of conception and the quantity of result, some essential themes persist; and they are developmental—that is, they grow in clarity and importance as Aiken's many approaches to them gradually diminish and as Aiken's grasp of the fundamental distinctions between major and lesser forms becomes more certain. Ultimately, the product is impressive, not for its quantity and variety but for its excellence and depth. (Preface)
Aiken's writings—perhaps all of them—are essentially an attempt to recover...
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