Sexton, Anne (Vol. 4) | Sexton, Anne 1928–1974
Sexton, Anne 1928–1974
Ms Sexton, an American poet, wrote frank and forceful "confessional" poems. Her principal themes were motherhood and love, life, death, and madness. (See also Contemporary Authors, Vols. 1-4, rev. ed.)
Anne Sexton is a very talented poet whose honesty may be her undoing. Normally, candor is a virtue in art: the poet is not afraid to look at things as they are and is not afraid to speak out, even at the risk of displeasing his audience. But confession, while good for the soul, may become tiresome for the reader if not accompanied by the suggestion that something is being held back, that there is an interior life, too costly and rare to be hawked in the market-place. In [Live or Die] Miss Sexton's toughness approaches affectation. Like a drunk at a party who corners us with the story of his life, or an exhibitionist who undresses in Times Square, the performance is less interesting the third time, despite the...
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