Williams, Tennessee

Notebooks
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Diary of a Horny Artist
  • An Incredible Look into the Mind of a Literary Genius
  • Excellent
  • Not To Be Missed
  • A treasure trove!
 Notebooks
Tennessee Williams
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0300116829

Book Description

Tennessee Williams’s Notebooks, here published for the first time, presents by turns a passionate, whimsical, movingly lyrical, self-reflective, and completely uninhibited record of the life of this monumental American genius from 1936 to 1981, the year of his death. In these pages Williams (1911-1981) wrote out his most private thoughts as well as sketches of plays, poems, and accounts of his social, professional, and sexual encounters. The notebooks are the repository of Williams’s fears, obsessions, passions, and contradictions, and they form possibly the most spontaneous self-portrait by any writer in American history.
Meticulously edited and annotated by Margaret Thornton, the notebooks follow Williams’ growth as a writer from his undergraduate days to the publication and production of his most famous plays, from his drug addiction and drunkenness to the heights of his literary accomplishments. At one point, Williams writes, “I feel dull and disinterested in the literary line. Dr. Heller bores me with all his erudite discussion of literature. Writing is just writing! Why all the fuss about it?” This remarkable record of the life of Tennessee Williams is about writing—how his writing came up like a pure, underground stream through the often unhappy chaos of his life to become a memorable and permanent contribution to world literature.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Diary of a Horny Artist.......2007-06-03

This is one of the handsomest books I have read in years. The notes by the author/editor, who has annotated the daily diaries of playwright Tennessee Williams, are spectacularly thorough, covering virtually every actor, director, known and unknown, Williams ever met. Loads of fun reading the notes, and the diaries themselves on facing pages, with marvelous and copious photographs, goofy illustrations, maps - you name it. Williams hasn't much to say about his writing life, but lots to say about his state of mind, which is usually spinning out of control along with his life. Williams was part of that first real jet set, living in a given year in a dozen places. The first and last question on his mind was how to find "trade" by which he meant pick-ups for casual sex. Fascinating and then really boring like most pornography.

5 out of 5 stars An Incredible Look into the Mind of a Literary Genius.......2007-05-07

Margaret Bradham Thornton is to be commended for compiling Tennessee Williams' journals with such painstaking attention to detail, in-depth analysis and thorough research. Her efforts afford the reader an amazing, unique glimpse into the life of an American literary giant -- a man whose plays, including The Glass Menagerie, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and A Streetcar Named Desire, have become classics for the ages, not to mention a man who led an intriguing life in and out of the public eye. There is no shortage of skeletons to be found in Williams' closet; his homosexuality is a particular source of angst to him in a world that did not approve of such a thing. He dallies with male prostitutes, and in one instance gets severely beaten for his troubles. Meanwhile, he is haunted by his sister, who underwent a frontal lobotomy after being institutionalized (it is his guilt over leaving her to pursue his writing that drove him to write "The Glass Menagerie," which features a very Williams-esque young man desperate to escape his dreary life with a crippled sister and needy mother in order to pursue his dreams).

Through his notebooks, Williams provides you with a backstage pass to one of the most thrilling talents Broadway has ever seen, and through extensive footnoting Thornton puts it all into a clear narrative for you to follow along. She also includes countless photographs and pieces of artwork. There are moments when what Williams writes does not match up with what other interviewees recall, forcing Thornton and the reader to speculate as to which version is closer to the truth, but in "Notebooks" Williams does nothing short of bare his soul to the reader. It is utterly fascinating to experience his artist's-eye-view of the world, and I would highly recommend this book.
Grade: A+

5 out of 5 stars Excellent.......2007-04-10

Item was in mint condition, will not hesitate to buy from this seller again.
Keep up the good work

5 out of 5 stars Not To Be Missed.......2007-02-23

This is a magnificent book, really two books, as Tennessee Williams' journals are powerfully augmented by Thornton's meticulously researched and engaging annotations. Opposite every page of journal entries, one finds the sources and background on Williams' musings; Thornton gives us a map to Williams thoughts, and her notes enhance the journal entries immeasurably, making this book essential reading. It's tough to put down, and almost impossible to read properly, that is, in order-- no matter where one opens the book you are transported into the private life of this playwright whose works are so much a part of our literary and theatrical heritage. Thornton has also included a fascinating array of photographs which place Williams in the context of his time and his peers, and scribbled illustrations which add a whole other element to understanding this great writer-- this book is not to be missed.

5 out of 5 stars A treasure trove!.......2007-02-18

I signed this book out of the library knowing I could never be able to work my way through its 800+ pages in three weeks. First, I'm not a big reader of diaries or letters (I find them too vague and elliptical); secondly, it's a massive book. But I have spent the entire morning leafing through it and am finding it mesmerizing. The editor/compiler, Margaret Bradham Thornton, has done an excellent job of providing notes, photographs, facsimile's of handwritten poems and diary entries, and short biographies of the many people--famous, infamous, and unfamous--who passed through Williams's life. Her tone is professional and forthright; she neither dodges nor wallows in discussion of Williams's sexual life. The notebooks are complete in that they contain everything that is known to survive; they cover the periods from 1936 to 1958 and from 1979 to 1981 (Williams died in February 1983). If notebooks are ever found covering the missing years, I hope the Williams estate has the good sense to allow Thornton to edit them.

The format for this book is to run the notebook entries on the right-hand pages and use the facing pages for explanatory notes. The notes are in a smaller type and each page is packed with annotation, such is the generosity of Thornton. Another interesting feature is the inclusion of Williams's own marginal notes. Apparently, he re-read his diaries years later and was not shy about criticizing his earlier self.

I think this book will be of interest to anyone interested in American cultural life in mid-twentieth century, not just in the theater and film, but dance, painting, poetry, fiction, etc. It's amazing how these cultural worlds intersected and collided. This is a book I want to own. I've just ordered it from Amazon and will continue reading my library copy until it arrives. Fascinating stuff!
A Streetcar Named Desire
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • The Glorious Bird's iconic melodrama
  • A Streetcar Named ... Classic
  • A tragic story that illustrates the pitiful life of a lost woman
  • The Streetcar
  • a great classic delivering a moving message about being comfortable in your own skin
 A Streetcar Named Desire
Tennessee Williams
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0451167783

Book Description

Published in 1949 by John Lehman. Very good copy in a very good dust jacket with slight wear. There are minor foxing, nicks, and wear to the dust jacket, with an ink inscription. The basis of the 1951 film (winner of three Academy Awards) starring Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh, Kim Hunter, and Karl Malden, Williams's play is one of the works by which 20th-century America defines itself. First English edition of this landmark, Pulitzer-Prize-winning play, featuring Williams's riveting creations.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars The Glorious Bird's iconic melodrama.......2007-06-18

This is probably the most famous piece of literature from the US that I hadn'd read yet, until now. Nor watched as a play or movie. And still I seemed to know everything about it.
Having just read Gore Vidal's memoirs, where he calls TW the 'glorious bird', I was motivated to finally get acquainted with the streetcar. What fun. It is Gone with the Wind updated for the 20th century. It is the downsizing of rural gentry. It shows downward social mobility in a narrative framework of Southern Gothic. It is powerfully vulgar and perceptive. It is so politically not correct. ('Polacks are like Irish, only less highbrow.')
But with all the mad fun, let's be clear about this: despite the popular use of the term 'tragic' for the descent of Ms. Blanche into madness, this is not really a tragedy in the full sense of the word. Being a piece of stage writing makes it one only in the sense of not being a comedy. What it is, it is a really great melodrama. And I am still overawed by the genius casting for the movie: Marlon Brando would have to be invented for it. Maybe he was. Vivien Leigh ditto.

4 out of 5 stars A Streetcar Named ... Classic.......2007-06-12

"I have always depended on the kindness of strangers."

Blanche's final decree before being taken away to the insane asylum is an ironic remark which Tennessee Williams uses to harshly criticize the promiscuous lifestyle of Miss DuBois in his classic "A Streetcar Named Desire." Moreover, it is a testimony to how Blanche sets herself up for disaster.

Blanche DuBois is the southern belle whom the play revolves around, and she is certainly a character to be remembered for the ages. She escapes her deeply immoral past by fleeing to her sister Stella's homely apartment in New Orleans, only to discover that it is a complete cultural departure. A high-maintenance chauvinist upon arrival, Blanche is critical of everything in Stella's life, from her husband to her living arrangements. Blanche is dishonest about her past, lies about her alcoholism and covers up affairs with students--the complete opposite of moral perfection. Her constant affairs with unknown men back in Laurel caused Blanche to be kicked out of a two-bit hotel, and her affair with a teenage boy lost Blanche her job, illustrating Blanche as a wanton woman.

So where is this "kindness of strangers" that Blanche so respects? The irony lies in that Blanche has not always been treated well by strangers, and that her relationships with these sorts of people often fare poorly, and so the fact that she relies on them for the welfare of her life is paradoxical. Williams condemns Blanche of her loose lifestyle, sleeping around with various men whom she does not know, and ultimately sentences her to the insane asylum, demonstrating that those with lifestyles like that of Blanche will merit the same fate. The southern belle image which Blanche allegedly epitomizes soon fades, and Williams takes this fact and emphasizes it to the audience. All of this adds up to a cornucopia of shameful aspects which Blanche attempts to hide from by deluding herself in fantastical images. Blanche has always differentiated herself as being more idealistic than realistic, and so her retreat into her fantasies is no surprise--she needs to escape the harshness of the real world. She herself is fading, and so her mentality follows.

It is an important lesson which Williams teaches us about distinctions between reality and unlikely fantasies. Despite the fact that the real world may bring obstacles and roadblocks, as shown through the relationship between Stanley and Stella (which I won't delve into as my focus is on Blanche), living in reality is always a better idea than drowning yourself in fantasies. Blanche carries with her a whole plethora of stigmas and taboos that Williams deems necessary for her loose character, so that he may, in turn, teach lessons of morality to the audience. Blanche is a complex character that we can all learn from, and Williams makes that clear through the intricate development of Blanche. "Streetcar" is certainly one of the most interesting plays that I have ever read, and it is definitely a necessary component to the shelf of American classics.

5 out of 5 stars A tragic story that illustrates the pitiful life of a lost woman.......2007-06-12

Despite its strange title, this book is a guaranteed to motivate you to appreciate your own life by learning of the tragedies of others. In the story of "A Streetcar Named Desire," the plot follows one particular character, Blanche, who is constantly struggling to accept the conditions of her current, impoverished conditions. Even after becoming homeless and being forced to move into her sister Stella's home in order to re-invent her life after her troubled past, she continues to lie to cover up her past's secrets and ironically ruins her chances of ever starting anew. Throughout the story, a reader can witness how her lies cause her to lose a potential husband and all in all, lose her sanity. Because of her reluctance to inform even her sister of a shameful past, she causes distrust amongst her peers which leads her to be unable to lead a normal relationship with society. Her distrustful nature even causes her peers and even her sister to become suspicious of the stories she desperately tells to cover up the failures of her life. Follow the pitiful character, Blanche, as she deals with the struggles of her life, her family and her peers. Thus, the author illustrates that by understanding your mistakes, circumstances and the need for change, you could always change your destiny, Can Blanche ever come to her senses? I highly recommend "Streetcar Named Desire" because anyone can draw an important lesson from the mistakes of Blanche and the simple message of reality over fantasy can easily be seen in this book.

4 out of 5 stars The Streetcar.......2007-06-12


Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire is an excellent tragic play focused on the pathetic lifestyle of the play's protagonist, Blanche DuBois. Blanche is annoyed and obnoxious on all levels; but the way she demeans herself and essentially destroys her own dignity demands the readers' sympathy.

Blanche is forced to travel to New Orleans to stay at her sister's house ever since her plantation Belle Reve (beautiful dream in French) was lost. The name is important, as Blanche completely submerges herself in these beautiful dreams and freely throws away any ounce of reality she refuses to see. Once we see her sister Stella, we immediately know that they are extremely different as Stella is the realistic sister who moved on from a turbulent past. Personalities collide when Stella introduces Blanche to her husband, the infamous Stanley Kowalski. Yes, his is blunt, brutal, and barbaric. But his personality adds complexity to the novel as he is the foil of Blanche, which ends in some major tragedies.

Marlon Brando fans will probably revere the way he acts out Stanley in the film adaptation. I prefer reading the book.

5 out of 5 stars a great classic delivering a moving message about being comfortable in your own skin.......2007-06-12

The play as a whole representing the trials and tribulations of reinventing oneself is a caveat to those that attempt to achieve this remarkable goal as the characters in A Street Car Named Desire are shown as incapable of fixing their own lives. This is shown none more than in the protagonist, Blanche DuBois, who struggles continually with the battles of her past actions, signifying the decline of the American Dream that she had previously believed to be attainable.


America was once thought of as a place where anything could be achieved with ease, no matter how severe the obstacle; but Tennessee Williams proves this idea wrong as no matter how far Blanche goes to start over in life, her past always haunts her. Blanche has made some brutal mistakes in her life and tries throughout the entire play to escape from them. She leaves her hometown after being forced out and decides to start anew by living with Stella in New Orleans. Once there, she lies about her mistakes to try and escape from them. She is able to do this for a while, but her secrets are soon discovered. Once Stanley confronts her with the truth, Blanche realizes that this dream, this American dream she had had is unattainable. She cannot run away from her past no matter how hard she tries.


What Blanche does not realize, however is that maybe she cannot rely on the American Dream to save her, but she could have decided to change by recognizing her mistakes and moving on from there. Many people make the mistake of thinking that by coming to America, things will just work out in their favor. They do not realize that this takes much work to do. In this sense, the traditional American Dream has died, leaving many people helpless in the world, just like Blanche. The reason that this fails though is that Blanche's one method of starting over is to simply lie. She does not change herself so she is bound to make those same mistakes again, as she eventually does.


Blanche's actions are intended to warn those against simply trusting it to faith that they will be able to start over in life. Not everything can be forgotten because sometimes one's actions affect others around them. It is not just their own lives that they are gambling with but also anyone's who is in close contact with them. It is not enough to rely on the idea of an American Dream to save oneself. Actions must be taken to benefit lives. A sense of apathy will go nowhere in life. Ultimately, change brings about change, so that is what it needed.
The Glass Menagerie
Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • Glass Menagerie
  • hits all the right notes
  • A sad story that preaches family unity and self sacrifice
  • more than just readable material
  • the power of memory
 The Glass Menagerie
Tennessee Williams
Manufacturer: New Directions Publishing Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0811214044

Book Description

No play in the modern theatre has so captured the imagination and heart of the American public as Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie. Menagerie was Williams's first popular success and launched the brilliant, if somewhat controversial, career of our pre-eminent lyric playwright. Since its premiere in Chicago in 1944, with the legendary Laurette Taylor in the role of Amanda, the play has been the bravura piece for great actresses from Jessica Tandy to Joanne Woodward, and is studied and performed in classrooms and theatres around the world. The Glass Menagerie (in the reading text the author preferred) is now available only in its New Directions Paperbook edition. A new introduction by prominent Williams scholar Robert Bray, editor of The Tennessee Williams Annual Review, reappraises the play more than half a century after it won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award: "More than fifty years after telling his story of a family whose lives form a triangle of quiet desperation, Williams's mellifluous voice still resonates deeply and universally." This edition of The Glass Menagerie also includes Williams's essay on the impact of sudden fame on a struggling writer, "The Catastrophe of Success," as well as a short section of Williams's own "Production Notes." The cover features the classic line drawing by Alvin Lustig, originally done for the 1949 New Directions edition.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Glass Menagerie.......2007-06-12

When I first bought the book, the name sounded really interesting, but I didn't understand what "menagerie." After I flipped a few pages, I notice
how dysfunctional, yet almost normal, family the book portrayed. In a way, many people can relate the situation with their personal life.
During the 1940's and after the World War II, many people were in desperation trying to find jobs and create a better life. However, as a result of this mindset, some did not succeed and ended up living in a life of disaster. Such calamity resulted in not only financial misfortune, but also social and mental failure. Everyone seemed to scramble to quickly find a great life, but little did they know, the truth of the reality was that not everyone could succeed at the same time. As a result, many hoped for too much, plunging in a world of delusion. Avoiding reality, several other were just assuming fortunes would find them, creating self-fulfilling prophecies.
In Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams wants to depict exactly that tragedy resulted from constant escapades to fantasy by employing Amanda as the typical woman who just lost her grip on reality. Amanda has lost control ever since her husband had left her, destroying the family. Unable to cope with that reality, she just drifted onto another world. She refused to believe that fact and tried to impose her ideals onto her daughter, Laura. Amanda has always boasted that she was the most popular girl attracting all the find young men. She lived a life of glamour, while everyone stared enviously at her success. However, success took a u-turn and even a crash into the wilderness of failure. Amanda was distraught, devastated by the fact that her husband had left her and her family was filled with shame and quirk. Unable to get a grip of reality, she loses her control and drifts into a fantasy, where everything seems to work out perfectly. She puts too much emphasis on being popular and attracting all the rich suitors. She superimposes all her ideals onto her daughter, Laura, so she could be just like her mother. Unintentionally, she forces her daughter to achieve exactly what she has. Despite Amanda's genuine push, she actually forces Laura off the edge, but she changes and matures into a woman, more open to the world around her. Although Laura grown to be less inclusive and more open to the world, the family has broken apart as a result of Tom's escape. Ultimately, as a result of Amanda's fantasy world, the family has been torn apart into bits and pieces, revealing the notion that the escape to fantasy would only ruin one's life.
Tennessee Williams argues that fantasy is only a false depiction of the world in its most rudimentary image, which causes one to lose control of the complications of reality, inevitably resulting in a disaster.

5 out of 5 stars hits all the right notes.......2007-06-12

3 things make this play stand out as truly spectacular: 1. the stellar plot, 2. the engaging and interesting characters, 3. it's ability to move the reader with its sadness and despair without asking for it. this play is truly a mus read for anyone who loves American literature.

In the story, Tom is a young man given the burden of caring for his mother and sister, Laura. Working at a dead-end job in a warehouse, Tom longs for the day he can be like his father and desert the family, to go on the quest for his own dreams and ambitions. he often writes literature during work and attends the movies every night as a way to escape from his otherwise monotomous life. Tom refuses to accept reality for what it is, and instead dwells in his own wishes, having no regard for his family. Laura, a shy girl who is crippled at the leg, does not interact with anyone outside of her family.

now, i must resist the temptation to say anymore, because i do not want to give away the ending, thus keeping any of you from reading this spectacular play. Set during the Great Depression, Williams oes an excellent job of placing the plot in historical context, because it was a time during which people were depressed and wanted to get out of "the hole", such as Tom. There are many symbols to be found throughout this play, such as the glass menagerie and the unicorn, which makes the play that much more engaging and interesting to read, as you try to decipher them. Williams' tone and style are also very appropriate with each changing character, giving the reader a better view of the characters. All while Williams achieves his rhetorical brilliance in the play, there is an underlying message of the dangers of dwelling in memory and fantasy rather than accept reality and deal with the present. I must recommend this book to anyone who is literate.

5 out of 5 stars A sad story that preaches family unity and self sacrifice.......2007-06-12

This story is a must read! Despite the boring title, it's a true eye opener that questions your ethics and provokes you to contemplate on the troubles of society. Throughout the book, the characters struggle to come to terms of their reality.
One of the main characters is Laura, who is handicapped and is constantly nervous about what society thinks about her and her condition. Her poor understanding of who she is as a person and the exaggerated difference believes she has between others prevents her from ever being fully comfortable around others and even herself .Although Laura believes that society has shunned her from the acceptance that she deserves, Laura has actually shunned herself from the possibility of retaining friendships because of the paranoid thoughts in her own mind. Amanda and the pressure she places on Tom is also a large issue in the play which ultimately leads to Tom's tragic abandonment of the family at the end of the story. Because of her dependency on Tom's paycheck, she placed a huge burden on Tom who soon comes to the conclusion that if he would ever want to achieve his dreams, he would have to completely abandon his family. So, read the book and watch the predicaments unravel in the Wingfield family from Amanda's refusal to accept reality of Tom's dreams , Tom's desperate plea to be free from his obligations as breadwinner of the family, and Laura's personal struggle with being comfortable with her disability. Will Laura ever break out of her shell and lead the normal life she deserves? Read the book and contemplate on the effects of a judgmental society and the dangers of holding on to the past being ignorant of the present.

4 out of 5 stars more than just readable material.......2007-06-12

This book focuses on the individual struggles of the three main characters of the book, but I personally enjoy the story of Tom and Laura who have to cope with problems that many can relate to.

Tom is a young man who has great dreams. This is not hard to imagine because many of us or many of the people we know dream of pursuing great goals in life. This is how we are programmed, what we are taught. But as a young man with a father who has abandoned the family, he must decide between pursuing his dreams or staying home and supporting his mother and sister. Such an interesting situation made me want to sit down and read to see what choice he would make.

Laura is the typical shy girl. However, because she is so self conscious about her crippled legs, she has grown to isolated herself so much that her mother has to worry whether or not she will marry since she refuses to talk to even other women. Instead, she turns to a glass collection for friends and company. Pretty crazy. Now when his hermit of a lady suddenly is forced to meet and converse with a normal human being outside of the household, the conclusion is waiting for you to read and find out. It is not your typical type of ending but it is nonetheless something that was satisfying and compatible.

The play is filled with symbols, which is a real good plus because it make the book all the more interesting to read and dig through. You will notice things like the glass collection, the fire escape, and the unicorn all representing something more than what they are. These are what makes the play more than just a browse through a story--it is more like an adventure or a mystery waiting to be torn apart.

4 out of 5 stars the power of memory.......2007-06-12

This play enters a new realm of thinking and perception on Tom and the reader's part and examines the difficulty in telling a story purely from memory. When someone remembers something, they tend to alter its meaning to cater to their own intentions in their heart, such as Tom does, showing that memory alone cannot be trusted, ultimately altering the entire perception of the play to be tailored to Tom's specific desires.


Tom starts the play admitting that some events he will recount may not be told exactly as they have happened but rather as he remembers them, this proving to be somewhat devoid of reality. Since Tom is both the narrator and a character in the actual play, his intentions are not at first clear. The readers do not know whether or not he is telling this story out of pride for his actions, dismay for his family or to examine his past actions that have led up to a probable mistake. It is not known and this causes need for speculation. It is also not known whether or not any of these events have ever happened or if they are simply a figment of Tom's imagination. The entire play takes on a dreamlike state when the screen is used to display what will happen next or with the picture illustrations to aide in comprehension. These elements, combined with the habitual playing of the Glass Menagerie song make the play seem more a distant memory than an actual report of events now passed and gone. Tom also appears to be stuck between the past, present and future because his thoughts are constantly consumed in the past events of his life. He only rarely comes out of the past to his present state, almost as if he were afraid to do so--that his life were so unbearable that he would not be able to do so without causing much pain and suffering on himself. These are the conflicts that govern the mindset of all those listening to his story throughout all of the events that are shown.


With this sense of doubt and uncertainty eating away at the minds of the audience, the rest of the plot of the story cannot be fully comprehended as reality, altering the meaning of the intended story. When Tom recounts this story, he makes it seem as if all of his actions were provoked, almost as if he were trying to escape a sense of guilt he has bestowed upon himself. He makes his mother seem all powerful and controlling, possibly stretching reality in the process. When this is seen as his "memory" it can be understood why he would want to leave his family. His family does not give him anything in return for all his hard work and suffering that he is forced to spend the gray hours of the morning who knows where doing who knows what. The entire play is enveloped in a sense of mystery and self doubt when the facts presented are too closely pertaining to reality. In this sense, not even the truth can be seen. Nothing and no one can be trusted, which is in fact the likely intention of Williams' style of play.


Memory. So many vast possibilities to be explored where anything can be anything else and the truth is often disguised as a fantasy itself. Nothing is perceived as it should be. This is seen when Tom leaves his family at the end and finally reveals why he has told this story. He shows how hard it is for him to leave at the end of the play because he is so close to Laura, even though no emotional attachment is shown earlier in the play. This is when it is clearly revealed that he has not been honest about everything and maybe not about anything at all. He tries to hide his feelings of remorse for leaving his family deep within his memories, not knowing that nothing can stay hidden forever. As long as it is kept in the heart, it will come through no matter what.
Tennessee Williams: Plays 1937-1955 (Library of America)
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • One of the greats
  • Dragon Country.
  • Tennesse Williams: Pulitzer Prize Winner
  • The plays are great, but a misleading description
  • A Wonderful Book to Own, to Treasure
 Tennessee Williams: Plays 1937-1955 (Library of America)
Tennessee Williams
Manufacturer: Library of America
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1883011868

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars One of the greats.......2005-12-03

Tennessee Williams is in the top ranks of American playwrights. His works are a MUST for serious students of the American theatre. Moreover, they are wonderful works for actors to read and learn from -- some of the finest characters, most poignant scenes, and brilliant insights on human nature AND theatrical staging that you can find anywhere. Cheerful? No. Uplifting? Usually not. Brilliant, stageworthy and gripping? Always. This collection, both volumes, gives you all the plays, plus some very worthwhile notes and prefaces from Williams himself.

5 out of 5 stars Dragon Country........2004-06-14

"It is only in his work that an artist can find reality and satisfaction, for the actual world is less intense than the world of his invention and consequently his life, without recourse to violent disorder, does not seem very substantial," Tennessee Williams wrote in the 1948 essay "The Catastrophe of Success," eventually added as a preface to the "memory play" that catapulted him to stardom, "The Glass Menagerie" (1945). Prophetic words of a man who drew heavily on his own experience, on life in the economically depressed South, homosexuality, alcoholism, physical and mental infirmity, violence, passion, desire, love and loss, but most of all his profound sense of humanity and his understanding of the drama of everyday life to create Dragon Country, that uninhabitable and yet inhabited world, that land of unendurable but nevertheless endured pain (also the title of a 1970 collection of plays) of unforgettable pieces such as "The Glass Menagerie," "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1947), "Summer and Smoke" (1948), "The Rose Tattoo" (1951), "Camino Real" (1953), "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (1955), "Orpheus Descending" (1957), "Suddenly Last Summer" (1958), "Sweet Bird of Youth" (1959), "The Night of the Iguana" (1961) and "Not About Nightingales" (set in 1938 but only brought to the stage 50 years later).

Born Thomas Lanier Williams to an overbearing, hard-drinking, abusive, frequently absent father and a doting mother, Tennessee acquired the sobriquet he later chose as his first name in university, where his Deep South accent made him an easy target for his classmates. A writer since his youth, he saw his first short story ("Isolated") published in a high school newspaper; and after several other prose publications, his second play "Cairo! Shanghai! Bombay!" was produced by a Memphis amateur company in 1935. (His first play, the unstaged "Beauty Is the Word," had been a 1930 University of Missouri drama class assignment which, submitted to the school's Dramatic Arts Club contest, won the first honorable mention ever to be awarded to a freshman). After a stint with his father's shoe company, where he had gone to work at parental insistence, he graduated from the University of Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1938. His big breakthrough came with "A Glass Menagerie;" the story of fading Southern belle Amanda Wingfield (who, like many of Williams's most memorable characters, frantically clings to the illusion of a world gone by), her crippled daughter Laura (the owner of the titular glass figurine collection), "gentleman caller" Jim (Laura's suitor), and Amanda's son Tom, Williams's thinly veiled alter ego who, like the playwright, sees his vocation as a poet crushed under his daily job at a shoe factory. Yet, looking back at his struggling life preceding "Glass Menagerie," Williams later came to regard that time as more real than the life made possible by fame and fortune: in fact, "it was the sort of life for which the human organism is created," he wrote in "The Catastrophe of Success."

The present compilation, one of two volumes in the magnificent "Library of America" series, brings together the more significant works of Williams's early years and of his peak as a playwright through 1955, including inter alia his two Pulitzer Prize winners ("A Streetcar Named Desire" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"), the only recently-rediscovered "Spring Storm" (1938) and "Not About Nightingales," the initial, unsuccessful version of "Orpheus Descending" ("Battle of Angels," 1940), as well as excerpts from the one-act play collection "27 Wagons Full of Cotton" (originally from 1945, augmented and republished 1953), among them the collection's title piece plus "The Lady of Larkspur Lotion," "Something Unspoken," "This Property Is Condemned," and others. The second Library of America volume covers Williams's creative period after 1955. Neither tome is all-inclusive; a fully comprehensive compilation would easily have required three volumes for the plays alone, not to mention his poetry and prose; and a 1955 caesura certainly does make sense. Still: completists will have to look elsewhere in addition. Among the more significant omissions in this first volume are "Cairo! Shanghai! Bombay!" (which I would have liked to see included if only because it was his first-ever staged play) as well as the modestly successful "American Blues" (1939) and the remaining one-act plays from "27 Wagons Full of Cotton." Volume 2 similarly focuses on Williams's more significant later plays; omitting, e.g., "Gnaediges Fraeulein," "In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel," "The Red Devil Battery Sign," "The Notebook of Trigorin" - his adaptation of Anton Chekhov's "Seagull" - and his infamous "Baby Doll" screenplay, as well as its stage adaptation "Tiger Tail."

Although many of Williams's works reached audiences not only on stage but also on the silver screen, beginning in the 1950s he came under increased scrutiny due to his unconventional lifestyle. Even in his plays' most successful screen adaptations, the more controversial elements, such as Brick's unavowed homosexuality in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and the sexual tension between Stanley and Blanche in "A Streetcar Named Desire," were either muted or censored entirely; and particularly in later years, criticism leveled against his plays was often truly motivated by objections against the man himself. - "The bird that I hope to catch in the net of this play is ... the true quality of experience in a group of people, that cloudy, flickering, evanescent - fiercely charged! - interplay of live human beings in the thundercloud of a common crisis," Williams wrote in a stage direction in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." But while his own life's thunderstorm did eventually prove fatal (he choked to death on a medicine bottle cap in 1983), over the course of his life he revolutionized Southern drama in a way only comparable to Faulkner's impact on literary fiction, and set a shining example for generations of later playwrights. All-encompassing or not: the Library of America's collection of his works is an excellent place to begin a journey of appreciation into his Dragon Country.

5 out of 5 stars Tennesse Williams: Pulitzer Prize Winner.......2004-04-05

Tennessee Williams is one of my favorite playwrights, and he was one of America's best. I think he was clearly also one of the 20th Century's best. Wonderful poignant tragic storyteller with memorable characters, like the frail southern belle Blanche in his classic play "A Streetcar Named Desire", or Stanley her uncouth brother-in-law who destroys her last shot at happiness. Another great play is "The Glass Menagerie", his first hit, which was an enormous success and catupulted him instantly into the forefront of emerging young playwrights at the time. It's a very entertaining story, very readable, I highly recommend you read it. Another is "The Rose Tattoo"--also see the film of the same name. And Williams' last great play was "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."

David Rehak
author of "Love and Madness"

4 out of 5 stars The plays are great, but a misleading description.......2002-07-14

The plays contained in this volume are wonderful and interesting (especially in terms of his development) to any fan of Tennessee Williams... but I purchased the book believing it was the COMPLETE collected plays 1937-1955, which it is not. It is a group of "selected" plays. I bought it hoping to get more of the one-acts and historical oddities. It contains some of these, but mostly consists of his the more well-known plays, which anyone who would buy this book likely already has (e.g. Cat. Streetcar, Menagerie). Perhaps Amazon.com might want to place a line of explanatory commentary to that effect on the product description.

5 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Book to Own, to Treasure.......2001-02-12

The new Library of America volume "Tennessee Williams: Plays, 1937-1955" is the first of two volumes. (The second volume covers the plays from 1957 to 1980.) This is a magnificent book, beautifully printed and bound. It is comprehensive (over 1000 pages) and has extensive notes and a complete chronology of Williams's life. Several of the plays are printed with commentaries by Tennessee Williams himself, essays that are very informative. This book belongs in the library of any fan of American theater.

If you have only seen the several movies made in the 1950's from his plays, reading these will prove a revelation for you. Because of the restrictions put on movies in the 50's, most of his works were deeply expurgated, especially any overt references to homosexuality. So reading the original plays here often reveals underlying previously obscure motivations/conflicts of some of the characters: why, for example, Blanche DuBois had fallen from being a privileged Southern Belle to the pathetic wretch who appeared on Stanley and Stella's doorstep.

Unlike many playwrights, Tennessee Williams tended to give long, detailed stage directions. This gives the reader of the plays a novel-like narrative, making them wonderful experiences for readers who do not ordinarily enjoy reading plays. The sensuous atmosphere, the classical -- almost Greek sense of tragedy that looms in almost all of these plays, and the exquisite use of language make this a unique reading experience. The writers who had influence over Williams's style are never named but seem apparent, at least to this reader. For example, when reading "The Rose Tattoo" I was reminded of the great Spanish poet/playwright Garcia Lorca's "House of Bernarda Alba." The cackling, vicious, vindictive neighbors, like some Greek Chorus, echoed many of the women in Lorca's work.

This volume even includes the play "Not About Nightingales", a play never performed in Williams's lifetime, but which was recently brought to Broadway in a Tony-winning run. "Not About Nightingales" is a stark prison drama that is quite different from the style he eventually developed. Among the "great" plays included here are "The Glass Menagerie", "A Streetcar Named Desire", "Summer and Smoke", and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." Like all volumes in the Library of America series, this book has been given first-class treatment. Beautiful bindings, ribboned marker, and fine acid-free paper for permanence. It is meant to be owned and treasured forever. You will love this book....
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Genius!
  • The Usual Obligatory Hysteria From Tennessee Williams!!!
  • "Skipper Is Dead But I'm Alive! Maggie The Cat Is Alive!"
  • I love this play
  • Williams Masterpiece
 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Tennessee Williams
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0451171128

Book Description

Williams's Pulitzer Prize-winning play has captured both stage and film audiences since its debut in 1954. One of his best-loved and most famous plays, it exposes the lies plaguing the family of a wealthy Southern planter of humble origins.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Genius!.......2006-01-13

I believe Tennesee Williams is the most versatile modern playwright who truly exemplifies the dysfuctionality of family morals. The Glass Menagerie, Streetcar Named Desire, and Cat On A Hot Tin Roof are indeed his masterpieces. I found Cat on a Hot Tin Roof to be my most favorite. The characters were memorable (who can forget Margaret "aka Maggie The Cat," Brick, Big Daddy, and Big Mama?) and the lines truly classic ("What's the victory of a cat on a hot tin roof? Just staying on it, I guess, as long as she can..."). Also, just like Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on A Hot Tin Roof touched upon subjects that were controversial then and just as controversial now (homosexuality, child molestation, prostitution, etc.), which makes Tenesee William's works highly relevent. His plays age well with time. Not to mention that there have also been INCREDIBLE movie adaptations of all of his famous plays. After you read Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, or Streetcar Named Desire and The Glass Menagerie, watch the movie as well. There is no other modern playwright (except Oscar Wild and Anthony Wilson)whose plays will truly have a place in my heart for years to come.

4 out of 5 stars The Usual Obligatory Hysteria From Tennessee Williams!!!.......2005-10-30

This play is the usual extreme histrionics that I have come to expect from Tennessee Williams. In this book set on a Southern Plantation we have the obligatory hysterical woman, an alcoholic and a homophobe. After a while one cannot help but get the impression that Mr. William's works all consisted of the same stock, cardboard characters and he only changed the settings and their names.I do give this book 5 stars because I have always liked Elizabeth Taylor who starred in the movie of this play although she is in fact a Real Life Serial Monogamist as the Sociologist would refer to her .

5 out of 5 stars "Skipper Is Dead But I'm Alive! Maggie The Cat Is Alive!".......2005-08-11

Only Williams could have gotten away with naming his hero "Brick," as names were always his strong suit. He found comfort in names, and a wild exotic beauty, and even in his last faltering years was usually able to pull a final name out of his hat, something perfect. I remember seeing CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF on stage, with Elizabeth Ashley, some time before I read the play, so naturally my experience of the text is colored by Ashley's sizzling interpretation of Maggie the Cat, all hisses and feral screams. She was so strong I can barely remember who played Brick or Big Daddy in that production. I think it was Keir Dullea from DAVID AND LISA. Maybe Big Daddy was the man from the MUNSTERS TV show. What we, the audience, cared about was if Maggie was going to get her wway and triumph over all the mendacity and the "no neck monsters" that were swarming the plantation.

Maggie gets angry, but mostly we value her for her tenderness. Even when she knows her husband has lost his heart over a long-gone teammate, and that he's probably gay, she never gives up the ship. She knows that without her in his corner 100 per cent, he'll give up, drown in his own sorrows. He needs her to kick his ass and bring him back to the land of the awake. She wasn't going to be an enabler, she would always discourage him from drinking from the time he got up in the morning till he passed out at night, his crutches tangled up in his boxer shorts. For Brick, drinking is a way out of his tortured memories of Skipper, the boy he loved in high school and college. Taking a drink is "like a switch, clickin' off in my head. Turns the hot light off and the cool one on and all of a sudden, there's peace." Secretly the family has a plan to ship his butt off to Rainbow Hill, sort of a Betty Ford Clinic without the mercy.

We love Maggie trying to semaphor the truth into his thick skull by screaming, "Skipper is dead but I'm alive! Maggie the Cat is alive!"

5 out of 5 stars I love this play.......2005-07-13

Tennessee Williams was a genius. This play runs the full spectrum of human emotion-desire, frustration, depression, denial, grief, longing,need, inadequacy. Its all laid right out in shocking bursts of deep naked revelation. This is my favorite play of all time.

5 out of 5 stars Williams Masterpiece.......2005-06-09

This is classic Tennessee Williams, deep characters and family secrets. The characters are so well written, especially Brick and the undercurrent of the story is always swirling. Secrets are bubbling up and everyone is fighting over something real or perceived. It is a wonderful character study and you really can't put it down. Even though the 50's movie with Taylor and Newman was wonderful, the play is so much better. I would really enjoy a new big budget look at this story, one that really follows the play, it's time.
A Streetcar Named Desire (New Directions Paperbook)
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • STEELLLLLAAAAA!
 A Streetcar Named Desire (New Directions Paperbook)
Tennessee Williams
Manufacturer: New Directions Publishing Corporation
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ASIN: 0811216020

Book Description

<B>The Pulitzer Prize and Drama Critics Circle Award winning play—reissued with an introduction by Arthur Miller (Death of a Salesman and The Crucible), and Williams' essay "The World I Live In."</B>

It is a very short list of 20th-century American plays that continue to have the same power and impact as when they first appeared—57 years after its Broadway premiere, Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire is one of those plays. The story famously recounts how the faded and promiscuous Blanche DuBois is pushed over the edge by her sexy and brutal brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski. Streetcar launched the careers of Marlon Brando, Jessica Tandy, Kim Hunter and Karl Malden, and solidified the position of Tennessee Williams as one of the most important young playwrights of his generation, as well as that of Elia Kazan as the greatest American stage director of the '40s and '50s.

Who better than America's elder statesman of the theater, Williams' contemporary Arthur Miller, to write as a witness to the lightning that struck American culture in the form of A Streetcar Named Desire? Miller's rich perspective on Williams' singular style of poetic dialogue, sensitive characters, and dramatic violence makes this a unique and valuable new edition of A Streetcar Named Desire. This definitive new edition will also include Williams' essay "The World I Live In," and a brief chronology of the author's life.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars STEELLLLLAAAAA!.......2006-07-14

I've just finished reading this book, and have decided it is the best book I've ever read. Tennessee Williams brings together Stella, Stanley - her brutish husband- and Blanche Dubois, Stella's sister. Blanche comes to live with Stella and Stanley after she is kicked out of a different town for being a flirt. Stella who is in denial about this tries her best to be a good host and comfort Blanche. Stanley is more wise than Stella and does research. Through a whirlwind of the blue piano that plays by their street, and poker nights, Blanche realizes she is no longer the sophisticated southern Belle she made herself out to be. Basically, Blanche goes crazy and was "forced" to deal with Stanley the way Stella has for the while they've been together.
I love this book because it's like nothing I've ever read before.
Tennessee Williams: Plays 1957-1980 (Library of America)
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • The Lyrical Voice of Tennessee Williams
  • Am I allowed to review a review?
  • Ho-Hum
  • One of the greatest
  • Lyricism, tenderness, reality and fantasy in his stories...
 Tennessee Williams: Plays 1957-1980 (Library of America)
Tennessee Williams
Manufacturer: Library of America
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1883011876

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars The Lyrical Voice of Tennessee Williams.......2007-05-03

Tennessee Williams represented a major advance in American drama as he introduced a lyricism that had previously been missing. Eugene O'Neill helped the American theatre grow up, but Williams was the one who made it sing.

Williams was able to create complex, vibrant plays which gave intense life to all of the contradictions, nastiness, dysfunction and beauty of American life and families. America has never produced a more honest or sincere playwright. His characters are always searching for ways to hang on to their humanity as the forces of repression and authoritarianism threaten to swallow them up or destroy them.

But above all else, Williams' dialogue is superbly, sublimely poetic. For Williams, the drama is in language itself, and no one has ever used words to greater effect than Tennessee Williams. Both Library of America volumes of Williams' plays are essential reading for people interested in theatre, America, and/or the possibilities of hope and grace in turbulent times.

5 out of 5 stars Am I allowed to review a review?.......2007-01-31

I, for one, worship the pulp Tennesse Williams typed upon, but I think Mark E. Baxter's review below might just give Tenn himself a run for his money when it comes to audaciously witty, ironic, shocking, and ultimately moving writing. At the very least, Williams (a man who was once seen at a production of "A Streetcar Named Desire" cackling "Haha, she's off to the nuthouse now!" as the curtain fell) would have enjoyed this hilariously, astonishingly off-kilter review. Brava, Mark E. Baxter! Well done!

2 out of 5 stars Ho-Hum.......2006-09-02

Why American critics are so desperate to make Tennessee Williams into the "great" American playwright is beyond me -- perhaps they feel inadequate when compared to the genius that's come out of England and Continental Europe (e.g., Shaw, Shakespeare, Moliere).

The characters are seldom well-developed, and frequently, I found myself not caring what happened to them. Or rather, I hoped that Mr. Williams would kill them all off a little quicker so he could end the wretched work.

5 out of 5 stars One of the greatest.......2005-12-03

Tennessee Williams is in the top ranks of American playwrights. His works are a MUST for serious students of the American theatre. Moreover, they are wonderful works for actors to read and learn from -- some of the finest characters, most poignant scenes, and brilliant insights on human nature AND theatrical staging that you can find anywhere. Cheerful? No. Uplifting? Usually not. Brilliant, stageworthy and gripping? Always. This collection, both volumes, gives you all the plays, plus some very worthwhile notes and prefaces from Williams himself.

5 out of 5 stars Lyricism, tenderness, reality and fantasy in his stories..........2005-10-24

All of Tennessee William's writings, whether his plays, poetry, or his short stories are lyrical in his use of imagery,irony, humor,and all ways uplifting. His works all go to the heart of the "human condition"....love, not finding love, losing love, but as an actual and central reason for Life!

He has a great affection for all of his characters from Blanche DuBois to Maxine, to Alma, to Maggie 'the Cat". His male characters seem to be drawn more to everyday types, though ones who are searching, or tortured by love. Tennessee is a national treasure, his "way with words" unparalleled, and truly THE only great American playright.

Just a suggestion....there is another review posted here on this book by some person from Utah. Even though this person claims he read the book, if he did, he just did NOT get any of Tennessee's stories or plays at all. DO NOT GIVE THE "UTAH" REVIEW OF THE WORKS OF TENNESSEE WILLIAMS ANY CREDENCE.

If you have nothing else yet written by Williams, this is a great place to start. Also highly recommend his collection of Short Stories, as well as his collection of Poetry.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Average customer rating: Not rated
    		Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
    Tennessee Williams
    Manufacturer: New Directions Publishing Corporation
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

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    ASIN: 0811216012

    Book Description

    <B>The definitive text of this American classic—reissued with an introduction by Edward Albee (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and A Delicate Balance) and Williams' essay "Person-to-Person."</B>

    Cat on a Hot Tin Roof first heated up Broadway in 1955 with its gothic American story of brothers vying for their dying father's inheritance amid a whirlwind of sexuality, untethered in the person of Maggie the Cat. The play also daringly showcased the burden of sexuality repressed in the agony of her husband, Brick Pollitt. In spite of the public controversy Cat stirred up, it was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and the Drama Critics Circle Award for that year. Williams, as he so often did with his plays, rewrote Cat on a Hot Tin Roof for many years—the present version was originally produced at the American Shakespeare Festival in 1974 with all the changes that made Williams finally declare the text to be definitive, and was most recently produced on Broadway in the 2003-04 season. This definitive edition also includes Williams' essay "Person-to-Person," Williams' notes on the various endings, and a short chronology of the author's life.

    One of America's greatest living playwrights, as well as a friend and colleague of Williams, Edward Albee has written a concise introduction to the play from a playwright's perspective, examining the candor, sensuality, power, and impact of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof then and now.
    Memoirs (New Directions Paperbook)
    Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    • An American Jewel
    • An Act of Defiance by a Great Gay Author
    • "Then and there the theatre and I found each other for better and for worse."
    • Dear, Troubled Genius.
    • There's a reason it's Out of Print
    		 Memoirs (New Directions Paperbook)
    Tennessee Williams
    Manufacturer: New Directions
    ProductGroup: Book
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    ASIN: 0811216691

    Book Description

    <B>For the "old crocodile," as Williams called himself late in life, the past was always present, and so it is with his continual shifting and intermingling of times, places, and memories as he weaves this story.</B><BR><BR>When Memoirs was first published in 1975, it created quite a bit of turbulence in the media—though long self-identified as a gay man, Williams' candor about his love life, sexual encounters, and drug use was found shocking in and of itself, and such revelations by America's greatest living playwright were called "a raw display of private life" by The New York Times Book Review. As it turns out, thirty years later, Williams' look back at his life is not quite so scandalous as it once seemed; he recalls his childhood in Mississippi and St. Louis, his prolonged struggle as a "starving artist," the "overnight" success of The Glass Menagerie in 1945, the death of his long-time companion Frank Merlo in 1962, and his confinement to a psychiatric ward in 1969 and subsequent recovery from alcohol and drug addiction, all with the same directness, compassion, and insight that epitomize his plays.<BR><BR>And, of course, Memoirs is filled with Williams' amazing friends from the worlds of stage, screen, and literature as he—often hilariously, sometimes fondly, sometimes not—remembers them: Laurette Taylor, Gore Vidal, Truman Capote, Elia Kazan, Marlon Brando, Vivian Leigh, Carson McCullers, Anna Magnani, Greta Garbo, Elizabeth Taylor, and Tallulah Bankhead to name a few. And now film director John Waters, well acquainted with shocking the American public, has written an introduction that gives some perspective on the various reactions to Tennessee's Memoirs, while also paying tribute to a fellow artist who inspired many with his integrity and endurance.

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars An American Jewel .......2006-12-27

    I think "badges of honor" (from a previous review) misses the mark. "Badges of dis-honor" would be closer to the truth. I think Williams' extremely destructive drug abuse and alcoholism are obvious escape hatches - escapes from his inner deamons, his possible self-loathing, and certainly an attempt to reconcile the loneliness that each artist has to contend with. The same isolation and deamons that Williams faced nearly destroyed Michelangelo - and they did kill Virginia Woolf, Francis Bacon, and Oscar Wilde. I still think "Iguana" and "Streetcar" are among the finest literature in the American canon, while "Suddenly Last Summer" is among the most compelling psychological (if not philosophical) horror stories ever written. In fact, it's worthy of Poe. Tennessee Williams can be difficult and disturbing, because he NEVER lies to us. Every one of his works renders him defenseless - and by extension our defenses are stipped bare as well. Only the greatest authors, artists, and poets are able to do this. No thoughtful person is quite the same after delving into the work of Tennessee Williams. I think that's an awesome power to possess - and William's never abuses it. Instead, he saved the abuse for himself. I'm still coming to terms with this.

    4 out of 5 stars An Act of Defiance by a Great Gay Author.......2006-12-09

    If you are looking for a well organized overview of TW's life and career, look somewhere else. For someone truly interested in Tennessee Williams, I would suggest first reading a biography of him, and if you are still interested, read this to find out what made this man tick, what made this man get out of bed each day and write, and what a (....) guy he was. This is a nitty-gritty, confessional look inward at the personal aspects and thoughts of the life of a very talented writer.
    I am sure what shocked his public when it was published in 1975 was his frank description of his love life and sexual affairs. For Ernest Hemingway it was okay to describe his love life because he was straight, but for a gay man it was (and still largely is) expected to be kept discreetly sub-rosa. But Tennessee was not ashamed of his nature and not ashamed of his life and in that way this memoir (and his life itself) is an act of cultural defiance. It pours out in a fairly disjointed stream of recollections. To be honest, it reads like a rough-draft that needs a lot of editing and filling in. But all-in-all, the inherent drama, passion and thirst for life itself jump out of the page and carry one through to the end and you can't help but be touched by his humanity and his passion and his drive to express himself through his art.

    5 out of 5 stars "Then and there the theatre and I found each other for better and for worse.".......2006-11-02

    It was a stroke of genius on the part of publisher New Directions to re-release Tennessee Williams's memoirs with an introduction by Trash Cinema icon, John Waters. Waters explains the significance of Tennessee Williams both in his life and also to American culture in general. It's clear that Waters sees Tennessee Williams as an artistic-doppelganger, and Waters recalls as a child he "yearned for a bad influence" when he sought a forbidden Tennessee Williams short story collection on the inaccessible shelves of the public library. Waters actually admits that Tennessee Williams "saved my life" by providing a sort of identification: "There was another world that Tennessee Williams knew about, a universe filled with special people who didn't want to be a part of this dreary conformist life."

    Waters asks, "was Tennessee nuts when he wrote "Memoirs" or was he just high?" After finishing "Memoirs", it's arguable that Tennessee Williams was in neither of those two states. Yes, he'd spent years being nuts and/or high, but when he wrote these memoirs in 1975, he'd lost the great love of his life, suffered through horrendous drug addictions, endured a lock-up in the violent ward of a mental hospital, and it seems to some extent at least, he was ready to talk about his life experiences without a sterile, vanity-induced, glossy glow. It's as if he was ready to say to the world: 'ready or not--this is my life and I don't care if you don't like it.'

    "Memoirs" is not particularly chronological--there's an attempt here to follow chronology, but Tennessee obviously finds some strands of thought more attractive, so he tends to go off on tangents at times. For example, very early on, he mentions that his sister Rose had a lobotomy, but drops the subject, returning to it in some detail in later chapters. He also has the tendency to provide surprisingly scant details of his family--describing his mother as a "moderately controlled hysteric." At other times, he's briefly mentions incidents that others would take pages describing (for example, a childhood operation to remove adenoids, tonsils and a circumcision--all conducted under ether). He describes the many menial jobs he held throughout the years, and the simple, uncomplicated life he led in Key West until fame finally arrived. It's somewhat shocking to realize the poverty he lived in for so many years while he waited for his plays to gain the attention they deserved. In one passage, he describes having enough money to buy wood to warm his New York apartment in the winter (just as "A Streetcar Named Desire" played for the first time).

    Always hypersensitive to the critics, opening night was an agony of suspense of Tennessee Williams, but it seems that many friends and well wishers gathered around for those dreaded and yet so necessary nights. Bad reviews could send Tennessee spiraling in depression, and on several occasions he actually sailed for Europe when the notices were bad. But in spite of an often-tumultuous relationship with critics, Tennessee argues that theatre "saved my life."

    "Memoirs" is peppered throughout with sightings of the rich and infamous--including: John Paul Sartre, Hemingway, Castro, Candy Darling, Jane and Paul Bowles, Gore Vidal, Truman Capote, Tallulah Bankhead, and Christopher Isherwood, and naturally, there are details here about Marlon Brando--described by Tennessee Williams as the "greatest living actor." Tennessee Williams readily admits at one point, that "Memoirs" offers "mostly the barest periphery of that which is my intense life for my intense life is my work." Indeed, critics apparently complained that Tennessee's memoirs were markedly devoid of details about his plays--but that's all nonsense. The details are here--written between the lines, and one must be determined enough to sniff them out. Written with a sweet, candid and gentle edge of self-deprecating humour, and loaded with black and white photographs, "Memoirs" is a marvelous book that offers a glimpse into the life of a remarkably talented but troubled man--displacedhuman

    5 out of 5 stars Dear, Troubled Genius........2002-07-01

    This book shocked and disappointed many upon its release in 1975. Many were expecting something resembling a predictable literary auto-biography, though, with the authors notorious history and reputation, should have been prepared for what they got instead. This is a fascinating book about and by the man many called genius, the author of "A Streetcar Named Desire", "The Glass Menagerie", "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof", "Sweet Bird Of Youth", "Night Of The Iguana", etc..., and the events in his life that help one better understand just how autobiographical many of his works were. From his upbringing by a tyrannical, indifferent father, who was disappointed in his "sissy" son, his overbearing mother, and his relationship with his lifelong, deepest love, his sister Rose, whose tragic mental illness and lobotomy froze her in time, and perhaps was the most important factor in his troubled life and his creative genius. He was all too human, in his relationships and insecurities. He exposes himself, warts and all, at once being an extremely sensitive, caring human being, who at other times in his life, could turn into an irrational, paranoid, abusive chore to be around. Substance abuse certainly played a major part in his progressive personal and professional demise, and he is brutally honest about that also. He is also unapologetic about the many promiscuous periods of his life, the bluntness of his recounting of sexual escapades usually so humorously told, that it defuses what could have been just vulgar bad taste, to some. His 14 year love relationship with Frank Merlo, who died of cancer in the early 1960's, was, aside from Rose, the most important relationship of his life. Though he and Merlo were estranged towards the end of Merlos life, then had a reconciliation just prior to his death, Tennessee was to never recover from the loss. He also tells about the beginning of his career, and certain pivitol moments in his professional life when, before fame and praise came, it was doubtful that the poor, struggling writer might ever find success. There are also wonderful first hand insights into his contact with the likes of Brando, Anna Magnani, Capote, to name a few. But, admittedly, this book is more about the man than the career. He readily concedes that he is not about to bore himself and some readers to death with chronological descriptions about the fruition of each play. As he says here: "The plays, what about them? If this was a book only about my plays, it would be a very short book. The plays speak for themselves". In fact, there is nothing chronological about this book. It was published about ten years before his tragic death, a period in his life that , after a brilliant career with successive hits, was marked by professional failure, the progression of which was publicly recorded by ,what many perceived to be, unusually aggressive critics who were intent on destroying him personally. If you're looking for a standard auto-bio of a literary career, you may be disappointed. But you also may enjoy, as I did, this wonderfully touching and often humourous book by a sad, troubled, brilliant human being, who battled with his demons his whole life, trying to give a voice to the lonely, the outcast, the misunderstood...the "gentle people", as he referred to them. We are all contradictory, perhaps those the Gods touch with genius more so than others. It's the totality of a life that matters, and the total sum of his life was that he tried his damndest to be a GOOD MAN. An honest man. And, he also created some of the most brilliant works, with some of the most memorable characters, speaking some of the most beautiful words, in the history of theater. Don't judge dear Tennessee too harshly.

    1 out of 5 stars There's a reason it's Out of Print.......2000-01-03

    Before reading this I knew absolutely nothing about Tennessee Williams....after reading it I wish I knew even less.

    Williams writes with no continuity, constantly jumping back and forth with stories from different times in his life, making this book difficult to follow.

    His drug addictions, prima donna temper tantrums, numerous homosexual trysts, and infidelity to his dying lover are nothing to be admired yet he writes about them as if they were badges of honor.

    Don't waste your money or time on this one.
    The Theatre of Tennessee Williams, Vol. 6: 27 Wagons Full of Cotton and Other Short Plays
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      		The Theatre of Tennessee Williams, Vol. 6: 27 Wagons Full of Cotton and Other Short Plays
      Tennessee Williams
      Manufacturer: New Directions Publishing Corporation
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Paperback

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      ASIN: 0811212157

      Authors:

      1. Williams, Walter Jon
      2. Williams, William Carlos
      3. Williamson, Henry
      4. Williamson, Jack
      5. Williamson, Penelope
      6. Willis, Connie
      7. Wilson, Colin
      8. Wilson, David
      9. Wilson, Eric
      10. Wilson, Ethel

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