Sunday, March 17, 2013

Covetable Copy (2)

I thought it was about time that I pay tribute to the writing of Anne Sexton.
"Depression is boring, I think, and I would do better to make some soup and light up the cave"  Anne Sexton, The Fury of Rain Storms
Seeing as I drew the name of my blog from this quote, I obviously consider it to be covetable copy. Like other Sexton phrases that stick in my brain, it declares darkness with a flippant shrug. It's an almost Chekhovian line. I have a particular love and envy of writing that has that Janus face of comic and tragic.  

My favorite Sexton collection is probably Transformations, her retelling of a cluster of classic fairy tales. Written years before Sondheim and Lapine began Into the WoodsSexton's take on these stories is both darker and funnier than theirs and, oddly, more contemporary. With fairy tales trending so strongly right now, I'm hopeful that Sexton's work will be discovered by a new generation of readers.


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