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Elegy for Sam Emerson
Set in pre-9/11 Pittsburgh, Elegy for Sam Emerson commemorates a past that will abruptly end as the novel follows the fortunes of Sam Emerson, proprietor of an upscale Mount Washington restaurant with stunning views of the three rivers below. Middle-aged and nostalgic, Sam Emerson ruminates on his unconventional childhood as he faces the prospect of life without his much younger lover, and at the same time, deals with disposing of his mother’s ashes and traveling to France to look for his father’s unmarked grave.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published May 30, 2006
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About the author
Hilary Masters
34 books3 followersaka P.J. Coyne
Hilary Masters (born February 3, 1928) is an American writer.
He was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of Edgar Lee Masters, a writer, and Ellen Frances Coyne Masters. He attended Davidson College from 1944 - 1946, then served in the U.S. Navy from 1946 to 1947 as a naval correspondent. He completed his BA at Brown University in 1952.
Masters began his writing career after graduation in New York with Bennett & Pleasant, press agents for concert and dance artists. Next he worked independently as a theatrical press agent for Off Broadway and summer theaters from 1953 to 1956. He then moved into journalism with the Hyde Park Record, in Hyde Park, New York from 1956 to 1959. In the 1960s he was a Democratic candidate for New York's 100th Assembly District. He also worked as a freelance photographer for Image Bank and exhibits.
He has taught writing at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Drake University, Clark University, Ohio University and the University of Denver. Since 1983 he has served as Professor of English at Carnegie Mellon University, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Masters married Polly Jo McCulloch in 1955 (divorced, 1986); they had three children. In 1994 he married the writer Kathleen George. They reside in Pittsburgh.
Hilary Masters (born February 3, 1928) is an American writer.
He was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of Edgar Lee Masters, a writer, and Ellen Frances Coyne Masters. He attended Davidson College from 1944 - 1946, then served in the U.S. Navy from 1946 to 1947 as a naval correspondent. He completed his BA at Brown University in 1952.
Masters began his writing career after graduation in New York with Bennett & Pleasant, press agents for concert and dance artists. Next he worked independently as a theatrical press agent for Off Broadway and summer theaters from 1953 to 1956. He then moved into journalism with the Hyde Park Record, in Hyde Park, New York from 1956 to 1959. In the 1960s he was a Democratic candidate for New York's 100th Assembly District. He also worked as a freelance photographer for Image Bank and exhibits.
He has taught writing at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Drake University, Clark University, Ohio University and the University of Denver. Since 1983 he has served as Professor of English at Carnegie Mellon University, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Masters married Polly Jo McCulloch in 1955 (divorced, 1986); they had three children. In 1994 he married the writer Kathleen George. They reside in Pittsburgh.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 24, 2008
I actually liked this book. I didn't expect to because the other members of my book club really thought it was awful. The author, (a prof of lit and creative writing at CMU) is the son of the Masters who wrote Spoon River Anthology (which shows up in most high school American lit anthologies), and he considers himself a failed poet. The other members of the group thought his vocabulary was pretentious. It didn't bother me at all. The setting is Pittsburgh. The main character owns a restaurant on Mount Washington with a view of the city. He is trying to come to terms with his mother's death. Elgies are mournful. I think the book actually ends on a positive, hopeful note. It was not a "page turner" for me, but I did like it.
Displaying 1 of 1 review