Beside the Shadblow Tree: A Memoir of James Laughlin

by Hayden Carruth

Intimate portrait of 20th century's most influential publisher, as only a great poet can see him.

Genres: Nonfiction

151 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Hayden Carruth was an American poet, literary critic, and anthologist known for his distinctive voice, blending formal precision with the rhythms of jazz and the blues. Over a career spanning more than sixty years, he published over thirty books of poetry, as well as essays, literary criticism, and anthologies. His work often explored themes of rural life, hardship, mental illness, and social justice, reflecting both his personal struggles and his political convictions.
Born in Waterbury, Connecticut, Carruth studied at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and later earned an M.A. from the University of Chicago. His early career included serving as editor-in-chief of Poetry and as an advisory editor of The Hudson Review for two decades. He later became poetry editor at Harper’s Magazine and held teaching positions at Johnson State College, the University of Vermont, and Syracuse University, where he influenced a new generation of poets.
Carruth received numerous awards, including the National Book Critics Circle Award for Collected Shorter Poems (1992) and the National Book Award for Scrambled Eggs and Whiskey (1996). His later works, such as Doctor Jazz and Last Poems, further cemented his reputation as a major voice in American poetry. His influential anthology The Voice That Is Great Within Us remains a landmark collection of American verse.

Reviews

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hybrid autobiography and biography that revealed what humanity and friendship should be.

[Paul Wilner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eloquent, honest account of Carruth's longstanding friendship with New Directions founder/scion James Laughlin. I loved this book, am re-reading it now.

[Cooper Renner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fine memoir of one writer by another.

[Robert Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want a job at New Directions (ND). James Laughlin may have been the single most important force in Twentieth Century American literature by publishing so many great authors: Ezra Pound, Henry Miller, Appollinaire, William Carlos Williams, Djuna Barnes...

ND is still an independent publishing company, publishing only 30 titles a year, as opposed to larger, corporate publishers that can publish anywhere between 150 to 300 titles of pure shit a year. I want to work for New Directions!.

I don't read non-fiction, other than newspapers (obvious fiction) or the occasional letter from someone I love, which is either few and far between, or lacking (though I do fault myself for my silences, as well), but this has been the most remarkable book I have read in a long time. Perhaps, I see the long-distance view of my life I will, and am, being forced to take. Such lives we will all lead, even the mundane ones, will have more (and less) meaning than grains of sand or stars.

Now I have to go back through the book and find all the words I've never seen, never thought of, and give them meanings.

[Kevin P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read because you want the insights to JL but hopelessly written in a ramble. I guess the editor thought Carruth was too famous to be edited..