Glass House: The Life of Theodore Roethke

by Allan Seager

The first detailed biography of this renowned American poet

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

320 pages, Hardcover

First published August 15, 1991

Reviews

[Chris Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read if you like or study Roethke, as it's the only biography of him out there. The writing isn't always the best, and the author often inserts himself and his speculations a bit too much, but overall it is a helpful and informative read. It's clarifying to see how Roethke often exaggerated his past, but not terribly surprising given his profession.

[Miriam]

"He was out to create people anew, to implant or uproot, rearrange, abrade if necessary, their sensibilities, to tear down and trample on all familial and social veils between themselves and the world as he saw it (he could be contemptuous enough, sometimes even publicly, of their origins, the long coddling and the money, contemptuous and admiring at once), and expose their little naked spirits, lift them with love or drag them by sheer force of will up to the level where they could confront the most important thing in the world which was, of course, poetry, confront, comprehend, and sing it themselves"

[David Buhler · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the greatest biographies I have ever read. A bio. of Theodore Roethke written a friend (also a literary man, teacher and novelist) who knew him well. This book opened my eyes to the difficulty of writing poetry, especially if the poet uses his own internal landscape as subject, as Roethke did until in his final years he began to look outward and upward. He is named as America's greatest poet, the only rival being Robert Lowell. This book has inspired me to read Roethke's collected poems and I have found many many that love.

[Johnny Trash · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit dull and thick for me (or maybe I'm the one who's dull and thick). But it's an interesting story of an interesting poet and his adventures with mental health and illness. Roethke grew up in Minnesota but lived from the 1940s to the early 60s in Washington State (Bainbridge Island) and is considered to have brought poetry to the Pacific Northwest.

[Elisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deserves to be the definitive biography-- detailed, appreciative, knowledgeable.

[Jack Pryor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I prefer The Sentimental Education