Writers and Their Mothers

Dale Salwak is Professor of English Literature at Southern California’s Citrus College, USA. His publications include Living with a Writer (Palgrave, 2004), Teaching Life: Letters from a Life in Literature (2008) and studies of Kingsley Amis, John Braine, A.J. Cronin, Philip Larkin, Barbara Pym, Carl Sandburg, Anne Tyler and John Wain. He is a recipient of Purdue University's Distinguished Alumni Award as well as a research grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. He is also a frequent contributor to the (London) Times Higher Education magazine and the Times Educational Supplement.

“In this lively collection of essays, the legacy of maternal blessings (which they mostly describe) is thoughtfully and skilfully unpacked...“ (The Guardian's Book of the Week in March 2018)“What a great project, I just can't believe that no one has done it before.” (Times Literary Supplement podcast, March 8, 2018)“In each case, these women are shown to be different to one another, whether in strength or foible, all wielding a unique influence over their children, and en masse, this makes for a compelling, and varied read. In his collection, Salwak simply asserts that good writing is likely to flourish because of, or in spite of, a mother’s influence. In considering how far such an arc of influence might stretch, the enduring strength of these essays … .” (Julia O'Mahony, The Irish Times, irishtimes.com, April, 2018)

• 1. Shakespeare’s Mother(s) - Hugh M. Richmond.- 2. John Ruskin and Margaret - Anthony Daniels, M.D..- 3. Ambitious Daughter: Louisa May Alcott and Her Mother - Gardner McFall.- 4. Walt Whitman and His Mother - Kenneth Silverman.- 5. The Maternal Embrace: Samuel Beckett and His Mother May - Margaret Drabble.- 6. William Golding’s Mother - Judy Carver.- 7. Voice Rehearsals & Personas in Sylvia’s Letters to Aurelia - Adrianne Kalfopoulou.- 8. No Villainous Mother: The Life of Eva Larkin - Philip Pullen.- 9. Robert Lowell: Trapped in Charlotte’s Web - Jeffrey Meyers.- 10. Mother Tongue: A Memoir - Ian McEwan.- 11. “Persistent Ghost” - Anthony Thwaite.- 12. Living with Mother - Catherine Aird.- 13. “Bring her again to me . . . “ - Ann Thwaite.- 14. My Mother, and Friends - Reeve Lindbergh.- 15. My Mother’s Desk - Martha Oliver-Smith.- 16. Mater Sagax - Rachel Hadas.- 17. My Wicked Stepmother - Martin Amis.- 18. About “My Mother Enters the Work Force” - Rita Dove.- 19. A Shadow in the Grass - Andrew Motion.- 20. Mrs. Gabbet’s Desk - David Updike.- 21. Dreams of a Mother and Daughter - Lyndall Gordon.- 22. Her Programme -Tim Parks.