Garth Jeffers Recalls His Father, Robinson Jeffers: Recollections of a Poet's Son
| Author: | Lynch, Audrey | |
| Year: | 2012 | |
| Pages: | 160 | |
| ISBN: | 0-7734-2938-3 978-0-7734-2938-3 | |
| Price: | $139.95 + shipping | |
| (Click the PayPal button to buy) | ||
Third Place Winner Marjorie Davies Roller Non-Fiction Award
Robinson Jeffers was considered one of the most important American poets of the early 20th century, yet the story behind his family life has not been told from his son’s perspective. How he managed to remain a prolific poet while raising a family is the topic of this book, along with anecdotes about the famous and influential literary, artistic, and creative figures who frequently visited the Jeffers household near Big Sur, California.
Reviews
“Dr. Audry Lynch succeeds brilliantly in revealing to the reader reasons behind Robinson Jeffers’ choice of poetry subject matter, the isolation he craved and found in Carmel, California, and why he claimed that his wife contributed so greatly to his writings. A rewarding look at a complicated man, seen mostly through the eyes of his son. The reader gets to know Jeffers, the sense of place and love of nature reflected in his poems, their relevance to our times, and why Tor House and Hawk Tower exist to this day.”
- Prof. Mary Lou Taylor,
author of The Fringes of Hollywood, San Jose State University
“Audry Lynch has been uniquely fortunate to draw upon the recollections of Garth Jeffers. Her nuanced portraiture captures the delicate tensions of a family where artistic action and creativity, marital passion, a profound love of nature and kindness towards animals created the domestic ground for some of America’s greatest poetry.”
-Prof. Kevin McGrath,
Harvard University
“In this work her storytelling invites you to encounter not the poetry but the life of Robinson Jeffers as seen by his son, Garth. To you, I recommend this good and memorable read.”
-Prof. Maurice V. Dunbar,
De Anza College
“It is obvious that Dr. Lynch developed a trusting relationship with her interviewee that helped to make the work much fuller than could have been done otherwise. She tells a story, sprinkled with just the right amount of citation, quotation, and scholarship, while staying true to the nature of the interviews she conducted and the relationship she buily during the research process. Oral history always adds new dimensions to our knowledge of people or events.”
-Dr. John B. Straw,
Ball State University
- Prof. Mary Lou Taylor,
author of The Fringes of Hollywood, San Jose State University
“Audry Lynch has been uniquely fortunate to draw upon the recollections of Garth Jeffers. Her nuanced portraiture captures the delicate tensions of a family where artistic action and creativity, marital passion, a profound love of nature and kindness towards animals created the domestic ground for some of America’s greatest poetry.”
-Prof. Kevin McGrath,
Harvard University
“In this work her storytelling invites you to encounter not the poetry but the life of Robinson Jeffers as seen by his son, Garth. To you, I recommend this good and memorable read.”
-Prof. Maurice V. Dunbar,
De Anza College
“It is obvious that Dr. Lynch developed a trusting relationship with her interviewee that helped to make the work much fuller than could have been done otherwise. She tells a story, sprinkled with just the right amount of citation, quotation, and scholarship, while staying true to the nature of the interviews she conducted and the relationship she buily during the research process. Oral history always adds new dimensions to our knowledge of people or events.”
-Dr. John B. Straw,
Ball State University
Table of Contents
Abstract
Dedication
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter One – Father – Robinson Jeffers – Hawk
Chapter Two – Mother – Una Call Kuster – Unicorn
Chapter Three – Brother – Donnan Jeffers – The Dark-Haired Twin
Chapter Four – Garth Jeffers – Forester – The Fair Twin
Chapter Five – Famous People Join the Jeffers at Tor House
Chapter Six – Ireland – The Jeffers’ Second Home
Chapter Seven – Summers in Taos – The Carmel of the Southwest
Chapter Eight – Tor House and Hawk Tower – The Jeffers Legacy
Appendix A – The Works of Robinson Jeffers
Index
Photos
Dedication
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter One – Father – Robinson Jeffers – Hawk
Chapter Two – Mother – Una Call Kuster – Unicorn
Chapter Three – Brother – Donnan Jeffers – The Dark-Haired Twin
Chapter Four – Garth Jeffers – Forester – The Fair Twin
Chapter Five – Famous People Join the Jeffers at Tor House
Chapter Six – Ireland – The Jeffers’ Second Home
Chapter Seven – Summers in Taos – The Carmel of the Southwest
Chapter Eight – Tor House and Hawk Tower – The Jeffers Legacy
Appendix A – The Works of Robinson Jeffers
Index
Photos