Sarton, May

Sarton, May

▪ American writer
original name  Eleanore Marie Sarton 
born May 3, 1912, Wondelgem, Belg.
died July 16, 1995, York, Maine, U.S.

      American poet, novelist, and essayist whose works were informed by themes of love, mind-body conflict, creativity, lesbianism, and the trials of age and illness.

      Sarton's family immigrated to Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1916. She saw her first work in print in Poetry magazine in 1929, the same year she joined Eva Le Gallienne (Le Gallienne, Eva)'s Civic Repertory Theatre in New York as an apprentice. In 1933 Sarton founded the Apprentice Theatre (later Associated Actors Theatre); after it disbanded in 1936, she taught creative writing in Boston, then wrote scripts for the official Overseas Film Unit in New York. After 1945 she began to write full-time.

      Sarton's writing often earned greater acclaim from the public than from critics, whose comments ranged from admiration for her controlled, sensitive style to disdain for a perceived dullness and conventionality of language. Her novels increasingly reflected the concerns of her own life. Her early fiction, such as The Single Hound (1938) and A Shower of Summer Days (1952), is set in Europe and shows the merest glimpse of autobiography. Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing (1965), considered by many to be her most important novel, addresses issues of artistic expression. Her other novels include As We Are Now (1973), A Reckoning (1978), The Magnificent Spinster (1985), and The Education of Harriet Hatfield (1989), which describes aging, illness, and love between women.

      Sarton thought her own poetry more significant than her prose. Of her many volumes of poetry, The Land of Silence (1953), In Time Like Air (1958), and A Private Mythology (1966) are cited as among her best, the last for its varied forms and for its invocation of Japanese, Indian, and Greek cultures. Her Collected Poems, 1930–1993 (1993) demonstrates her range of subjects and styles. Sarton's late autobiographical writings, such as After the Stroke: A Journal (1989) and Encore: A Journal of the Eightieth Year (1993), offer meditations on illness and aging.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • May Sarton — Born Eleanore Marie Sarton May 3, 1912(1912 05 03) Wondelgem, Belgium Died July 16, 1995(1995 07 16) (aged 83) Nationality …   Wikipedia

  • Sarton — may refer to:* Sarton (crater), a crater on the Moon * Sarton, Pas de Calais, a commune of France in the department of Pas de CalaisPeople with the surname Sarton: * George Sarton * May Sarton …   Wikipedia

  • May (Vorname) — May ist eine weiblicher Vorname. Der Name kommt aus dem Lateinischen bzw. Arabischen und bedeutet Römische Göttin der Fruchtbarkeit. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Namenstage 2 Bekannte Namensträgerinnen 3 Einzelnachweise 4 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Sarton, Eleanore Marie — ▪ 1996       ( MAY ), U.S. poet and author (b. May 3, 1912, Wondelgem, Belgium d. July 16, 1995, York, Maine), explored the human condition, ranging from love and individual uniqueness to social justice and aging, in some 50 books. Her works… …   Universalium

  • May Sarton — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Sarton (homonymie). May Sarton (3 mai 1912 à Wondelgem 16 juillet 1995) était une poétesse américaine d origine belge. Sommaire 1 Bibliographie …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Sarton (homonymie) — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Sarton est un nom de lieu et un nom de famille. Toponyme Sarton, commune française du Pas de Calais Patronyme Sarton est un nom de famille notamment porté …   Wikipédia en Français

  • May (name) — For other uses, see May (disambiguation). May Gender Female Origin Word/Name Latin or Arabic Meaning the month of May, Flower Other names …   Wikipedia

  • Sarton — /sahr tn/, n. May, 1912 95, U.S. poet, novelist, and playwright. * * * …   Universalium

  • Sarton — Sar•ton [[t]ˈsɑr tn[/t]] n. big May, 1912–95, U.S. author and poet …   From formal English to slang

  • Sarton — /sahr tn/, n. May, 1912 95, U.S. poet, novelist, and playwright …   Useful english dictionary

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