tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23471801.post2117143123610341775..comments2023-10-21T07:44:20.549-04:00Comments on The Existence Machine: Those Beckett LettersRichardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08014014605639738887noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23471801.post-67906393878028218742009-03-12T14:30:00.000-04:002009-03-12T14:30:00.000-04:00Thanks Rhys. I'd gathered that Knowlson's bio was ...Thanks Rhys. I'd gathered that Knowlson's bio was the best. Hadn't heard of Cronin's.<BR/><BR/>The only writer bio I've read is Jonathan Coe's of B.J. Johnson, which of course is tangentially related to Beckett...Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08014014605639738887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23471801.post-80921832615318008352009-03-11T13:45:00.000-04:002009-03-11T13:45:00.000-04:00Knowlson's biography of Beckett is monolithic, and...Knowlson's biography of Beckett is monolithic, and unsurpassed. I've read over biographies by Deidre Bair and Anthony Cronin, but Knowlson's weaving of biography, critical analysis, and overwhelming detail takes the biscuit<BR/><BR/>I feel the same about the perils of mixing literary biography with literary interpretation, but still enjoy reading about writers' lives. Will Self once wrote about it as a kind of onanistic pleasure. I'm not sure I'd go that far. I'm just a gossip at heart.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the mention.<BR/><BR/>RhysRhys Tranterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17324349620090364098noreply@blogger.com