Robert Lowell, Setting the River on Fire

A Study of Genius, Mania, and Character

De: Kay Redfield Jamison

Narrado por: Jefferson Mays

PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • In this magisterial study of the relationship between illness and art, the best-selling author of An Unquiet Mind, Kay Redfield Jamison, brings an entirely fresh understanding to the work and life of Robert Lowell (1917-1977), whose intense, complex, and personal verse left a lasting mark on the English language and changed the public discourse about private matters.

In his Pulitzer Prize-winning poetry, Robert Lowell put his manic-depressive illness (now known as bipolar disorder) into the public domain, creating a language for madness that was new and arresting. As Dr. Jamison brings her expertise in mood disorders to bear on Lowell’s story, she illuminates not only the relationships among mania, depression, and creativity but also the details of Lowell’s treatment and how illness and treatment influenced the great work that he produced (and often became its subject). Lowell’s New England roots, early breakdowns, marriages to three eminent writers, friendships with other poets such as Elizabeth Bishop, his many hospitalizations, his vivid presence as both a teacher and a maker of poems—Jamison gives us the poet’s life through a lens that focuses our understanding of his intense discipline, courage, and commitment to his art. Jamison had unprecedented access to Lowell’s medical records, as well as to previously unpublished drafts and fragments of poems, and she is the first biographer to have spoken with his daughter, Harriet Lowell. With this new material and a psychologist’s deep insight, Jamison delivers a bold, sympathetic account of a poet who was—both despite and because of mental illness—a passionate, original observer of the human condition.

The Perfect Combination

Would you listen to Robert Lowell, Setting the River on Fire again? Why?

Yes. The story itself is remarkable, and the poetry that is woven through the story is enhanced by the reading of it.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Robert Lowell, Setting the River on Fire?

The numerous examples of Lowell's courage "under fire"...that is, his ability to repeatedly return to his creative self after multiple attacks of mania and depression.

What about Jefferson Mays’s performance did you like?

His reading of Lowell's poetry was superb!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me realize what those with bipolar psychosis must deal with and what courage it takes to know that, even under therapy, this disease can come back into their lives without warning.

Any additional comments?

This was a tour de force by Dr. Jamison! She captured Robert Lowell's life, his creativity, his mental illness and his courage in one complex portrait. No biography that I have read has ever so accurately portrayed the essence of the two elements of creativity and mental illness in terms that a layperson or a medical professional could understand. Her feat was likely facilitated by her own experience with manic depressive disease. Her creative and empathetic writing is exhibited for all to enjoy in this amazing book!

Disappointing

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Mediocre writing from a Jamison, whose books I have enjoyed. Lowell's life is not particularly interesting from the outside, and there is nothing here Jamison hasn't covered. I am sorry I spent a credit on this book. I am a poet, and I have Bipolar 2.

Repetitive. Had trouble following along.

Couldn't get into the reading flow because the content was so scattered. Not what I was expecting.

A treat for the mind and soul

I always love Kay Redfield Jameson’s work, but this one particularly touched me. I have rarely read such a well-rounded, graceful, and affectionate portrait of an artist. I now have a ton of books on my “to read” list by Lowell thanks to this biography!

A Biographical Masterpiece

written with a remarkable capacity to combine tenderness with an attention to detail that Lowell would have wanted.