Poets 'die younger' than authors

Poets die younger than novelists, playwrights or other writers, a new study in the US suggests.

It may be because poets are tortured or self-destructive, or achieve notoriety younger, James Kaufman of California State University, San Bernardino, said.

Dr Kaufman studied 1,987 dead writers from all over the world over the past centuries, and found poets died "significantly younger".

On average, a poet had a life-expectancy of only 62, he said.

It compared to playwrights' average age 63 years, novelists' 66 years and non-fiction writers' 68 years.

Dr Kaufman, who is part of the Learning Research Institute at the university, also studied mental illness and poets.

'Plath effect'

"What I found was pretty consistent with the death finding actually, female poets were much more likely to suffer from mental illness than any other kind of writer and more likely than other eminent women," he said.

"I've dubbed this the 'Sylvia Plath Effect'," Mr Kaufman said.

Dr Kaufman said there may also have been another explanation for poets' early deaths - their prodigious output usually made them more noticeable.

"Poets produce twice as much of their lifetime output in their twenties as novelists do," he said. "If an unpublished novelist was to die, fewer people would notice.

"A great novelist or non-fiction writer who dies at 28 may not have yet produced her or his magnum opus," Mr Kaufman said.

But he said that poetry is not a hazardous occupation.

"The fact that a Sylvia Plath ... may die young does not necessarily mean an Introduction to Poetry class should carry a warning that poems may be hazardous to one's health."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/entertainment/arts/3648773.stm

Published: 2004/04/22 09:04:32 GMT

© BBC MMIV


BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Arts | Poets 'die younger' than authors

WAY TO GO, MARY ANNA!

ARTIFACTS, a novel by Mary Anna Evans, has been named
one of three finalists for the Benjamin Franklin Award
in Mystery/Suspense. The Publishers Marketing
Association has established this prize to honor
excellence in independent publishing. It will be
given at an awards banquet just prior to the June 3
opening of Chicago's Book Expo America. Ms. Evans is
at work on RELICS, the sequel to ARTIFACTS and the
next book in her Faye Longchamp archaeological mystery
series.

Turn over a new leaf with debut authors

JUDY MULLEN
Special to the Herald

Once upon a time, you may have read books by new authors such as Dan Brown, John MacDonald, Sue Grafton, Nora Roberts and John Grisham when they were unknown.

Each year more debut authors are published and some may achieve similar success. In addition to acquiring books by popular authors, the Manatee County Library System searches out new authors and selects the best for our collection. Readers like you will decide if these debut authors become popular.

In "Shadows at the Fair," author Lea Wait (herself a fourth-generation antiques dealer) smoothly combines homicide and antiques. Widow Maggie Summer, an antique print dealer, gets involved in solving the death of a fellow dealer when a friend's nephew is wrongly suspected. A realistic background and fascinating information about antiques and antiques fairs makes this a solid debut for fans of the "cozy" genre of mysteries.

Indian author, Jhumpa Lahiri's first novel focuses on Gogol, the American-born son of an Indian couple. Gogol's unusual name, together with conflicts between his Indian heritage and American lifestyles, are the basis of "The Namesake."

Already well-known as an actor, Harley Jane Kozak has written her first novel, the whimsically titled "Dating Dead Men." This lighthearted mystery concerns Wollie Shelley, her struggling card store, her attempts to date (living) men for a research study, and what goes wrong when she stumbles across a body.

Deanna Kizis, West Coast editor of "Elle" magazine, puts a new spin on the "chick lit" novel, in "How to Meet Cute Boys." Benjamina Franklin is a star L.A. journalist whose dating disasters serve as a regular feature in "Filly" magazine. When she meets the man of her dreams, he turns out to be a lot younger and exhibiting signs of Benjamina's worst nightmare: male commitment phobia. The dating world's highs and lows provide plenty of laughs and tears.

In the intriguingly titled, "Shoveling Smoke," Austin Davis has written a hilarious crime novel set in the tiny East Texas town of Jenks. Houston lawyer, Clay Parker attempts to leave the rat race behind when he moves to Jenks. From the start, he finds it a bumpy road as he tries to prepare for his first case while a cast of quirky characters (corrupt officials, crazed survivalists, incompetent hit man, an emu and a naked county clerk) hinder him from every side and Clay discovers that nothing is what it seems to be.

In Ken Bruen's "The Guards," ousted Irish policeman, Jack Taylor, surprises himself by getting hired by a dazzling woman who has heard Jack is good at finding things. Stark, violent, sharp and funny, "The Guards" gives the reader a close look at the gritty Galway streets, and is a promising new addition to contemporary crime fiction.

Jilliane Hoffman's first novel, "Retribution," relates the events unleashed by the brutal rape of recent law school graduate, Chloe, in 1968. Twelve years later, the case against a vicious serial murderer is being built by a compassionate police (male) officer and an aggressive (female) prosecutor, but the officer is concerned about the urgency of the prosecutor's actions. Plot twists and turns and a breathtaking ending make this a debut novel to remember.


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Judy Mullen is a reference librarian at the Central Library.



Bradenton Herald | 04/18/2004 | Turn over a new leaf with debut authors