Status
Available
Genres
Collection
Publication
New Directions (1984), Edition: 1, 142 pages
Description
This collection of thirteen "doctor stories," six poems on medical matters, and a selection from The Autobiography "can help many others take a knowing look at the medical profession."--Back cover.
User reviews
LibraryThing member ffortsa
This short collection of short stories reveals Williams as a physician to the most needy people. His style is deceptively direct; he rarely uses 'he said' or 'she said', and it makes the reader pay a little closer attention to these very compact stories, deducing the speaker by the writing. I was
Coles' introduction is very personal, as he knew Williams when he himself was in school and afterward. Equally affecting is Williams' son's afterward, as he described his father's dual life as doctor and poet.
Williams' reward came too late, a Pulitzer after he died. But in a way the writing was the reward of his other profession, offering him the intensity of connection to other people and thus to himself.
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never confused, but I had to pay attention. I suspect this is Williams's way of teaching us the attention that he as a physician paid to all the little details of his patients, and the stories often point these details out to the reader.Coles' introduction is very personal, as he knew Williams when he himself was in school and afterward. Equally affecting is Williams' son's afterward, as he described his father's dual life as doctor and poet.
Williams' reward came too late, a Pulitzer after he died. But in a way the writing was the reward of his other profession, offering him the intensity of connection to other people and thus to himself.
Show Less
LibraryThing member LibroLindsay
I thankfully found The Doctor Stories rummaging through my beloved circuit of St. Louis used bookstores--up until this, I have only read WCW's poetry (which I love). Who knows how long I would have gone without reading his prose had this morsel not insisted in staying in my grasp?
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I am failing to
...
...
hmph
...
This is beautiful. This is humanity. Of course, this is what WCW is. It's been several years since I've really immersed myself in his poetry, but I need to go back and do it again. I knew all about him when I got into him years ago--his bio and poetry are fairly inseparable--but maybe it has taken this time to feel like I have a better handle of who he was as a person and how he faced the world. For the first time--really--it blew my mind to truly realize the depth of the life he led. How in the hell did he become so prolific as a writer working simultaneously as a pediatrician and obstetrician for decades? And had a family (though notoriously was put on the back burner), kept up with all of his great artistic friends, and still had time for womanizing? HA! How? What? Huh?
This collection dwells in a time when doctors made house calls; when births and deaths happened in the same bed, in the same neighborhood, in its own distinct language; before health insurance became the predominant factor for how you would be cared. WCW did not have a cush practice; he set his life to help those in poverty. His determination and undying passion for his work and people comes through equally strong in his stories as it does in his poetry. In this collection, you witness the destruction of cultural and ethnic barriers and feel the devotion of a man who has willed his life to the service of others.
I think the clincher for me, though, was the "The Practice" from his autobiography, wherein he relates the uniqueness of a physician's role in a person's (and community's) life and how poetry cannot help but flow from it. It brought me to my knees (and I've just added it to my faithful paperbackswap queue). In a way, it reminded me a lot of the role and importance of the public education system today. Sadly, doctors do not inhabit the same community role as they did 100 years ago. The opportunity Williams' speaks of to be involved with such a wide variety of people at various stages of their lives, to go far beyond the tasks his title deems he perform--boy, did that remind me of teaching. I'm about a breath away from embarking on a tirade, so I am stopping there.
This is beautiful. Please make sure to read his prose, too.
...
I am failing to
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write what I need to say....
...
hmph
...
This is beautiful. This is humanity. Of course, this is what WCW is. It's been several years since I've really immersed myself in his poetry, but I need to go back and do it again. I knew all about him when I got into him years ago--his bio and poetry are fairly inseparable--but maybe it has taken this time to feel like I have a better handle of who he was as a person and how he faced the world. For the first time--really--it blew my mind to truly realize the depth of the life he led. How in the hell did he become so prolific as a writer working simultaneously as a pediatrician and obstetrician for decades? And had a family (though notoriously was put on the back burner), kept up with all of his great artistic friends, and still had time for womanizing? HA! How? What? Huh?
This collection dwells in a time when doctors made house calls; when births and deaths happened in the same bed, in the same neighborhood, in its own distinct language; before health insurance became the predominant factor for how you would be cared. WCW did not have a cush practice; he set his life to help those in poverty. His determination and undying passion for his work and people comes through equally strong in his stories as it does in his poetry. In this collection, you witness the destruction of cultural and ethnic barriers and feel the devotion of a man who has willed his life to the service of others.
I think the clincher for me, though, was the "The Practice" from his autobiography, wherein he relates the uniqueness of a physician's role in a person's (and community's) life and how poetry cannot help but flow from it. It brought me to my knees (and I've just added it to my faithful paperbackswap queue). In a way, it reminded me a lot of the role and importance of the public education system today. Sadly, doctors do not inhabit the same community role as they did 100 years ago. The opportunity Williams' speaks of to be involved with such a wide variety of people at various stages of their lives, to go far beyond the tasks his title deems he perform--boy, did that remind me of teaching. I'm about a breath away from embarking on a tirade, so I am stopping there.
This is beautiful. Please make sure to read his prose, too.
Show Less
Language
Original language
English