E. E. Cummings

“An absorbing rehearsal of a vibrant life. . . . Cheever revives Cummings as a gregarious, quirky iconoclast through her evocative prose.” —San Francisco Chronicle

“A smart and readable portrait.” —NPR

“[Cheever] is an astute observer of the inner life of writers and how they work. . . . This biography succeeds where other works have failed, by making this tricky poet understandable.” —The Economist
 
“A delight.” —The New York Times

“Effectively situates Cummings within a larger literary and cultural movement. . . . Cummings’s life is inherently interesting, dramatic, and sad, and Cheever highlights its colorful and tragic aspects.” —The Boston Globe

“Deeply personal. . . . A textured inspection of some of the more intriguing faces of the multifaceted Cummings.” —The Plain Dealer

“Cheever’s biography stands as a welcomed introductory attempt to understand Cummings’s impact. . . . One of the best efforts to situate a Modernist inside the larger historical context. . . . Filled in with entertaining research and deep thinking about the lives of artists.” —Daily Beast

“[Cummings’s] individualism makes him just about as American as apple pie; and as vital to the tradition of American poetry as Whitman, Dickinson, and Frost. I can only express gratitude to biographers like Cheever for keeping him alive today.” —J. P. Poole, Bookslut

“Affecting. . . . Deeply satisfying. . . . Ms. Cheever is the kind of biographer who can maintain both an intimacy and dispassionate relationship with her subject.” —New York Journal of Books

“Cheever’s reconsideration of Cummings and his work charms, rattles, and enlightens in emulation of Cummings’ radically disarming, tender, sexy, plangent, and furious poems.” —Booklist (starred review)

“This sympathetic life may win Cummings a new generation of readers.” —Kirkus Reviews