CULCHA

Updike: A mind at work

---

For more than 50 years, in novels, poetry and short stories, John Updike plumbed the psyche of middle America with a body of work as passionate, perspicacious and voluminous as any writer in American history. It’s only natural that there must be a personal archives. Sam Tanenhaus of The New York Times examines the intellect behind the Updike archives. “I was recently allowed an advance look, conducted over three days in Houghton’s reading room, long enough to sample a range of the holdings (among them typescripts of early short stories rejected by The Atlantic and Harper’s) and to confirm that they hold the keys to Updike’s literary universe. The papers also suggest that Updike was a more complex artist — and person — than he chose to admit.”

                                                                                 More in Word >>>

---