Document text
THURSDAY March 4, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels February 12, 2004 Books on love letters kindle the heart By Susan Rogers Tidings Book Reviewer Love letters come in all shapes and styles - notes, letters, poems, stories, novels, and even plays. They can be as different from each other as people are, but what connects them all is love and passion�a passion for a special person, for loving, for sharing, for life itself. Whether timid or bold, shy or daring, angry or adoring, lovers and loved ones through the ages endeavor to find creative and unique ways to express their affection and devotion, their ardor and anguish, whatever they are feeling. From the extensive collections and interpretations available today, a February potpourri of choices can inspire and entertain you during the month of love, and always. Two recently-published volumes of love letters are sure to delight you: First, A Little Book of Love Poems and Letters, edited by Lena Tabori and Natasha Tabori Fried (2001), an adorable petit book whose charming love letters and classic love poems are accompanied by exquisitely-rendered early twentieth century illustrations, and second, The 50 Greatest Love Letters of All Time, edited by David H. Lowenherz (2002). Lowenherz is an internationally renowned collector and dealer in autographed letters, manuscripts, and signed photographs, who carefully sifted through hundreds of historical letters to choose those he felt best represented the various facets of love as well as some of the most unusual and compelling love letters now available. The book is divided into six sections - Tender Love, Crazy for You, Passionate Prose, Painful Separations, Fire and Ice, Forbidden Love - and each letter is prefaced with a short biography and historical notes. The variety of authors is fascinating: George A. Custer, Michelangelo, Zelda Fitzgerald, Alfred Dreyfus, Beethoven, Napoleon, Sarah Bernhardt, and Henry VIII, to name a few. A third selection that I am sure you will find even more enchanting is Love Letters: An Anthology of Passion by Michelle Lovric. This unique and artfully-arranged presentation of letters is a double gift since the reproductions of some of the letters are tucked into envelopes that must be removed in order to be read. Lovric found and photographed letters in museums and libraries all over the world to offer the reader a glimpse into the private lives of writers such as Isadora Duncan, Dylan Thomas, Mary Wollstonecraft, Elizabeth Barrett, and Robert Browning. Fine art paintings, Victorian chromolithographs and line drawings, and textured papers enhance the beauty and appeal of this remarkable book. All three of these works present an opportunity to experience the personalities of these famous lovers as their heartfelt words reveal the power and pleasure of love and history. Finally, if you have not seen or read the play, Love Letters, by A.R. Gurney, then you are in for another treat. This relatively short and simply-constructed play involves only two characters, Andy and Melissa, who read excerpts of letters they have written to each other throughout their lifetime. Once you begin, you will not be able to put it down. Their story is captivating and amazing in the depth and scope of affection and connection these two friends have for one another, as revealed through their letters. Gurney ingeniously creates the story of their friendship and love with great insight, humor, compassion, and understanding. This play is another testament to the enduring appeal and magic of love as expressed through the written word in countless love letters. Susan K. Rogers, a native Oregonian and new resident of Ashland, is a freelance writer specializing in book reviews. She writes a monthly column for a women's newsmagazine in Palm Springs, CA and is currently working on two book projects. Susan is a former teacher with a Ph.D. in French and Women's Studies from U.C-Davis. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Site Search: The new search is here! Click here for more information. .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - ODOT Road Cams