In the Midst of Winter: Selections from the Literature of Mourning

By: Moffat, Mary Jane

Book Overview

A breathtaking, indispensable collection featuring poetry, fiction, letters, and diaries of the world's greatest writers on the nature of grief.

Death silences not only those it takes, but those it leaves behind: All too typically we can neither express our grief nor express sympathy for the bereaved. In this sensitive collection, loss finds a voice--or several voices--in the poetry, fiction, letters, and diaries of the world's great writers. Here are James Agee, recording the shock of his father's death; William Shakespeare, making poetry of Cleopatra's grief; the Biblical wisdom of The Book of Lamentations; the psychological acuity of Marcel Proust. Here are mourners from classical Rome to eleventh-century China, from the Paiute Indians to present-day Ireland. Arranged in sections that correspond to the stages of mourning, In the Midst of Winter is a volume whose breadth and resonance make it invaluable and utterly unique.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679738274
• ISBN13: 9780679738275
• Release Date: March 1992
• Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.1" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

In the Midst of Winter: Selections from the Literature of Mourning

This compilation of poems about mourning helped me more than any other book on the subject in the year after my husband died. The author, a poet and widow herself, has chosen works both contemporary and ancient, covering every kind of loss and phase of mourning. I have given copies of it to many others in the same situation.

Amazing anthology

This amazing collection drawn from the classics to contemporary writing attempts to express the inexpressible feelings of grief. Selections of poetry and prose are arranged in sections that acknowledge the complex waves of emotion experienced by the bereavedn and are correlated with the seasons. The editor briefly introduces each section. There is not a focus on 1 specific type of loss, which makes this book universal.

Being

The stories and accounts found in this thoughtful collection will help you or help you help someone else get through the very personal and yet universal experience of adjusting to the death of a loved one. Nothing is going to take away your pain getting through this ordeal, but knowing and relating to the experiences of others who do know what you're feeling will give you insight about your loss and how to get through it.

The best "mourning anthology" I've seen

Wide-ranging, well-chosen short works (mostly poems, some chapters and essays) on death and grieving. I particularly liked how it was divided into "seasons" of grieving, so I could pick a section depending on how I was feeling in my bereavement that particular day (e.g., "Winter" is divided into Shock, Idealization and Anger, Sing Sorrow, Consolations, etc; "Summer/Fall" have Memory, Dreaming the Dead, Grief's Wisdom, etc). There are individual sections on Mourning the Loss of a Child and The Grief of Children.I have had my own losses and grief work in the past, and now work with the dying. I cannot recommend this book highly enough to families and friends. This is the one to go to to get some solace, find something for the eulogy, have a poem for the memorial service, or just find a like mind months and years after the loss. This is it.

Profoundly conceived, moving and helpful

This wonderful anthology is for anyone who loves poetry, but can be a miracle for those who both love poems and who find themselves in grief. It is so simply and intelligently organized, into sections that approximate stages following the loss of one who is loved, with selections of poetry ranging from classic Chinese poets Mei Sheng and Fu I, whose first century B.C. verse hit my sensibilities as strongly as Anne Sexton's, to the incredible unvarnished strength of several Edna St. Vincent Millay poems, that forced me to see that poet in a different light. Each section can be read as its own anthology.I salute Mary Jane Moffat for this wonderful volume and commend it to everyone. It grew from the author's personal loss, and its careful selections and great strength reflect this. For me, facing the greatest loss I could ever imagine, it was a great gift, the only writing that matterred to me for months. The volume closes with the wonderful "Dear Men and Women" of John Hall Wheelock. Please read it all!