Review
Fans of Alice Fulton's poetry ( bibliography) will find much to admire. A similar
lyricism, use of imagery, facts and curiosities abound, from Kitty painting
veins on her face with French chalk and Prussian blue* to the scent of vintage
perfumes. The details evoke a uniquely feminine culture. But for all the book's
poetic merits, it also stands on its own as a selection of stories spanning the
lives of seven memorable women.
Tempting as it is to read
The Nightingales of Troy as a novel, it isn't
meant to be. There is no device like the four sides of the mahjong table in Amy
Tan's
The Joy Luck Club, no pivotal family event, memory or point-of-view
linking everything together. The stories should not be read with the expectation
of perfect symmetry—some of the women's voices are heard only once, while
others, like Charlotte,...
Beyond the Book
Alice Fulton is currently the Ann S. Bowers Professor of English at Cornell
University. Her most recent book of poems is
Cascade Experiment:
Selected Poems. Her earlier collection,
Felt was awarded the 2002
Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry from the Library of Congress
and was selected by the Los Angeles Times as one of the Best Books of 2001 and
as a finalist for the
Los Angeles Times Book Award. Her other books
include
Sensual Math;
Powers Of Congress; Palladium, winner
of the 1985 National Poetry Series and the 1987 Society of Midland Authors
Award; and
Dance...
