How I Learned

by Gloria Frym

Overview

The acclaimed poet's first collection of short stories illuminates worlds of the unfortunate and lives of the marginalized. "These fluid stories resonate with both internal and external dialogues in a variety of voices."— Publishers Weekly

"Frym deserves admiration from all discriminating fiction readers."— Booklist

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781566890038
Publisher:	Coffee House Press
Publication date:	07/01/1992
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Gloria Frym (born 1947) is an American poet, fiction writer, and essayist. Born on February 28, 1947 in Brooklyn, NY, she grew up in Los Angeles, CA. She earned her MA and BA degrees at the University of New Mexico, where she studied with the poet Robert Creeley. In the 1980s, Frym taught poetry writing to inmates at the San Francisco County Jails. From 1987 to 2002, she was Core Faculty in the Poetics Program (originally for the poet Robert Duncan) at New College of California. She is Associate Professor in the MFA and BA Writing and Literature programs at California College of the Arts in the Bay Area. Her honors include an American Book Award, a Fund for Poetry Award, and a Creative Work Fund Grant.

Editorial Reviews

These fluid stories resonate with both internal and external dialogues in a variety of voices, most of them on the edge in one way or another. A group of prisoners sits around a table making valentines; two friends and former neighbors reunite and realize that there is no way to make up for time lost; a 70-year-old woman flies to Las Vegas hoping to see Frank Sinatra; the impoverished housekeeper to a contessa whose villa is falling apart recounts her boss's attempts to make money. Although the subjects come from varied ethnic backgrounds, countries and walks of life, the individual tales segue smoothly from one to the next. The story of a cheating high school student who finds a letter his teacher wrote to a child she gave up for adoption many years before is followed by one about a teenager who has sex with a boy and all his friends, which in turn leads into the tale of an illiterate fourth-grade girl. Frym's ( By Ear ) background as a poet has trained her well in the use of strong imagery and--although much of the narration here has a detached tone--she has invested this collection with emotional weight. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

YA-- Frym presents a wide variety of character types in diverse settings. Several stories depict urban street life, including a child's brave view of her deprived life (``Sabrina Lies''); another, the jail life of whores and petty thieves (``Homegirls''); another, a teenage boy's discovery of his teacher's lasting torment over the child she gave up years before (``How I Learned''). Other selections introduce characters from cosmopolitan America--a sophisticated but introverted psychotherapist (``TV Guide''); an elderly woman recalling her life's one exciting moment, a one-night stand with Sinatra (``Sadie Turns Seventy''); a middle-class family falling apart after the death of its patriarch (``The Death of the Father''). Just as the characters and setting vary, so do the perceived audiences and styles. For example, one story (``The Family Christmas'') adopts a style reminiscent of Evan S. Connell's in Mr. Bridge and Mrs. Bridge (both North Point, 1981). However, despite this lack of one focused style, the author shows promise and her work should be made available to YAs.-- Dorothy I. Feldman, Jefferson Sci-Tech, Fairfax County, VA

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