Memoirs

A stream-of-consciousness telling of a life: "Do you think that I have told you my life story? I have told you the events of my life, and described as best I could, without legal repercussions, the dramatis personae of it. But life is made up of moment-to-moment occurrences in the nerves and the perceptions, and try as you may, you can't commit them to the actualities of your own history." This is the story of a life told by a Tennessee Williams who is near the end of his own life. There are fond memories of directors and actresses and companions. There are sad moments--the death of Frank Merlo, the psychiatric treatment (or mistreatment) of his sister.There are also the brilliant plays (Allean Hale in the Afterword: "Of the two-dozen original reviews of Tennessee Williams's Memoirs, the most frequent criticism was that the playwright failed to discuss his plays. 'Shall I attempt to entertain you...with my theatre or my life...?' he asks the reader at the beginning of his Memoirs. Those who opt for his life will not be disappointed.") Williams says again and again that the plays speak for themselves, and what we get of the plays is a lot of behind the scenes details of the production--disagreements with directors, casting successes and failures, the difficulty of coping with poor reviews. However, the depth that his autobiography adds to the plays is some understanding of where some of the characters come from. Blanche, for example, seems much a child of his experience with his sister and his own sensitive nature. Doesn't completely explain her genesis, but the book at least gives us hints.The majority of the book is a solid 5/5, but there are a few moments where the stream-of-consciousness approach bogs down. It's enlightening to see the day-to-day concerns he had at the time of writing the book, but towards the end there seems to be a lot of negativity aimed at those around him (with numerous self-effacing statements that he was obviously no fun to be around for much of the 1960s onward).For anyone who likes the works of Williams (and mid-20th century American literature in general), I can't imagine not reading this book.

If you are a lover of Tennessee Williams than this book is a must read. Anyone that has read his works knows that poetic style he has whenever words string themselves together in his mind. His plays are full of that beautifully language, that cool southern style, and Memoirs is no different; it's just DIRECTLY about his life this time. I recently played Tom in a production of The Glass Menagerie and I acquired this book after the show's run was through. I was curious about his eccentric, tortured soul, his mind, his life, his plays, anything more I could find FROM him. Well, all I can say is if I appreciated him before than now I love that I took the time to study the man and his writings/plays. I know a lot of people might be turned of by some of the content in the book but if your buying Tennessee William's Memoirs than you should have some clue as to what some of the content in the book might be about. Like I said a MUST read of anyone Interested in Tennessee Williams, I completely enjoyed the read.

I checked this ex library book, and nowhere is there a stamp that says it is no longer the property of the library, meaning it's still the library's property, so I'll have to pay postage to return it to them rather than locally donate it.

Tennessee Williams' life was not P.C. at the time he was living it. It may not be to some even today but he is an iconic writer and one of the American Theatre's Giants. His "Memoirs" will shock some because, as with his plays, he pulls no punches and some of his sexual escapades, written by Himself here, are truly 'out there.' He's honest, he's brutal and he proves that, as a wordsmith, he had no peer then and none now. Colorful, shocking and insightful.

Tennessee Williams "Memoirs" are a feast for people who love theater gossip. While the info may not be entirely reliable, it is fascinating. TW was never vague about his opinions of people or shows; who would have thought that Kenneth Tynan would have introduced him to Hemingway (they hit it off) and Hemingway led him to Fidel! Great fun and useful for the Williams Centennial Fest I'm leading in Albuquerque. (This book is hard to order from the publisher, but Amazon sent it promptly and in good shape.) pkb

I enjoyed this honest confession of the artist's drives, passions, follies, and faults. Williams is aways willing to accept his part in the misunderstandings and missteps caused by his addictions. His sincere caring for his family and his dedication to his work regardless of illness or critical review is awe inspiring. I continue to be moved by the man who helped to keep Broadway theater in the forefront of American arts for an entire generation.

I enjoy reading about such personal facts about a writers life. I had seen or known about most of Tennessee Williams plays and movies, so this added to his work.

I had no idea about the life of this amazing playwright. In fact after reading this, I can honestly say his life story is much more interesting than any of his plays. And I am a big fan of Streetcar. Someone should attempt to make a film about his life, but there's simply too much to present.

great book arrived in very readable condition...what's not to like

AN interesting look at the turbulent life of this of this brilliant american playwright, I now want to revisit his plays again .

If you do like Tennessee Williams' plays, you'll probably be interested in reading his Memoirs; in them, he does talk about where his plays' characters come from, about how their publishing and stagings were...and he, personally, is easy recognizable in every paragraph.What I liked in this book is his honest way of describing himself and his acts; he is a person with a clear conscience, a sharp sensibility, able to see and to point at beauty in other people; and how he accepts himself and everything he feels although he admits his own faults.However, I expected these pages to contain more about his work, writing, theatre experiences, own feelings...but he rather describes facts, meetings, people...which made its reading a bit cold and not as passionating as I had expected.In fact, I was interested in the book but, I must say, because I knew it was Tennesse Williams, not for the book's own qualities alone.

Going through the life of williams. Exciting about the cultural dimensions of that time. The most embaracing thing is that, the attitude which these kind of legends keep towards life. Definitely a personal favourite for me.

Excellent writing by Mr. Williams who cheers us with honesty and beauty making us all envy his extraordinary life. Read and sigh