From Daughters & Sons to Fathers: What I've Never Said - Softcover

Constance Warloe is the author of two novels and the editor of a companion anthology, From Daughters to Mothers: I've Always Meant to Tell You (Pocket Books). Married and the mother of twin sons, she lives in Sacramento, where she was the chair of the Creative Writing Program at American River College from 1987-1995. Founding editor of the American River Literary Review, she holds an MFA from Bennington College.

In this companion to Warloe's From Daughters to Mothers: I've Always Meant To Tell You (Pocket, 1998. reprint), a variety of writers, from minor poets to established novelists, were asked to write imaginary letters to their fathers, saying what they wanted to but never did during their lives together. The writers represented include Rita Mae Brown, Nicholas Delbanco, and Naomi Shihab Nye. As with many such ventures, the result is a mixed bag, with some pieces crafted more finely than others. The fathers, however, are rendered realistically, whether they are alcoholics or state senators. Through the letters, a generation of immigrants and survivors of the Depression is remembered with heartfelt emotion. Joyce Carol Oates, for example, suddenly realizes, "You should be me." But her father did not have the chance to become a scholar/teacher because he had to work in factories and odd jobs. Although not an essential purchase, this anthology might be useful for writing groups or classes. Notes for such groups are included at the end. Public libraries and community college libraries in particular might consider this title. Nancy P. Shires, East Carolina Univ., Greenville, NC
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