The Enormous Room is a fictionalized autobiographical account of the three months that E. E. Cummings spent in a French prison under suspicion of espionage-a circumstance he could have easily avoided had he professed a hatred of Germans. Instead, when questioned, Cummings answered French authorities in a way that insured that he would accompany his friend ‘B.’ (William Slater Brown), who was indeed guilty of writing letters critical of the French government. The psychologically tense narrative-shocking and provocative in its day-juxtaposes the barbarity and inhumanity of war against the comradery and collective spirit of the oppressed. As a piece of writing, it foreshadows the whimsy, humor, pessimism, and jubilance that would come to characterize Cummings’s poetry while, on its own, it stands as a major work of World War I literature. This Warbler Classics edition includes Paul Headrick’s essay ‘Brilliant Obscurity:’ The Reception of The Enormous Room, as well as a detailed biographical timeline.
About the author
Paul Headrick is a Canadian writer, editor, and reviewer. He currently teaches a graduate workshop at Simon Fraser University’s Writer’s Studio. His books include The Doctrine of Affections and That Tune Clutches My Heart, and a textbook, The Wiley Guide to Writing Essays About Literature.More ebooks from the same author(s) / Editor
700,748 Ebooks in this category
