Portrait of My Body

Phillip Lopates richest and most ambitious book  yet--the final volume of a trilogy that began with  Bachelorhood and Against  Joie de Vivre--Portrait of My  Body is a powerful memoir in the form of  interconnected personal essays. One of Americas  foremost essayists who helped focus attention on  the form in his acclaimed anthology The  Art of the Personal Essay Lopate  demonstrates here just how far a writer can go in the  direction of honesty and risk  taking.. . In thirteen essays Lopate explores the  resources and limits of the self its many disguises  excuses and unmaskings with his characteristic  wry humor and insight. From the title essay a  hilarious physical self-exam to the haunting  portrait of his ex-colleague Donald Barthelme to the  bittersweet account of his long-delayed surrender  to marriage On Leaving Bachelorhood  Lopate wrestles with finding the proper balance  between detachment and empathy doubt and  conviction. In other essays he celebrates his love of  film and city life and reflects on his religious  identity as a Jew. A wrenchingly vivid  unforgettable portrait of the authors eccentric  solipsistic aged father a self-proclaimed failure is  the centerpiece of a suite of essays about  father-figures and resisted mentors. The book ends with  the authors own introduction to fatherhood as  witness to the birth of his daughter.  . . A book that will engage readers with its  conversational eloquence skeptical intelligence  candor and mischief Portrait of My  Body is a captivating work of literary  nonfiction.