Beam on Youmans

With my work on Glimmerglass almost done, in my files I came across an appreciation of the novel by poet Jeffery Beam. I’ve posted it at the Artlog before, but in the spirit of Jeffery’s love of Marly’s writing, I do so again, this time accompanied by some details of my completed art-work for the cover of the book.

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‘I know of no writer other than Marly Youmans who has the genius to combine the spine-tingling suspense of Gothic storytelling with the immense charm, grace, glamour, realism, and simplicity of Hawthorne. Glimmerglass does more than shimmer and grip; it entertains and hypnotizes.’

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‘Youmans, one of the biggest secrets of contemporary American fiction, writes with freshness and beauty. Whether she’s writing historical fiction or fantasy, her characters leave one breathless. Her ability to describe a person, a place, or the psychological underpinnings of a plot or individual, ranks with the great novelists, the highest literature.  A tale of love and intrigue, mystery and pathology, Glimmerglass’ appeal is the warmth and charge of a tale told round a fire fused by Hitchcockian anxiety, empathy, and relief.  Nature, architecture, dread, thrill, sexual dilemma, and murder echo against Youmans’ gorgeous prose and terrifying romance, which glides like a serpent―without a single extraneous or boring word.  Youmans is my favorite storyteller.  I come back to her as if to a holy well.’

Jeffery Beam 2013

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Glimmerglass by Marly Youmans, due from Mercer University Press in 2014.