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A Richard Selzer Reader: Blood and Ink is a career-spanning collection, including major short stories and essays by the renowned doctor-author. In the 1960s, while practicing as a general surgeon and teaching surgery at the Yale School of Medicine, Richard Selzer began publishing unique creative work in magazines such as Harper’s and Esquire. By 1985, when he retired as a physician to devote himself completely to writing, Selzer was already recognized as a pioneer in the field of medical humanities. When he died in 2016, as the author of 13 books, his influence was acknowledged by a younger generation of doctor-writers like Abraham Verghese and Atul Gawande.Selzer’s unusual style fuses scientific and poetic language. Drawing on favorite readings, from the King James Bible to the tales of Edgar Allen Poe, he used this style to convey a sense of awe at the beauty and complexity of the human body, even in the midst of suffering. While describing himself as an atheist, Selzer always searched for “sacramental” moments of courtesy, courage, and grace in medical encounters. Because he often looked critically at the failure of doctors to regard the full humanity of their patients, Selzer’s work has become required reading in many medical training programs.A Richard Selzer Reader includesseveral of the author’s most famous essays and stories, as well as two dozen selections that have not been collected in his previous books. Chronologically, the material ranges from apprenticeship stories (as far back as a high-school composition) to two odd self-portraits that remained unpublished at the time of Selzer’s death.Topically, the material ranges from meditations on the body, and on human mortality, to reflections on both medicine and writing as serious vocations. Along the way, Selzer celebrates the work of other doctor-writers, like Thomas Browne and Anton Chekhov, and in a series of previously unpublished diary entries he discusses the joys of nature, art, and family as bulwarks against the difficulties of growing old.
As someone who has worked with surgeon-author RICHARD SELZER on a variety of projects, including WHAT ONE MAN SAID TO ANOTHER: TALKS WITH RICHARD SELZER, and LETTERS TO A BEST FRIEND, I could not be more delighted about A RICHARD SELZER READER: BLOOD AND INK, masterfully edited by KEVIN KERRANE, who personally worked with Richard Selzer on choosing these selections before Selzer's death in June of 2016.For anyone new to Selzer's work, this is a perfect introduction, for it features many of his best essays, including MERCY; BONE; TAKING THE WORLD IN FOR REPAIRS; THE PEN AND THE SCALPEL; AT ST. MARY'S; FESTISHES; and THE IVORY CRUCIFIXION, along with classic short stories such as FAIRVIEW; and WHITHER THOU GOEST. For Selzer enthusiasts looking for something new, there is much material here previously unpublished, including stellar selections from Selzer's great DIARY, as well as many uncollected essays and stories that can be found nowhere else.Along with a comprehensive Chronology of Selzer's life and work and a fine Introduction by Marie Boroff, Kerrane has provided an initial Preface along with additional prefaces for each section of this superb anthology that is a must for every library and an ideal text for any course devoted either to the art of writing, or to the widening field of Medical Humanities, of which Richard Selzer is one of the founding fathers. Also, in an age in which printed books are feeling cheaper and cheaper, this sewn volume is made to last and is a joy to hold as well as to read.Highly recommended.