read and wrote a lot (one Fugitive, MerrillrnMoore, wrote 50,000 sonnets in hisrnlifetime!), but talked a lot, smoked a lot,rndrank a lot, and, when not brought togetherrnfor parties or extended visits, eorrcspondcdrnby letter often and at length.rnhi letters that connected a wide circle ofrnfriends over a span of vears (sometimes arnlifetime), they discussed books, exploredrnideas, critiqued each other’s work, andrngossiped—with incalculable benefits tornJoseph Blotner, as the biographer himselfrnacknowledges.rnOwing to colorful anecdotes that producernan animated picture of a precociousrnsouth, Robert Penn Warren’s earlyrnlife makes for more enjoyable readingrnthan his later years. Later chapters ofrnBlotner’s biography occasionally meldrninto lists of books, awards, and itineraries.rnThe reader senses the accuracy of AllenrnTate’s assessment that Warren was somewhatrntainted by commercial success; inrnthe vears following A// the King’s Men, hernfocused increasingly on the volume of hisrnpublications, hi fact, he seems to havernlived almost in a fervor of publishing excitement.rnWhile his accomplishmentsrnare staggering, his range broad and hisrnpenetration deep, he was not generallyrnconcise in his writing, nor careful in hisrnediting.rnThough heavy in detail, Blotner’srnRobert Penn Warren is lacking in longrnviews. The facts by themselves are impressive,rnbut because Mr. Blotner makesrnlittle effort to sift and weigh the evidence,rna sense of perspective is missingrnfrom his book. With the exception of arnbizarre (and unsubstantiated) suggestionrnof homosexual attraction in Warren’srnearly friendship with Allen Tate, Mr.rnBlotner generally refrains from excessivernpsychologizing. Thus, while this biographyrnis not as revealing or analytical as itrnmight have been, it does offer a thoroughrnchronicle of a prodigious craftsman’srnbusv life. Rosanna Warren once recalledrnhelping her father make a table: “Itrnseemed emblematic to me of what herngave us—the sense of making.” Indeed,rnRobert Penn Warren lived a life that dramaticallyrnembodies, as well as illustrates,rnthis continuous “sense of making.” ernN,rnThe ‘^^egnery JCecturesrnamed in honor of Rockford Institute board member and longtime supporter Henry Regnery, this seriesrncaptures for posterity the voices and words of important cultural and political figures.rnEach tape costs $12.50, shipping and handling charges included.rnOuanutxjrn• “Let My People Go! Returning Self-Rule to Rockford” featuring Thomas Fleming and U.S. I ^ JrnCongressman Don Manzullo on the Rockford school desegregation lawsuitrn• “The Floundering Free Society, or Wisdom Vanquished by Expertise” by John Howard ^^Jrn• “Fighting and Winning the Culture War: Reports from Three Fronts” ^^Jrnfeaturing Allan Carlson on Family, Harold O.J. Brown on Religion, Thomas Fleming on Culturern• “What Ever Happened to Civilization?” by John Howard ^^Jrn• “The Rockford Institute’s Twentieth Anniversary Dinner” featuring Chilton Williamson, Jr., ! ^ Jrnon “/? Takes an Institute,” Harold O.J. Brown on “Western Civilization Between Chaos andrnTransformation,” and Allan Carlson’s “Reflections at Twenty Years'”rn• “To Hell with Culture: What Is It That We Must Conserve?” by John Lukacsrn• “Should Conservatives Leave the Republican Party?”—a debate betweenrnHoward Phillips and David Keene UlrnNo. OF TAPES X $ 12.50 PER TAPErn,/l(ldressrnSend ad with check or money order, payable to “The ‘l{ockford Institute,” to -The I{egnery lectures.rnThe liockford Institute, 934 J\ Main St., ‘Rockford, IC 6’ 103-7061rnNOVEMBER 1997/27rnrnrn