For Those Who Remember Him, A. Alvarez Has Died at Age 90

golding76 · ‎05-19-2012

I hesitated a long while before posting this, but when I read A. Alvarez's name in a Washington Post obituary today, I was taken back to college term paper time. It was a bit of a strange sensation. Perhaps some of you remember his name, too.

I recall seeing "A. Alvarez" so often in the reference section of articles or books I read while researching a subject.

I was unable to copy Wikipedia's succinct description of him but will use its descriptors. Alvarez was an English poet, novelist, essayist and critic.

May he rest in peace.

Oznell · ‎11-08-2014

Oh, of course, @golding76, thank you for posting this. I remember him in conjunction with Sylvia Plath. He was in all the biographies that have been done of her, since he played a small part in her life, toward the end, I think.

He himself wrote a bit about her, and I'm remembering a vivid account he gave of an uncomfortable dinner they shared. He was very candid and I think he felt (like I'm sure many, many people in her life did) that he wished he had done more for her, before it was too late. I respected his unvarnished honesty.