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Unread 12-31-2009, 03:49 AM
A. E. Stallings A. E. Stallings is offline
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Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Athens, Greece
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I am passing on information from Rachel Hadas: Rachel Wetzsteon was found dead in her apartment on Monday the 28th, though she may have died on Christmas Eve. She had apparently been in the grips of a deep depression for the past year. "There are no immediate plans for a memorial service, but it seems likely her friends will at the very least want to celebrate the posthumous publication of her book next fall. Funeral arrangements are private."

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I did not know her as well as I would have liked, but was always delighted to run into her and exchange words and laughter at West Chester. The dark strain in the wit of her poetry seems more in evidence in recent work, though perhaps that is the bleak 20/20 of hindsight. She was a good friend of Sarah Hannah, and did the the generous afterward to her friend's posthumous volume. Rachel emphasized Sarah's life and her work rather than the circumstances of her death by suicide, and concluded: her ... "loss is inconceivable. But I'm learning to be grateful for my memories of her, and for the fact that readers who never got to meet this marvelous person can at least look forward to discovering her marvelous poems." I hope her work and life can bring some comfort--even if there can ultimately be no answers--to her friends and family over what will surely be a difficult time (indeed, lifetime) of grieving.

Last edited by A. E. Stallings; 12-31-2009 at 04:08 AM.
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