Good people should not write memoirs. In The Virgin of Bennington, Kathleen Norris recalls Elizabeth Kray, long time doyen of the Manhattan poetry world. Norris serves as tour guide through the glittering world of arts and literature as the baby boom generation was coming of age. In a milieu of sex, drugs and rampant psychoses, Kray and the Academy of American Poets provided a stable and sober structure for the dissemination of poetry and the sustenance of poets. Norris, as an employee of the Academy, a poet, and friend and companion of Kray, takes us on a bus tour of the Manhattan arts scene during this era. The problem is that Norris' basic decency works against the narrative. In abiding by the maxim "If you can't say anything good about a person, just mention their name" Norris brings us to a party and points out all the glitterati in the room, but doesn't introduce us to them.

Beyond the name-dropping, there is much to be gotten from this book. Norris gives us a good look at the passion for poetry that was the core of Elizabeth Kray's being. She introduces us to the idea that poetry is to be heard, not read. Norris also shows us how poetry, good poetry, that is, is not genteel and delicate. It is hard-edged and difficult. It is passionate. Maybe this is why the only poetry that most contemporary Americans are exposed to is in songs. Maybe it also explains the (to me) incomprehensible popularity of hip-hop.

In sum, The Virgin of Bennington is not about virginity, nor is it (except for the brief introductory chapter) about Bennington. It is about an extraordinary person, Betty Kray, and her exceptional creativity and energy in the service of poetry. It is also, indirectly, a story about the love that one gifted artist has for her mentor.

If you're looking for a juicy read, this isn't it. If you're looking for more about the author Kathleen Norris, this will provide you with new information about her, but only about five percent of the material in the book covers her life at Bennington, and maybe 15 percent more covers her life in the '60s. The rest is an excellent biography about Betty Kray and her work at the Academy of American Poets. The book gives great incite into the workings of the Academy and its important contribution to poetry in the United States. Norris gives glimpses of the lives of various poets popular in the '60s.
Don't expect a spiritual revelation from this book. Do expect to learn a great deal about Betty Kray.

I purchased this book the day it came out and returned to my favorite bookstore a few days later to find a large display of "The Virgin of Bennington" with the description "Sex, Drugs and Poetry". If you are looking for the first two, you would find more in a few minutes of a sitcom. Poetry, however, is the main context in which Norris tells the story of ten years of her life, from entering college to moving to her mother's childhood home in South Dakota. While the world of late sixties-early seventies poetry may not seem the most interesting of subjects, Norris mananges to hold the reader's interest until we encounter the real subject, Elizabeth Kray, the arts administrator who headed the Academy of American Poets.

Norris' abilities as a storyteller were evident in her earlier works, especially "Dakota: A Spiritual Geography", and again she takes what might be for some an uninteresting subject and grabs our attention. Readers who are looking for a spiritual read similar to Norris' earlier prose may be disappointed, but I feel that Norris probably sees God's hand in her experiences with Kray.

Highly recommended, well-written and, more importantly, well thought out.