THE VIRGIN OF BENNINGTON

It’s a great title and, yes, Norris recreates college life in the ’60s, but the bulk of this story takes place in New York, where the aspiring poet worked for Betty Kray at the Academy of American Poets. Part coming-of-age revelation and part tribute to Kray, this literate memoir is broken into non-chronological segments sometimes not well defined by Sandra Burr. The text provides few dynamics, so one can’t expect fireworks in the reading, but Burr’s voice is clear, and her tone earnest. It’s almost as if Norris, who later wrote of monastic life, is getting this all off her chest. Burr brings out the author’s spiritual side, as well as her near-veneration of Kray. This is a good look (or listen) at the poetry scene of the ’70s. J.B.G. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/ SEP 01]