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Tennessee Williams lacked confidence, letters to friends reveal

Book of previously-unpublished correspondence shows writer’s constant need for reassurance

He found fame with The Glass Menagerie and won Pulitzer prizes for his stage masterpieces, A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, but Tennessee Williams was plagued by self-doubt, previously unpublished letters reveal.

The American dramatist’s lack of confidence emerges repeatedly through his correspondence with trusted friends -his publisher James Laughlin, and editor Robert MacGregor - over 25 years until his death in 1983. In 1964, he wrote of his “self-contempt”, adding: “I must confess that I have doubts and fears.” In 1972, he confided: “You know how badly I need reassurance about my work.”

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from Culture | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Gpngl5
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