Mae West: An Icon in Black and White

As a veteran professor of English at a major East Coast University, I've read many biographies -- literary and otherwise. I also have been a Mae West fan since I was in my early teens. When I purchased Professor Watts' Mae West bio (and that was as soon as it was available in hardcover), I could not help but be impressed by her scholarship and meticulousness in research. Her writing is accessible to the average well-educated reader, and that's important. It's too easy for us scholars to "preach to the choir" in our writing and end up having no audience except our fellow PhDs! Back when I taught the required Writing Workshop sequence at NYU, I'd begin speaking to my students about the value of keeping journals by writing on the board: "Keep a diary and someday it'll keep you. -- Mae West, American writer, educator, actress and playwright." I think I remembered that quote correctly; it's one of Peaches O'Day's lines in "Every Day's a Holiday." Great way to introduce students to a practice that not only is self-therapeutic, but improves their writing skills with our without teacher participation. As for the strident criticism of Professor Watts' allegedly claiming that her research indicates Mae West might have had a black (or mixed raced) grandfather, I suggest those critics read that section very carefully and critically themselves. The author doesn't make any such claim. There was a comment that this book is "tediously written." While that's not exactly a term we use in Lit Crit, it does suggest that the writer isn't accustomed to reading books written for literate adults. Any high school graduate should be able to read and understand Professor Watt's biography with no difficulty other than needing to slow down for fuller comprehension. I find it particularly gratifying that Mae receives appropriate credit for her accomplishments as a playwright. I have read a collection of her plays (Sex," "Pleasure Man" and "The Drag") and I'm impressed given Mae's erratic grammar school attendance and her having to learn how to read and write to function in the world of vaudeville essentially on her own. Are these great plays? Absolutely not, but they show a playwright trying to find her voice and relying on the improv skills of veteran vaudevillians and drag queens to flesh out their characters.

When you tell the truth, people will be angry. Yes it is true that there is no real proof about Mae West, but I have had people insist that I had caucasian blood in my family tree. I look in the mirror from time to time and wonder why this was but I am now starting to see it to a degree. It is not that this or that person have this or that blood, but the truth is that we are made of one blood. That is the unique thing about the human race. I hope that this book becomes a #one saler to help people understand the genome project. I did not purchase this book to read about Mae West's genetic make-up, but to learn more about her fantastic mystical style! There is one thing that bothers me. Her movies tend to show racial inequalities. But this is the characteristic of 30's movies.

Brava! This book is one of the most facsinating biographical works I have read in years. Ms. Watts's discussion on Mae West's life, her times, and heritage is a significant contribution to 20th century historical and cultural analysis. I am a fan of Mae, and appreciated how this book opened up a discussion on how fluid race is in American society.

Finally, finally, finally! A book that looks at the intelligence and craftmanship and brilliant social commentary of Mae West, this is the best biography ever written about her. It is not one of those shmaltzy, glowing photo books without any substance. Instead, it is a cradle to grave overview of her life, considering the elements which influenced her persona and shaped her art. Mae West as a writer, playwright, screenwriter, actor and social critic and commentator is finally permitted to shine. This is not the story of a "star" or "celebrity" but a real human being with fears and uncertainties as well as the confidence and self-esteem that made her. Mae West was a genius artist, a genius mind. Instead of focusing on her clothes or her sex life or her jokes and one-liners, she emerges here as a human being. Also, Watts provides the very best analysis ever of the psychological process wherein the human being merged with the persona.