York Times reviewer, Sklenicka was "prudent and appreciative in her assessment of Adams's work". The Minneapolis Star Tribune reviewer, calling Sklenicka’s biography “empathetic, revealing, and brisk,” wrote, “Sklenicka frames Adams’s life and work within themes of escape, redemption, and persistence… Adams’s footprint has faded. Sklenicka’s portrait may well encourage new readers and justifiably revive her reputation.” The New Republics reviewer commented on the book's length: "It's hard to imagine any but the true devotee wading in: I think Adams was a superb writer, but I'm not sure I need 500 pages on her," but then wrote, "If you're the sort who delights in the account of the midcentury artistic life ... Portrait of a Writer does deliver." Selected works D. H. Lawrence and the Child. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1991. Raymond Carver: A Writer's Life. New York: Scribner, 2009. Alice Adams: A Writer's Life. New York: Scribner, 2019. References External links Publishers Weekly review, Alice Adams: Portrait of a Writer Economic Times Interview with Sklenicka Carol Polsgrove on Writers' Lives: A Conversation on Raymond Carver Ploughshares Review: Raymond Carver: A Writer's Life by Jason M. Appel Washington Magazine: "Catching a Story-Catcher" by Candace O'Connor Living people People from Santa Maria, California California Polytechnic State University alumni Washington University in St. Louis alumni Raymond Carver 1948 births American biographers People from San Luis Obispo, California American women biographers