Overview

'The World I Live In brings us intimately close, in her own valiant words, to the mind of a woman for whom language was life.' - Cynthia Ozick Out of print for nearly a century, The World I Live In is Helen Keller's most personal and intellectually adventurous work-one that transforms our appreciation of her extraordinary achievements. Here this preternaturally gifted deaf and blind young woman closely describes her sensations and the workings of her imagination, while making the pro-vocative argument that the whole spectrum of the senses lies open to her through the medium of language. Standing in the line of the works of Emerson and Thoreau, The World I Live In is a profoundly suggestive exercise in self-invention, and a true, rediscovered classic of American literature. This new edition of The World I Live In also includes Helen Keller's early essay ""Optimism,"" as well as her first published work, ""My Story,"" written when she was twelve.

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Roger Shattuck's striking new edition of The World I Live In , a sparkling work too long obscured, renews Helen Keller for all generations--for the steadfast admirers of her art, and particularly for readers not yet acquainted with the sightless genius who taught the world the majesty of her insight. The World I Live In brings us intimately close, in her own valiant words, to the mind of a woman for whom language was life. <br>-- Cynthia Ozick<br><br> While Helen Keller is better known for The Story of My Life , her later book, The World I Live In , is a warmer, more intimate and more beautiful work, one in which we encounter Helen Keller's remarkable imagination, her originality, and her power as a literary artist. She comes alive here, vividly and idiosyncratically, more than in any other of her writings. <br>-- Oliver Sacks<br><br> An astounding account, enhanced further by Roger Shattuck's excellent introduction in which he explores the implications of her experience. <br>-- The Observer <br><br> An affirmation of the fact that real miracles are the product of human endeavour and inspiration <br>-- Times Educational Supplement (London)

Roger Shattuck's striking new edition of The World I Live In, a sparkling work too long obscured, renews Helen Keller for all generations--for the steadfast admirers of her art, and particularly for readers not yet acquainted with the sightless genius who taught the world the majesty of her insight. The World I Live In brings us intimately close, in her own valiant words, to the mind of a woman for whom language was life. -- Cynthia Ozick While Helen Keller is better known for The Story of My Life, her later book, The World I Live In, is a warmer, more intimate and more beautiful work, one in which we encounter Helen Keller's remarkable imagination, her originality, and her power as a literary artist. She comes alive here, vividly and idiosyncratically, more than in any other of her writings. -- Oliver Sacks An astounding account, enhanced further by Roger Shattuck's excellent introduction in which he explores the implications of her experience. -- The Observer An affirmation of the fact that real miracles are the product of human endeavour and inspiration -- Times Educational Supplement (London)

Helen Keller, born in 1880, was a healthy, bright-eyed baby girl until a mystery virus struck her at the age of only 19 months and rendered her deaf and blind for life. Her parents were priviledged enough to be able to hire a teacher, Annie Sullivan, to accompany her from the age of seven on an arduous journey to learn to communicate. Keller wrote and published a book about her struggle, 'The Story of My Life' at the age of twenty-three: it became a bestseller and is still a cult classic today. Her follow-up was 'The World I Live In', published in 1908 and out of print ever since. This new edition reminds us of the genius of Keller's writing as she explains, in a series of remarkable essays, how she came to rely on other senses to guide her through life: describing her heightened sense of smell, she writes that 'as the season advances, a crisp, dry, mature odor predominates, and gold-rod, tansy and everlastings mark the onward march of the year'. In yet another essay, Keller forces us to think about the power of touch, which is the most important sense to her: the significance of the human hand as it blesses, heals, forgives and befriends. The language in this book is typically Edwardian and hence comes across as slightly dated - but the sobriety and intelligence of Keller's unselfish self-analysis makes this a profound and thought-provoking read. (Kirkus UK)

Roger Shattuck s striking new edition of The World I Live In, a sparkling work too long obscured, renews Helen Keller for all generations for the steadfast admirers of her art, and particularly for readers not yet acquainted with the sightless genius who taught the world the majesty of her insight. The World I Live In brings us intimately close, in her own valiant words, to the mind of a woman for whom language was life. Cynthia Ozick While Helen Keller is better known for The Story of My Life, her later book, The World I Live In, is a warmer, more intimate and more beautiful work, one in which we encounter Helen Keller s remarkable imagination, her originality, and her power as a literary artist. She comes alive here, vividly and idiosyncratically, more than in any other of her writings. Oliver Sacks An astounding account, enhanced further by Roger Shattuck s excellent introduction in which he explores the implications of her experience. The Observer An affirmation of the fact that real miracles are the product of human endeavour and inspiration Times Educational Supplement (London)

Roger Shattuck's striking new edition of The World I Live In , a sparkling work too long obscured, renews Helen Keller for all generations--for the steadfast admirers of her art, and particularly for readers not yet acquainted with the sightless genius who taught the world the majesty of her insight. The World I Live In brings us intimately close, in her own valiant words, to the mind of a woman for whom language was life. -- Cynthia Ozick While Helen Keller is better known for The Story of My Life , her later book, The World I Live In , is a warmer, more intimate and more beautiful work, one in which we encounter Helen Keller's remarkable imagination, her originality, and her power as a literary artist. She comes alive here, vividly and idiosyncratically, more than in any other of her writings. -- Oliver Sacks An astounding account, enhanced further by Roger Shattuck's excellent introduction in which he explores the implications of her experience. -- The Observer An affirmation of the fact that real miracles are the product of human endeavour and inspiration -- Times Educational Supplement (London)

Author Information

Helen Keller (1880-1968) was born in northwest Alabama, with full sight and hearing. At nineteen months she suffered a mysterious illness that left her both blind and deaf and interrupted her speech development. She graduated from Radcliffe College in 1904, the first deaf-blind person to attend an institution of higher learning. In subsequent years, Helen Keller joined the Socialist Party and embarked on a career as a public lecturer. She has written several books, including, The Story of My Life and Teacher and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964. Roger Shattuck is the author of The Banquet Years, The Innocent Eye, Forbidden Knowledge- From Prometheus to Pornography, Candor and Perversion and Proust's Way.

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