Poet Jennifer Weinblatt's "Marriage Song for Many Voices" may strike a chord with many such brides-to-be: "marriage is a going forth we / don't talk enough about / the loss a risking what we are..," while a heart-rending excerpt from Carson McCullers's The Member of the Wedding voices the feelings of those suddenly second-bested by a new groom or bride. The hilarious "A Memo from Cinderella" puts the lie to the whole fantasy wedding: she had to work on a budget, too! This book also looks forward to the realities of post-wedding life. Poet Henry Taylor's stirring "At the Swings" positions the marriage ritual in the larger continuum of life, death and having children, making the point that wedlock is more than just a pledge between two people. That's an insight that can help any cold-footed crier see her own situation in a clearer light. --Stefanie Durbin --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Author
43 writers find sane ways to approach matrimony....
We put this anthology together for anyone who has ever been lost in the flurry of wedding preparations. These stories and poems find moments of common sense and tenderness in the midst of marriage madness. Featuring the work of acclaimed writers Anne Tyler, Alice Munro, Sharon Olds, Stephen Dixon, Alice McDermott, Henry Taylor, Anne Sexton, Mark Twain, Francine Prose, Carson McCullers, Jonathan Galassi, Kathleen Norris and more…

From the Editor's Introduction, by Barbara Esstman:

"Reading over the pieces contained here, I wonder what I would have done differently if I'd considered more openly all the issues that collected and condensed at the moment I promised to love and, yes, obey. I wonder what I would have tried to discuss or settle instead of closing my eyes and going blindly to the ceremony that promised me happily ever after, with no thought or effort from myself."

From the Editor's Introduction, by Virginia Hartman:

"Admittedly, the more recognizably ridiculous aspects of weddings are herein held up for sport. But when all is said and done, this collection represents not a cynical send-up of marriage, but rather a confirmation of the complexity of life as it surrounds this most joyful and widespread of rituals, and the intricate mysteries that continue on well beyond the rice throwing."

A More Perfect Union tells the story of the modern wedding in nine chapters:

Party, Party, Party!

Great Expectations

Whose Wedding is This, Anyway?

Are You Sure About This?

That Day of Days

Can I Get a Witness?

That Night of Nights

The Aisle Not Taken

The Other Side of the Threshold