A lifelong devotee of language and performance, Willard Spiegelman here weaves an unconventional "memoir of taste" by recalling the entertainers who shaped his sensibility. From Gilbert & Sullivan operettas that rescued him from summer camp athletics to Ruth Draper's mesmerizing solo performances, from Mabel Mercer's intimate cabaret artistry to Patsy Cline's honky-tonk heartbreak, Spiegelman celebrates the middlebrow culture that thrived mid-century and endures today. With inimitable erudition and wit, he defends "the necessity of the superfluous" — arguing that pleasure, beauty, and entertainment aren't frivolous distractions but essential sustenance. Part cultural criticism, part personal testament, My (Lucky) Stars reveals how we come to know ourselves through what delights us.

Willard Spiegelman is the Hughes Professor of English, Emeritus, at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, and the former longtime editor-in-chief of the Southwest Review. He is the author of many books on English and American poetry, plus two volumes of personal essays. His most recent work is Nothing Stays Put: The Life and Poetry of Amy Clampitt (Alfred A. Knopf). He is a longtime contributor to the arts and books pages of The Wall Street Journal.