Elena Passarello, “Let Me Clear My Throat ” (Sarabande Books, 2012)

New Books in Literature · Jan 17, 2013 · 52m

We all know that iconic scene from the 1951 adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire. Stanley Kowalski, played with dopey brutishness by a young Marlon Brando, stands at the foot of a curved iron staircase, eyes upturned, and belts “Stella!” with what Tennessee Williams calls, in his stage direction, “heaven-splitting violence.” We all know it, whether we’ve seen it or not. It’s one of those moments that unmoors from its original context and floats off into our culture at large, showing up in parodies on Saturday Night Live or as good-spirited fun in the Annual Tennessee Williams Stella…