In One Hundred Autobiographies, poet and scholar David Lehman applies the full measure of his intellectual powers to cope with a frightening diagnosis and painful treatment for cancer. No matter how debilitating the medical procedures, Lehman wrote every day during chemotherapy and in the aftermath of radical surgery. With characteristic riffs of wit and imagination, he transmutes the details of his inner life into a prose narrative rich in incident and mental travel. The reader journeys with him from the first dreadful symptoms to the sunny days of recovery.

Preface1. Execution Poem Expert2. Spots of Time3. Café Loup4. No Big Deal5. Cancer Alley6. The Crisis7. The Aftermath8. The Procedure9. The Protocol10. The Good Kind11. The Diarist12. None But the Strong13. Tropic of Cancer14. Hospitals and Airports15. Back to the Waiting Room16. "Hurry up, please, it's time"17. Why 1963?18. Good Friday19. Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch'entrate!20. The Weekend Before21. "Bladder cancer: Isn't that what Sinatra died of?"22. In a Technical Sense23. Five O'Clock Rush24. A Heart Event25. Good Show26. Metaport27. If You Were an English Poet28. The Regimen29. A Few Beacons in the Quicksand30. What's the Story?31. Time Is on My Side32. Rush Job33. Final Call34. And Then You Crash35. Chemo36. Roid Rage37. Under the Garden38. The End39. Falling in Love Again40. Nothingness41. Syllabus42. Commencement Speech43. The Exquisite Corpse44. The Editorial "We"45. Oblivion46. Dostoyevsky47. The Spiritual Connection48. "Myself, When Stoned"49. Bloomsday50. Tom Collins51. The Admissions Officer52. Columbia53. Classic Koch54. The Poem Team55. Shakespeare's Birthday56. Recovery Room57. The Rebbe58. Life Beings at Forty59133. Search for Meaning60. The Old Religion61. The Problem of Evil62. Dean Martin's Hat63. 740 Francs64. Shalom Aleichem Rides to the Rescue65. The Arrival of the Messiah66. Sabbath Services67. A Complicated Guy68. The Patient Next to You69. Cambridge70. Armistice Day, 197071. The Sublime Pain of Being72. The Glass Skeleton73. Why Does the Bridge Not Progress?74. Q & A75. Ludlowville, 198176. Bio Note (Alt.)77. Wedding Ceremony78. Moscow, 200779. Group Therapy80. Fort Tryon Park81. Fine Invention82. Identity Theft83. A Routine Visit84. Doctor Jew85. "Except for the cancer..."86. The Heart Knows87. A Black Dress88. Heisenberg as Hero89. Cheers!90. Walter Lehmann91. Rowing in Eden92. I Remember Mama93. No Regrets94. If I Could95. The Scar96. The Secret97. Like a Hurricane98. In the Eyes of the Beholder99. Champagne Cocktails100. In the Swim