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Roger Shattuck | In Memoriam

2005-12-14T10:59:00.000-08:00

For me, Roger Shattuck was the best kind of mentor: the kind who had no idea he was playing that role. I admired his work well before I was able to gauge just how much intelligence and generosity of spirit informed it. That latter part I discovered about 20 years ago, when with the effrontery of ambitious youth I called him out of the blue to ask for a recommendation: I was seeking a grant for my then-embryonic biography of André Breton and wanted his support. To my delight (and astonishment), he asked to read the proposal, and soon afterward called to say he would be glad to offer his help. click here to read whole article.

The Revolution Will Not Be Translated

2005-04-05T10:54:00.000-07:00

In coming to the United States, Surrealism underwent a transformation and became (at least in the public eye) primarily a visual school, while Surrealist writing took a back seat. In other words, it went from being a philosophy that used the instruments of art to an art movement that justified its productions with philosophy... (more>>>)

Interview with Mark Polizzotti

2004-12-18T12:12:00.000-08:00

Interview with Perry Lindstrom
Interview with Mark Polizzotti

TNR Online | Somebody Else by Mark Polizzotti (1 of 3)

2004-12-18T12:10:00.000-08:00

What becomes a legend most? Contrary to what the old advertisement claimed, not a rich coating of fur and attitude. The naked truth usually reveals a figure to be far more complicated and contoured than the glitzy myth.
TNR Online | Somebody Else by Mark Polizzotti (1 of 3)

Older than That Now: Bob Dylan at Campanelli Stadium

2004-08-21T11:44:00.000-07:00

With his gaunt face, pencil mustache, and long black coat, Bob Dylan these days looks more like Vincent Price than the punk laureate of yore... (more>>>)

Dark Passage: Nick Drake's Rough Magic

2004-08-20T11:45:00.000-07:00

Until fairly recently, few people had heard of Nick Drake at all, or knew him mainly for his apparent suicide 30 years ago... (more>>>)

Memento Maurice

2004-08-16T12:18:00.000-07:00

Although I spent relatively little time in the company of the French novelist Maurice Roche (1925-1997) – an aggregate of months over a period of a dozen years or so – our friendship was among the most decisive in my life... (more>>>)

Everyone and Mr. Johnson

2004-08-15T11:50:00.000-07:00

Since his canonization ca. 1990, Robert Johnson has become a veritable industry... (more>>>)

In Search of André Breton: A Biographer’s Confession

2004-08-10T12:05:00.000-07:00

In a way, I’d been looking for André Breton most of my adult life... (more>>>)

Lives behind Lives: Biography as Autobiography

2004-08-09T12:01:00.000-07:00

Like Hollywood’s fabled "fourth wall," a first-person intrusion in the illusion of omniscient history remains a source of discomfort, a reminder that we are being led not by the absolute, reconstructed truth, but by someone’s very particular point of view... (more>>>)