by John Cheever
CALLS FOR HELP, DOWN AND OUT: Interview Allan Gurganus, 31 May 1984; JC to Dennis Coates, 14 October 1984, 2 November 1984, and 2 December 1984; JC to Sara Spencer, early 1975; JC to Friday Club, 12 February 1975; interview Dr. Raymond Mutter, 22 June 1984; Dana Gioia et al., interview with JC, 23 January 1976; Dean Doner to SD, 22 October 1984; interview William Maxwell, 9 April 1985; interview Edward Newhouse, 5 June 1984; JC, “The President of the Argentine,” ATLANTIC MONTHLY, April 1976, pp. 43–45; Hersey, “John Hersey Talks,” p. 24; Susan Cheever Cowley and JC, “A Duet,” p. 70; interview Dr. Robert A. Johnson, 18 December 1984; interview Sally Swope, 8 November 1983; JC to Mary Gormley, spring 1975; JC file, Boston University; interview Rick Siggelkow, 24 July 1984; JC to John Updike, 2 June 1975.
DETOXIFICATION, WITHDRAWAL: Interview Rick Siggelkow, 24 July 1984; interviews Jane Cheever Carr, 27 September 1983 and 5 June 1984; patient history and patient progress notes, Smithers Alcoholism Center, 9 April 1975 to 6 May 1975; interview Carol Kitman, 5 September 1984; interview Ruth Maxwell, 17 September 1984; JC to Allan Gurganus, 10 May 1975; JC to Arthur Spear, April 1975; JC to Candida Donadio, 21 April 1975; JC to William Maxwell, 25 April 1975; interview Leonard Field, 18 September 1984; JC to Laurens Schwartz, 29 April 1975; Robert L. deVeer to SD, 26 September 1984; JC to Candida Donadio, 20 May 1975.
REBIRTH
STRAIN OF SOBRIETY: Interview MC, 10 April 1985; Susan Cheever, HOME BEFORE DARK, pp. 198–99; interview Sara Spencer, 10 November 1983; interview Hope Lange, 24 October 1984; interview Nina Engel, 22 June 1984; interview Barrett and Jane Clark, 28 June 1984; JC to Allan Gurganus, summer 1976; Max Zimmer journal; June Beisch, “John Cheever Comes Home,” BOSTON HERALD, 28 August 1977; Kornbluth, “Cheever Chronicle,” pp. 28–29; Brans, “Stories to Comprehend,” p. 345; Hayden Carruth, “The Incorrigible Dirigible.”
WRITING A STREAK: John Updike, remarks at memorial service, 22 June 1982; JC to Laurens Schwartz, 7 October 1975; Jan Herman, “John Cheever Never Plays Celebrity Role,” CHICAGO SUN-TIMES “Show” section, 17 April 1977, p. 9; JC to Dennis Coates, 6 October 1975 and 11 February 1976; Hersey, “John Hersey Talks,” p. 24.
SKATING, BIKING, GARDENING, SPECTATING: JC to Dennis Coates, 31 October 1975 and 5 May 1976; JC to Laurens Schwartz, 19 January 1976; interview John and Mary Dirks, 16 July 1984; interview John Bukovsky, 5 July 1985; interview Roger and Maureen Willson, 29 July 1984; JC to Laurens Schwartz, April 1978; JC to Allan Gurganus, 26 May 1976; JC, journal, Brandeis library; JC to Max Zimmer, 197__; “A Fan Fans Tiant,” NEW YORK TIMES, 29 November 1978; Grant, “John Cheever: The Art,” pp. 40–41.
AA MEETINGS, ACTIVITIES: Interview Bev Chaney, Jr., 6 June 1984; interview Eugene and Clayre Thaw, 15 July 1984; interview John Crutcher, 22 June 1985; interview David Lange, 6 June 1985; interview Dudley Schoales, Jr., 17 July 1984; Laurens Schwartz to SD, 26 March 1986; interview Grace Schulman, 16 September 1984.
TRIPS, YADDO, BOSTON: JC to Dennis Coates, 11 February 1976; Nora Sayre to SD, 8 April 1975; JC to Laurens Schwartz, 11 November 1975, 1 December 1975,and 9 March 1976; JC to Candida Donadio, winter 1976; interview MC, 6 June 1983; Dana Gioia et al., interview with JC, 30 January 1985; interview Robert Cowley, 21 June 1984; JC to James Valhouli, 6 December 1977; interview Philip Schultz, 27 June 1984; Patrick Coyne to MC, 1983; Burton Benjamin, “Cheever Quotes Pay Cab Fare,” WHITE PLAINS REPORTER DISPATCH, 7 June 1983.
STANFORD, BELLOW: Dana Gioia, “Meeting Mr. Cheever,” pp. 419–34; Dana Gioia et al., interview with JC, 23 January 1976.
APPEARANCE, CHARM, HOPE: John Hersey, “Talk with John Cheever,” NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW, 6 March 1977, p. 1; interview Allan Gurganus, 16 September 1984; JC to Laurens Schwartz, 10 February 1976; interview MC, 6 June 1983; interview Margot Wilkie, 25 June 1984; JC to Allan Gurganus, 11 February 1976; JC to James Valhouli, 3 February 1976; JC to Max Zimmer, early 1977; interview Robert Gottlieb, 27 June 1984; interview William H. Luers, 22 August 1985; interview Hope Lange, 24 October 1984.
HOMOSEXUAL LEANINGS: Interview Saul Bellow, 10 July 1984; JC, typescript 15; JC to Max Zimmer, 12 May 1977; interviews Max Zimmer, 27 June 1984 and 19 July 1984; JC quoted in Susan Cheever, HOME BEFORE DARK, p. 208; interview Allan Gurganus, 15 September 1984.
PLEASURES OF SPRING 1976: JC to Dennis Coates, 9 March 1976; “Teens Re-Dial Forebears’ 1876 Call,” OSSINING CITIZEN REGISTER, 11 March 1976; JC to Allan Gurganus, 23 April 1976; JC to Malcolm Cowley, 24 April 1976; JC to Laurens Schwartz, 19 April 1976 and 23 May 1976.
SHADOWS OF DEATH: JC to Sara Spencer, 23 April 1976, 16 June 1976, 3 July 1976, and 4 July 1976; Susan Cheever, HOME BEFORE DARK, p. 189, 205–6; JC to Allan Gurganus, June 1976; interview Barrett and Jane Clark, 28 June 1984; Howard Kissel, “John Cheever Maintains Family Prestige,” OSSINING CITIZEN REGISTER, 20 April 1980, p. D3; JC to Candida Donadio, 5 June 1976.
OPTIMISM, ROMANIA, BIKE ACCIDENT: “The Novelist,” NEWSWEEK, 4 July 1976, p. 36; Bruce Benidt, “Conversations with John Cheever,” MINNEAPOLIS STAR, 30 December 1978, p. 10; JC, “Romania,” TRAVEL & LEISURE, March 1978, pp. 86–87; JC to Laurens Schwartz, 7 August 1976; interview Philip Schultz, 27 June 1984; JC to Allan Gurganus, 1976.
BENNINGTON, CORNELL, HARDWICK: Stephen Sandy to SD, 22 September 1984; JC to Allan Gurganus, 30 November 1976; interview James and Gladys McConkey, 10 July 1984; JC, “The Melancholy of Distance”; interview Frederica Kaven, 31 January 1987; JC, “An Exchange on Fiction,” NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS, 3 February 1977, p. 44.
UTAH, MAX: Interview Dave Smith, 30 January 1985; interview Max Zimmer, 27 June 1984; JC quoted in Susan Cheever, HOME BEFORE DARK, p. 207; JC to Max Zimmer, 24 February 1977; Max Zimmer journal.
SUCCESS
FALCONER, NEWSWEEK: JC to Max Zimmer, winter 1977; “John Cheever: Did NEWSWEEK Make Him a Bestseller?” CODA: POETS & WRITERS NEWSLETTER, 5, i (1977), p. 26; interview Burton Benjamin, 19 June 1984; John Firth, “Talking with John Cheever,” SATURDAY REVIEW, 2 April 1977, p. 23.
FALCONER: CHANGE, CONFINEMENT, LOVE: Saul Bellow, “On John Cheever,” NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS, 17 February 1983, p. 38; interview Curtis Harnack and Hortense Calisher, 17 September 1984; SD, “John Cheever: Redemption in Cellblock F,” MINNEAPOLIS TRIBUNE, 3 April 1977, p. 140; John Hersey, “Talk,” p. 24; JC, typescript 19; Hunt, HOBGOBLIN, pp. 272–73; interview James and Gladys McConkey, 10 July 1984; Robert G. Collins, “From Subject to Object and Back Again: Individual Identity in John Cheever’s Fiction,” TWENTIETH CENTURY LITERATURE, Spring 1982, pp. 9–10; Peter Costa, “A Wasp Author Discusses Wasps,” BOSTON HERALD AMERICAN, 4 May 1977.
REVIEWS OF FALCONER: Interview John Leonard, 23 October 1984; interview Morris Lurie, 16 December 1985; John Gardner, “On Miracle Row,” SATURDAY REVIEW, 2 April 1977, p. 20; Saul Bellow to JC, 23 November 1976; Joan Didion, “Falconer,” New York Times Book Review, 6 March 1977, pp. 1, 22; Joyce Carol Oates, “An Airy Insubstantial World,” ONTARIO REVIEW, fall-winter 1977–78, pp. 99–101; Susan Cheever Cowley and JC, “A Duet,” p. 68; Margaret Manning, “I Wanted It to Go On Forever,” BOSTON SUNDAY GLOBE, 20 March 1977.
MARRIAGE OF PERVERSITY, STAYING POWER: Interview Federico and Mary Cheever, 10 February 1985; Callaway, interview with JC, 15 October 1981; JC, typescript 19; interview Francis Steegmuller and Shirley Hazzard, 17 January 1985; interview Dennis Coates, 8 October 1984; interview Grace Schulman, 16 September 1984; interview Allan Gurganus, 16 September 1984; interview Rick Siggelkow, 24 July 1984; Susan Cheever, “Mothers by Daughters,” Channel 4 television show, New York, January 1985; Shirley Silverberg, “A Talk with John Cheever,” pp. 67–68; Susan Cheever Cowley and JC, “A Duet,” p. 69; interviews MC, 28 June 1984 and 20 October 1984; interview Aline Benjamin, 5 July 1984; interview John Bukovsky, 5 July 1984; Jovanovich, “Mary Cheever on Her Own,” p. A3.
LANG, AMES, ZIMMER: Tape recording, Joseph Barbato interview with JC, 27 October 1978; Mary Dirks to—, 25 April 1977; Malcolm Cowley to JC, 30 March 1977; JC to Malcolm Cowley, 4 April 1977; JC, “The
Hostess of Yaddo,” NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW, 8 May 1977, pp. 3, 34; Stephen Sandy to SD, 22 September 1984; interview Max Zimmer, 27 June 1984.
BULGARIA: Interview Robert Penn Warren and Eleanor Clark, 10 July 1984; JC to Max Zimmer, spring 1977; interview Raphael Rudnik, 18 January 1985; twelve U.S. Department of State telegrams, January–June 1977; JC to Laurens Schwartz, 26 June 1977; Gore Vidal to SD, 16 October 1984; interview Dennis Coates, 28 May 1984.
WAUWINET, YADDO, ZIMMER, PHILLIPS, ROREM, HOLMES: Interview Raphael Rudnik, 18 January 1985; interview Grace Schulman, 16 September 1984; JC to Steve Phillips, fall 1977 and 1 November 1977; interview Steve Phillips, 24 July 1984; interview Ned Rorem, 20 September 1984; interview James Holmes, 20 October 1984.
ARCHITECTURE, AGENTLESS: JC, “The Second Most Exalted of the Arts,” JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION, November 1977; David Clarke to SD, 1 February 1984; JC to Candida Donadio, 17 February 1977 and 27 November 1977; X. J. Kennedy to JC, 16 July 1978; JC to X. J. Kennedy, 23 July 1978; X. J. Kennedy to SD, 16 October 1985.
AWARDS, APPEARANCES, RUSSIA AGAIN: JC to Max Zimmer, fall 1977; JC to John Leggett, 17 September 1977 (two letters); James Valhouli to SD, 27 February 1985; interview Grace Schulman, 16 September 1984; JC to Laurens Schwartz, 13 December 1977; JC to T. Coraghessan Boyle, 14 February 1978; JC on Dick Cavett show, 21 March 1978.
YADDO, ACADEMY, COMPETITIVENESS: Interview Hayden Carruth, 10 October 1985; JC to MC, winter 1978; Albin Krebs, “Notes on People,” NEW YORK TIMES, 1 January 1977, p. 12; JC to Margaret Mills, 11 May 1977; Eileen Simpson, POETS IN THEIR YOUTH (New York, 1982), p. 149; interview Robert Gottlieb, 27 June 1984.
BELLOW, UPDIKE: Interview MC, 12 July 1984; JC, typescript 21; “Writers’ Writers,” NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW, 4 December 1977; Saul Bellow, “On John Cheever,” p. 38; interview Saul Bellow, 10 July 1984; interview Bev Chaney, Jr., 26 June 1984; JC to John Updike, 1977 and 11 July 1979; tape recording, Christopher Lehmann-Haupt interview with JC, February 1969; interview Tom Glazer, 27 October 1983.
HARVARD, BULGARIA, SUSAN’S NOVEL: Robin Dougherty to SD, 23 April 1986; Joseph Barbato, “Cheever: Stories of Dreams Gone Awry,” DETROIT NEWS, 28 November 1978; interview Ben Cheever, 19 October 1984; JC to T. Coraghessan Boyle, 21 October 1978; Callaway, interview with JC, 15 October 1981; Susan Cheever, “My Father’s Life,” ESQUIRE, June 1984, p. 179; JC, “My Daughter, The Novelist,” NEW YORK, 7 April 1980, p. 53.
STORIES, REVIEWS: Interview Robert Gottlieb, 27 June 1984; MC to Malcolm Cowley, 2 October 1982; Anne Tyler, “Books Considered,” NEW REPUBLIC, 4 November 1978, pp. 45–47; John Leonard, “Books of the Times,” NEW YORK TIMES, 7 November 1978, p. 43; Stephen Becker, “John Cheever’s Short Glories,” CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, November 1978; interview Charles Newman, 23 July 1984.
GOLD MEDAL CONTROVERSY: Interview William Maxwell, 9 April 1985; William Maxwell to SD, 10 April 1985: another version of the “Telephone Story” appeared in Kornbluth, “Cheever Chronicle,” 21 October 1979, p. 29; Malcolm Cowley to “Members of the Nominating Committee for the Gold Medal in the Short Story,” 5 February 1978; Richard Wilbur to Malcolm Cowley, 20 February 1978; Malcolm Cowley to Richard Wilbur, 25 February 1978; JC to Malcolm Cowley, 1 March 1978.
PULITZER, NOBEL RUMORS: Interview Philip Schultz, 27 June 1984; interview Jane Cheever Carr, 27 October 1983; Linda Gilbert, “Marathon Day for Cheever Yields Prize,” OSSINING CITIZEN REGISTER, 17 April 1979; Jim Morse, “A Happy Twist to Cheever Chronicle,” BOSTON HERALD AMERICAN, 18 April 1979; John Irving quoted in Stephen Becker to SD, 26 June 1985; Savage, “The Long and the Short,” p. 30.
CELEBRITY AND ITS EFFECTS: Susan Cheever, HOME BEFORE DARK, pp. 210–11; JC to Max Zimmer, 6 December 1978; interview Lauren Bacall, 17 January 1985; JC to Robert Gottlieb, 26 January 1979; interview Robert Gottlieb, 27 June 1984; interview MC, 26 June 1984; interview Allan Gurganus, 16 September 1984; JC to Rick Siggelkow, fall 1977; interview Rick Siggelkow, 23 October 1984; interview Eugene and Clayre Thaw, 15 July 1984; Coale, “Portrait,” p. 3; interview Sara Spencer, 10 November 1983; interview Curtis Harnack and Hortense Calisher, 17 September 1984; interview Ben Cheever, 8 November 1983; interview Hayden Carruth, 10 October 1984; interview Iole Masullo, 23 June 1984; Smilgis, “Dark Moments,” pp. 78–79, presents Cheever on horseback in PEOPLE magazine: he was capable of kidding himself about this supposed equestrian background—strangers kept asking him “where his horse was,” he wrote Max Zimmer, May 1979; interview Margaret Mills, 19 September 1984; interview Federico Cheever, 10 February 1985.
COMMON FOLK, OSSINING: Interview Eugene and Clayre Thaw, 15 July 1984; interview Nellie Shannon, 17 July 1985; JC, “The Ossining Marathon,” 1979–80; interview Burton Benjamin, 19 June 1984; “Author Cheever Loves Ossining Life,” OSSINING CITIZEN REGISTER, early 1979; Benidt, “Conversations,” p. 9; Susan Merrill, “The Everyday Ossining Haunts of John Cheever,” MOUNT KISCO PATENT TRADER, 14 March 1986, pp. 12–13, 34; interview John Bukovsky, 5 July 1984; interview Susan Cheever, 21 September 1983; interview Rick Siggelkow, 23 October 1984; interview Bev Chaney, Jr., 6 June 1984; Herbert Hadad, “Goodbye to a Man of Patience,” OSSINING CITIZEN REGISTER, 4 July 1982; interview Roger and Maureen Willson, 29 July 1984.
SMOKING, MAX: Max Zimmer journal; interviews Max Zimmer 27 June 1984, 25 July 1984, and 19 September 1984.
MACDOWELL, STAYING AT HOME: Interview John Leonard, 23 October 1984; interview Hope Lange, 24 October 1984; interview Susan Cheever, 21 September 1983; interview Eugene and Clayre Thaw, 15 July 1984; interviews Max Zimmer, 27 June 1984 and 19 July 1984; interview Bev Chaney, Jr., 6 June 1984; interview Rick Siggelkow, 23 October 1984; interview Robert Penn Warren and Eleanor Clark, 10 July 1984; JC on the Charlie Rose show, Dallas-Fort Worth television, late 1979.
CANCER
PLEASURES OF FAME: Interview William H. Luers, 22 August 1985; interview Eugene Kennedy, 23 April 1985; Eugene Kennedy, “America Has Lost a Mountain in John Cheever,” CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 30 June 1982, Section 3, p. 1; interview Sara Spencer, 10 November 1983.
SLOWING DOWN, AUDIENCE: Interview Steve Phillips, 24 July 1984; Susan Cheever, HOME BEFORE DARK, pp. 226–27; Valhouli, interview with JC, 2 December 1977; Stephen Sandy to SD, 8 October 1984; JC on Dick Cavett show, 21 March 1978; Hunt et al., interview with JC, fall 1979; Gioia et al., interview with JC, 23 January 1976; interview John Crutcher, 22 June 1985; Saul Bellow to JC, 23 November 1976; Callaway, interview with JC, 15 October 1981; JC to Sara Spencer, 2 April 1977; JC to Robert Gottlieb, 20 July 1973 and 16 March 1977.
TELEVISION VENTURE: Ralph Tyler, “How a Trio of Cheever Stories Made It to TV,” NEW YORK TIMES, 14 October 1979, p. B33; Barbato, interview with JC, 27 October 1978; Callaway, interview with JC, 15 October 1981; tape recording, Lloyd Moss interview with JC, “This Is My Music,” WQXR, 12 January 1980; Jack Thomas, “Cheever Leads Showcase Series,” BOSTON GLOBE, 10 January 1982, TV Week, p. 2; JC, “Breaking Into Television at the Age of Seventy,” THE DIAL, January 1982, pp. 13–16.
CHILDREN, MAX, HOPE: Interview Dr. J. William Silverberg, 18 June 1984; interview Leonard Field, 18 September 1984; interview Max Zimmer, 27 June 1984 and 19 July 1984; interview Ben Cheever, 19 October 1984; interview Hope Lange, 24 October 1984.
UNION LEAGUE MEDAL: JC, acceptance speech, Union League gold medal, 1980, typescript 11.
SEIZURE, AFTEREFFECTS: Interview Allan Gurganus, 16 September 1984; interview Lee Hyla and Joan Silver, 16 January 1985; JC quoted in Susan Cheever, HOME BEFORE DARK, pp. 228–30; JC quoted in Hunt, HOBGOBLIN, pp. xiii–xiv; interview Sally Swope, 8 November 1983; interview Eugene Kennedy, 23 April 1985; Jovanovich, “Mary Cheever on Her Own,” p. A3; Kennedy, “Mountain,” p. 6.
KIDNAPPING REVISION, “ISLAND,” SKIDMORE: Interview Paul Bogart, 11 February 1985; interview Burton Benjamin, 19 June 1984; interview Ann Blumenthal, 15 January 1985; Jonathan Black, “Directing Cheever,” THE DIAL, January 1982, p. 17; JC, “The Island,” NEW YORKER, 27 April 1981, p. 41; JC to Joseph and Anne Palamounta
in, 25 May 1981.
OPERATION, CANCER, DEPRESSION: Dr. Marvin Schulman, record of operation, Phelps Memorial Hospital, 20 April 1981; John Updike to SD, 25 June 1984; JC to Dr. Marvin Schulman, 3 July 1981; Dr. Marvin Schulman, operative reports, Phelps Memorial Hospital, 10 July 1981 and 14 July 1981; interview Robert G. and May Collins, 26–27 September 1985; Updike, tribute at memorial service, 22 June 1982; Max Zimmer journal; Gioia, “Meeting Mr. Cheever,” p. 434; interview Dr. Marvin Schulman, 26 June 1984; interview Dr. D. J. Van Gordon, 30 June 1984.
SCREENING, CAVETT: Interview Rick Siggelkow, 24 July 1984; Burton Benjamin, tribute at memorial service, 23 June 1982; Steven Hager, “Cheever on Writing for TV,” HORIZON, December 1981, p. 56; Joshua Gilder, “John Cheever’s Affirmation of Faith,” SATURDAY REVIEW, March 1982, p. 17; interview Father George W. Hunt, 29 June 1984; interview Rick Siggelkow, 24 July 1984; JC to John Updike, 18 November 1981.
DECEMBER DEATH NOTICE: Dr. Marvin Schulman, record of operation, Phelps Memorial Hospital, 4 December 1981; Dr. Marvin Schulman to JC, 25 March 1982; interview Father George W. Hunt, 29 June 1984; interview Max Zimmer, 27 June 1984; JC, “Christmas Morning 1981”; interview Aline Benjamin, 5 July 1984; Susan Cheever, HOME BEFORE DARK, pp. 97–98; interview Don Ettlinger, 4 June 1984.
TREATMENT: Interview Max Zimmer, 27 June 1984; interview William H. Luers, 22 August 1985; interview MC, 10 April 1985.
CRITICAL ATTENTION, PROPOSED GALA: Samuel Coale, JOHN CHEEVER (New York, 1977); Lynne Waldeland, JOHN CHEEVER (Boston, 1979); SD, “John Cheever,” AMERICAN WRITERS: A COLLECTION OF LITERARY BIOGRAPHIES, ed. Leonard Unger, Supplement I, Part 1 (New York, 1979), pp. 174–99; Hunt, HOBGOBLIN; CRITICAL ESSAYS ON JOHN CHEEVER, ed. Robert G. Collins (Boston 1982); Richard Rupp to JC, 2 December 1981; JC to Robert G. Collins, 24 January 1982 and 3 March 1982.
