Never a Lovely So Real
Page 54
332Someone from Preminger’s office and “politically clear”: Letter from NA to AK, AK Collection.
332Nelson began collecting rumors: Letter from NA to JC, JC Papers.
333he passed a movie theater: Conversations, p. 119.
333The letter said Hollywood: Letter from NA to JC, JC Papers.
334“So little pages”: Letter from NA to JC, JC Papers.
334Nelson moved into: Letter from NA to AK, AK Collection.
335“Trouble is that”: ibid.
335“Though your thoughtfulness”: Letter from NA to Preminger, JC Papers.
335Hackett called Nelson: Letter from NA to AK, AK Collection.
336Hackett’s “one big worry”: ibid.
336“Coming back to Gary”: ibid.
336The Linkhorns were “fierce”: All references to this text are from the published version of A Walk on the Wild Side.
340“For Christ’s sake let’s get”: Letter from NA to AK, AK Collection.
340“I don’t do myself any good”: ibid.
341The newspapers were reporting: Thomas M. Pryor, “Preminger Signs Sinatra . . . ,” New York Times, 3 May 1955.
341presented him with a subpoena: “No Room, No Time, No Breath . . .”
“THEY DON’T EXACTLY GIVE ME ANY MEDALS FOR CAUTION”
343two aspiring writers: This account of the interview comes from “The Art of Fiction.”
346Seldes ordered a martini: This account of NA’s meeting with Seldes comes from a letter NA sent to MG, MG Collection.
347Nelson’s first stop was Baltimore: This account of NA’s stay in Baltimore and his road trip comes from a letter NA sent to MG, MG Collection.
349Ken McCormick had tried to call: ibid.
349“I really do think”: Letter from Sheila Cudahy to NA. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Inc. records, New York Public Library.
349“It is a hell of a novel”: ibid.
349Doubleday was claiming: Letter from NA to MG, MG Collection.
350Jack Kirkland’s theatrical: Arthur Gelb, “Lindsay Comedy without a Home,” New York Times, 21 November 1955.
350Preminger’s film “has me breathing”: Letter from NA to Herman Kogan, NA Collection.
350Nelson left Jesse Blue: This account of NA’s trip to Miami and Cuba comes from “A Few Rounds with Papa and a Bottle of Scotch,” New York Times, 29 March 1981, and a letter from NA to MG, MG Collection.
352she allowed him inside: Interview of AK, BD Papers.
352At 5 a.m. on January 16: Interview of AK, courtesy of JH.
352“Look,” he said: ibid.
353“I wish to affirm”: NA’s FBI file.
A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE
354Nelson entered the University Club: “The Literary Spotlight,” Chicago Tribune, 3 June 1956.
354Nelson and Straus moved on: “Authors Feted; 3 Parties . . . ,” Chicago Tribune, 20 May 1956.
355“I think Madame de Beauvoir”: “ ‘Golden Arm’ Author Has Mean Elbow,” New York World-Telegram and Sun, 22 June 1956.
355“an ironical parody”: Maxwell Geismar, “Against the Tide of Euphoria,” Nation, 2 June 1956.
355“the product of a distinguished”: James T. Farrell, “On the Wrong Side of Town,” New Republic, 21 May 1956.
355“The Chicago School of Realism”: James Kelly, “Sin-Soaked in Storyville,” Saturday Review, 26 May 1956.
355“The point Algren sought to make”: Victor P. Hass, “Algren Sees the World in Grain of Sand,” Chicago Tribune, 20 May 1956.
356“puerile sentimentality”: “Some People Passing By.”
356“human monsters”: “Books of the Times,” New York Times, 23 May 1956.
356“is that we live in a society whose bums”: Norman Podhoretz, “The Man with the Golden Beef,” The New Yorker, 2 June 1956.
356“a museum piece”: “The Noble Savages of Skid Row.”
357labeled it “Paris”: Letter from NA to AK, AK Collection.
357“lights like candle-lamps”: Letter from NA to MG, MG Collection.
357Nelson was in the audience: ibid.
358The news Nelson received: This account comes from a memo summarizing the meeting held in Straus’s office. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Inc. records, New York Public Library.
359“When I began that one”: Letter from NA to MG, MG Collection.
360Nelson requested seven thousand: Letter from Madeleine Brennan to Roger Straus. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Inc. records, New York Public Library.
360so he met with the lawyer: Interview of AK, BD Papers.
360Blue called Amanda: ibid.
361he woke screaming: Interview of DP, courtesy of JH.
361“What happened?” Peltz asked: ibid.
362“Help me,” he pleaded: Interview of AK, BD Papers.
362The next morning, Amanda called: Interview of DP, courtesy of JH.
362and began screaming: ibid.
362and wrote: E: ibid.
363“Dave,” Nelson pleaded: ibid.
363diagnosed with “anxiety”: NA’s FBI file.
363doctor who had been assigned to treat: Interview of AK, BD Papers.
364The bureau decided to use the delay: NA’s FBI file.
A LIGHTLESS CAVE OFF A LOVELESS HALL
366Nelson went outside: This account of Nelson’s walk across the ice comes from an interview of DP, courtesy of JH.
367“I feel I may be able to”: Letter from NA to Roger Straus. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Inc. records, New York Public Library.
367“playing around”: Interview of DP, courtesy of JH.
368Three brothers who shared: “Save Novelist from Lagoon,” Chicago Tribune, 1 January 1957.
369“The damn fool”: Interview of DP, courtesy of JH.
369“You see,” he reflected later: ibid.
369attended a New Year’s Eve party: Letter from NA to J. Kerker Quinn, J. Kerker Quinn Papers, University of Illinois Archives.
369The first thing Nelson did: Interview of Art Shay, BD Papers.
370sold the film rights to: Film contract, NA Collection.
370told a gossip columnist: Herb Lyon, “Tower Ticker,” Chicago Tribune, 7 January 1957.
370Paula Bays played a role: Interview of Paula Bays, BD Papers.
371“most writers of the new school”: “Break Through Myths of Our Time . . .”
371Nelson couldn’t make himself cash: This account of Nelson’s trip to the bank comes from an interview of DP, courtesy of JH.
372an unremarkable racehorse: Race program dated 10 May 1958, NA Collection.
372purchased an apartment building: Herb Lyon, “Tower Ticker,” Chicago Tribune, 23 May 1958.
372Someone said they spotted: Interview of Frank Sandiford, BD Papers.
372A friend reported: Interview of Sanka Gregoriev, BD Papers.
372And Amanda claimed: Interview of AK, BD Papers.
372Sports Illustrated asked him: “Prose for the Roses.” Sports Illustrated, 28 April 1986.
373Nelson arrived a week: ibid.
373“The first thing I did”: Unpublished transcript, NA Collection.
373“Nothing comes easy to Silky”: Whitney Tower, “Prose for the Roses,” Sports Illustrated, 28 April 1986.
374“[I]n a different age”: ibid.
374one of the three lawyers: “Author Nelson Algren Sued. . . ,” Chicago Tribune, 13 May 1958.
374he sold his house: Letters between AK and William Regan, AK Collection.
374“lightless cave off a loveless”: Letter from NA to MG, MG Collection.
375I don’t feel that I’m “coming back”: ibid.
“NO, NO NOVEL”
379three strong men: Letter from NA to MG, MG Collection.
380“No, no novel”: Letter from NA to JCH, JCH Papers.
381“sucked and smiled”: ibid.
382stopped writing or speaking to Maxwell: NA’s correspondence with MG stops abruptly around 1959, and BB later told BD that NA attributed their rift to MG’s h
abit of writing brief letters.
382stopped speaking to the photographer: Shay, though asked repeatedly, never spoke about the cause of his break with Nelson. This account is based on my conversations with JH. JH spoke to both NA and Studs Terkel about Shay decades later, and received the impression from both that Shay had been using NA.
382when he heard that Jack Conroy: The cause of the rift between JC and NA has long been mysterious, and JC usually cast himself as the victim. NA did make insulting public statements about JC in 1959, but JC admitted to JH that they were preceded by a comment he made during a speech.
383“Your stance,” he said: Conversations, pp. 271–72.
383The State Department informed: NA’s FBI file.
384“So you could even”: A Transatlantic Love Affair, p. 530.
384Beauvoir had been feeling: Simone de Beauvoir, pp. 471–73.
385Nelson arrived at Beauvoir’s: This account of NA’s vacation with SB comes from Hard Times: Force of Circumstance, vol. II (New York: Paragon House, 1992), pp. 214–31.
386“The arrogance of the respectable”: ibid., p. 216.
387“Once I used to live in America”: ibid.
387“He had been promised one world”: ibid.
388visited the US embassy: NA’s FBI file.
389“I can assure you”: Who Lost, p. 152.
389“Not a single shadow”: Force of Circumstance, vol. II, p. 231.
389“As if my body”: ibid.
390After she left, he lingered: Simone de Beauvoir, p. 482.
393“But it doesn’t necessarily”: Charles Purvis, “Life’s Imperfections Seen in a Narrow Perspective,” Chicago Tribune, 12 May 1963.
393“It would be fine to discover”: Herbert Gold, “After All, Who Is the Enemy?” New York Times, 2 June 1963.
393“[Caught] between his own past”: Hilton Kramer, “He Never Left Home,” Reporter, 20 June 1963.
394“Give me one,” Goldie said: Conversations, p. 328.
A CHARACTER NAMED NELSON ALGREN
395Someone was cheating: This account of the card game and aftermath comes from an interview of DP, courtesy of JH.
398“its rusty heart would break”: Letter from NA to JCH, JCH Papers.
399a tramp steamer that operated: ibid.
399he was a “broken” man: Sea Diary, p. 169.
400Wright “came to Chicago”: “Remembering Richard Wright.”
401“simply,” he said, because: Conversations, p. 175.
401Choryang-dong port in Busan: Sea Diary, p. 47.
401Nelson followed a member: Sea Diary, p. 69.
401found the Kamathipura district: Sea Diary, pp. 133–52.
401“When a ship doesn’t dock”: Conversations, p. 177.
402a stack of newspapers: Letter from NA to JCH, JCH Papers.
402“Creative writing is dead”: “A Coffee Hour with Nelson Algren,” Chicago Daily News, 3 March 1963.
403Donohue first stumbled: Conversations, p. 331–33.
404Notes toward a Biography: Conversations, p. 331.
409an “extraordinary book”: Kenneth Rexroth, “Innocence Observed,” New York Times, 25 October 1964.
409“totally delightful, irreverent, mad”: “Nelson Algren Talks Shop,” Chicago Daily News, date unknown.
409“a remarkably lively”: Francis Coughlin, “The True and Original Nelson Algren,” Chicago Tribune, 25 October 1964.
409“I know he [Nelson] is behind”: Letter from Thomas Pynchon to Candida Donadio, NA Collection.
SEA DIARY
410“Boys,” Bruce Jay Friedman told: This account of NA’s arrival comes from “On Nelson Algren,” a talk delivered by Josh Alan Friedman on March 26, 2011.
411Nelson got up before dawn: This account of NA’s time with the Friedmans comes from an interview of Bruce Jay Friedman, courtesy of MC.
413“Conditions for writing”: Letter from NA to KB. KB Papers.
413a young man named Donald DeLillo: This account of NA’s time with DeLillo comes from a personal interview of DeLillo, 25 February 2016.
414just signed a three-book deal: Putnam contract, NA Collection.
415“was the voice of a prophet”: Interview of Philip Kaufman, courtesy of MC.
416Banks, like DeLillo, wanted: This account of NA’s time with Banks comes from an Interview of Russell Banks, courtesy of MC.
416Nelson introduced DeLillo: Personal interview of DeLillo, 25 February 2016.
416invited Nelson to live with him: Personal interview of Robert Gover, 10 November 2013.
418“brilliant bursts”: Lester Goran, “Nelson Algren—Promising Old Novelist,” Chicago Tribune, 15 August 1965.
418“arch, arbitrary” tone: Arno Karlen, “Hard Shell, Soft Center,” New York Times, 22 August 1965.
419“back seat to nobody”: “Nelson Algren on Hemingway . . . ,” Chicago Daily News, 14 August 1965.
419the Putnam contract: Putnam contract, NA Collection.
“ON THE HO CHI MINH TRAIL”
420Betty Ann Bendyk arrived: Interview of BB, BD Papers.
421“the images, everything”: Interview of BB, courtesy of JH.
421maybe five dates: Interview of BB, BD Papers.
421“to hear her laugh again”: Letter from NA to DD. DD Papers.
421“whirlwind romance”: Interview of BB, BD Papers.
422Nelson and Betty were married: “Nelson Algren Married,” New York Times, 28 February 1965.
422he dripped gravy: Interview of SD, BD Papers.
423“keep an eye on the opposition”: Notes on meeting with NA, Matthew J. Bruccoli Papers, Kent State University.
423“It was like living in his studio”: Interview of BB, courtesy of JH.
423He slept little: ibid.
423about fourteen thousand dollars: Notes on meeting with NA, Matthew J. Bruccoli Papers, Kent State University.
424“I loved his humor”: Interview of BB, courtesy of JH.
424In exchange for twenty thousand: Notes on meeting with NA, Matthew J. Bruccoli Papers, Kent State University.
424accepted—with one condition: Letter from NA to KB. KB Papers.
425Betty rented a large: Interview of BB, BD Papers.
425a book worth “rereading”: Carousel, p. 77.
425Nelson’s attitude in class: This account of Nelson’s behavior on campus comes from Burns Ellison, “The First Annual Nelson Algren Memorial Poker Game.” Iowa Review 18, no. 1 (1988).
426“The longer I hang on here”: Carousel, p. 77.
427an active poker scene: This account of Nelson’s poker playing comes from “The First Annual Nelson Algren Memorial Poker Game.”
429“He was giving me leverage”: Interview of BB, BD Papers.
429“Father Confessor and Listener”: Letter from BB to NA, NA Collection.
430“Going on the Ho Chi Minh Trail”: “The First Annual Nelson Algren Memorial Poker Game.”
430“I’m scheduled to examine”: “Myths and Mores” [speech transcript], Carolina Symposium Records, University Archive, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
431“we are now in World War III”: Letter from NA to DD, DD Papers.
433“I’ve had a bad operation”: Letter from KB to NA, NA Collection.
433“Tough about losing”: Letter from NA to KB, KB Papers.
433“Actually . . . I don’t know”: ibid.
433booked passage on a freighter: Letter to Horizon Travel and Tours, NA Collection.
434“This is a mean, sick city”: Letter from NA to RG, courtesy of JH.
434he made a series of forays: ibid.
435he devised a scheme: This account of NA’s black market scheme comes from “Amateur Night Way Out East.”
435“counting the days”: Letter from NA to RG, courtesy of JH.
436“[I]t simmers down to”: “Amateur Night Way Out East.”
436Helen Corbett was one: NA’s FBI File.
THE LAST CAROUSEL
437Nelson establi
shed relationships: Personal interview of Chris Chandler, 28 February 2014, and interview of SD, courtesy of JH.
438Kowalski—a former pimp: Interview of BB, courtesy of JH.
438“Law & Order has never”: Letter to RG, courtesy of JH.
439he visited Stephen Deutch: This account of NA’s friendship with SD, and the Deutches’ biographies, come from personal interviews with Kat Tatlock, Annick Smith, and Carole Deutch on, respectively, 11, 13, and 19 February 2015.
441“What I’m doing”: Letter from NA to KB, KB Papers.
441he wrote to his editor: Letter from NA to Bill Targ, NA Collection.
446“It’s about time!”: James R. Frakes, “The Last Carousel,” New York Times, 11 November 1973.
446“What an exhilarating experience”: Maxwell Geismer, “Algren Shows Us How Good . . . ,” Chicago Sun-Times, 25 November 1973.
446“[O]nce you begin reading”: Cyrus Colter, “Algren Resurrected . . . ,” Chicago Tribune, 25 November 1973.
446One of Nelson’s fans: Unpublished memoir, NA Collection.
446Putnam had delayed: Interview of NA by Henry Kisor, transcript courtesy of JH.
447Kurt Vonnegut nominated: A Life on the Wild Side, p. 348.
447“Thank You”: ibid., p. 349.
“THE SANEST MAN I’VE EVER MET”
448Hogan was young: All biographical details about Hogan are from a personal interview on 22 April 2014.
450Esquire magazine had offered: Interview of Jim Ryan, courtesy of JH.
451“Sorry, Rubin,” the guard: Unpublished nonfiction Carter manuscript, NA Collection.
451“I don’t wear prison dress”: ibid.
451“the sanest man I’ve ever met”: Letter from NA to RG, courtesy of JH.
452“It wasn’t Nelson Algren at all”: Interview of Jim Ryan, courtesy of JH.
452traveled to Paterson by train: Letter from NA to SD, BD Papers.
453“I don’t know why you”: Letter from NA to SD, BD Papers.
453“I don’t see Chicago ever becoming”: Interview of NA by Henry Kisor, transcript courtesy of JH.
454“There’s nothing left for me in Chicago”: “Algren Hits the Open Road,” Chicago Daily News, 8 February 1975.
454When Nelson’s auction began: “Old Card Table Is One of a Kind,” Chicago Sun-Times, 9 March 1975.
454seemed to walk away with something: “Algren’s House Sale . . .”