by Colin Asher
454“Hi, it’s me”: Rick Soll, “Nelson Algren Bids Final Farewell,” Chicago Tribune, 10 March 1975.
455“This is all worthwhile”: ibid.
PATERSON, NEW JERSEY
460“pleasant little country town”: “Nelson Algren ‘Settling In’ in Paterson,” New York Times, 15 April 1975.
460Work “proceeds slowly”: Letter from NA to SD, BD Papers.
462One morning in September: This account of Linda Kay’s time with NA comes from her book The Reading List (Lanham, MD: Hamilton Books, 2005).
464“The police chief didn’t want”: ibid., p. 2.
465“Do you prefer this kind of work”: Interview of NA by Henry Kisor, transcript courtesy of JH.
465published more than three hundred: Geoffrey Robertson, “Rubin ‘Hurricane’ Carter’s Life Story Is . . .” Guardian, 21 April 2014.
466“The verdict was a stunner”: Letter from NA to Lyle Silbert, Lyle Silbert Papers, University of Chicago Library.
466Nelson visited Carter: This account of NA’s meeting with Carter comes from NA’s unpublished nonfiction Carter manuscript, NA Collection.
468“I’ve gone this far with it”: Jim Gallagher, “Literary ‘Exile’ Is Pleasant for Algren,” Chicago Tribune, 29 March 1977.
THE DEVIL’S STOCKING
469Nelson and Page had known: Interview of Geraldine Page, BD Papers.
470learned where Groening was: Personal Interview of RG, 2 August 2014.
470a New York City homicide detective: Interview of Roy Finer, BD Papers.
470boarded a bus in downtown Hackensack: This account of Nelson’s meeting with Breslin comes from “The Man in the $20 Hotel Room,” anthologized in Jimmy Breslin, The World According to Breslin (New York: Ticknor & Fields, 1984).
471applied for a Guggenheim: Guggenheim application, BD Papers.
474Nelson sent his manuscript: Letter from NA to Candida Donadio, NA Collection.
474publisher at Arbor House, Donald Fine: Letter from Donald Fine to Candida Donadio, BD Papers.
475He was alone for the holidays: Interview of Roy Finer, BD Papers.
475Nelson’s room: 461-1: Hospital visitor’s pass, courtesy of JH.
475“How the hell did you find me?”: Interview of Roy Finer, BD Papers.
476called him a “cheap SOB”: A Life on the Wild Side, p. 372.
476“You,” Cormac McCarthy had written: Letter from Cormac McCarthy to NA, NA Collection.
476Oyster Bay, Cold Spring Harbor: “Respite from the Wild Side,” Newsday, 22 January 1981.
477Herman put Nelson and Weissner in touch: Letters from Weissner to NA, courtesy of JH.
477Nelson found a payphone: This account comes from Joe Pintauro, “Nelson Algren’s Last Year,” Chicago magazine, 1 February 1988.
“THE END IS NOTHING, THE ROAD IS ALL”
479a German film crew: Algren in Sag Harbor, directed by Wolf Wondratschek, courtesy of JH.
479But by Christmas: This account comes from Kaylie Jones, Lies My Mother Never Told Me (New York: William Morrow, 2009), pp. 76–78.
480On April 9, Nelson made his way: This account of NA’s visit to the academy comes from “Nelson Algren Meets the Literary Establishment,” Newsday, 7 June 1981.
481“I didn’t know I was running”: This account of NA’s interview of Weatherby comes from The Devil’s Stocking, pp. 9–12.
482alone in his little house: A Life on the Wild Side, p. 376.
483Roy Finer arrived: This account comes from Jan Herman, Ticket to New Jersey (Impromptu Editions, 2014), pp. 22–24.
483Nelson was buried: “Algren Burial among Old Whalers,” Chicago Sun-Times, 12 May 1981.
483woman with bright red hair: Personal interview of Kat Tatlock, 11 February 2015.
483Pintauro stepped forward: “Nelson Algren’s Last Year.”
INDEX
Page numbers listed correspond to the print edition of this book. You can use your device’s search function to locate particular terms in the text.
Page numbers in italics refer to illustrations.
Page numbers after 492 refer to endnotes.
Aaron, Abraham, 102–4, 114, 141, 147
and Communist Party, 103–4, 140, 142–43
in later years, 170, 432
and war, 168, 169
and WPA, 137
Aaron, Chester, About Us, 140n
Abraham, Abraham, 7n
Abraham, Bernice (sister of Nelson), 17, 22, 23, 33
illness and death of, 159, 171–72, 174, 175
leaving home, 36–37
marriage (Joffe) and family of, 40–41, 59, 99, 129, 159
and Nelson, 31–32, 45, 47, 159, 171
as role model, 32
Abraham, Gershom (son of Isaac):
as craftsman, 17
and his father, 14–16
as machinist, 14
name change of, see Abraham, Gerson
as Nelson’s father, 17
teen years of, 12
work at Columbian Exposition, 13–14, 26, 98
Abraham, Gerson (father of Nelson):
and Bernice, 171–72
death of, 174–75
and Depression, 98–99, 127–28
and family, 16, 17
garage run by, 33, 35–36, 59, 98, 380
as hard worker, 20–22, 33, 35, 45, 98
marriage to Goldie, 16, 37, 99, 127–28
move to Chicago, 18–22
name change of, 16
and Nelson, 25–27, 31–32, 35–36, 43–45
Abraham, Golda “Goldie” (wife of Gerson), 286
aging and death of, 393–94
and Bernice, 171–72
dissatisfaction of, 21–22, 33
and Gerson’s death, 174–75
and Isaac, 51–52
marriage to Gerson, 16, 37, 99, 127–28
and Nelson’s breakdown, 117–18
as Nelson’s mother, 17, 22–23, 25, 37, 51, 208, 209, 220, 382, 393–94, 400
parents of, 16
Abraham, Irene (sister of Nelson), 16, 22, 23, 33, 36, 66, 86, 172, 394
Abraham, Isaac Ben (grandfather of Nelson):
death of, 15, 17, 404–5n
as described in Algren’s interview, 404–5
family abandoned by, 10, 12, 15
Gershom’s antipathy to, 14–16
grifter instincts of, 10, 17
in Israel, 11
as itinerant preacher, 12
marriage to Jette, 7-8n, 9
move to Chicago, 9
move to Minnesota Territory, 8–9
move to New York City, 7–8, 51–52
name change from Ahlgren to, 7, 8, 51
return to US, 12
as Zionist, 10, 11
Abraham, Jette Scheuer (wife of Isaac):
children of, 10–11, 12, 15, 16
in Israel, 11
marriage of Isaac and, 7–8n, 9
money of, 51–52
move to Indiana, 11–12
widowhood of, 405n
Abraham, Moses (son of Isaac), 10, 17
work at Columbian Exposition, 13–14
Abraham, Nelson Algren, see Algren, Nelson
Abraham, Rosa (daughter of Jette), 16–17
abstract expressionism, 356
Acord, Art, 93
Adams, John Quincy, 312
Addams, Jane, 298
Advertiser (Montgomery, Alabama), 182
African Lion, The (Disney film), 350
Agee, James, 319
“Agent Z,” 314–15
Ahlgren, Nils (grandfather of Nelson), 6–7, 17, 405n, 497
name change of, 7, 8, 51
see also Abraham, Isaac Ben
Ahlgren family, 6–17
Albany Park, Illinois, 33, 36, 38, 39, 42–43
Algren, Amanda (first wife of Nelson), see Kontowicz, Amanda Leocadia
Algren, Betty Ann Bendyk (second wife of Nelson), 420–25, 428, 429, 436
Algren, Nelson,
xi, 98, 379
aging, 431–32, 433, 434, 437, 441, 457, 463, 476, 478
and Amanda, 128–31, 133, 138–40, 189–91, 196–97, 213–14, 240, 287, 307, 328, 352, 361
and Amanda, marriage, 140, 157–59, 163, 191, 309
and Amanda, remarriage, 293, 294, 308–11, 316–17, 360
in the army as Private Abraham, 192–204, 192
arrests of, 92, 93–97, 101, 152
Asian trip of, 398–99, 401–2, 414, 417
balance sought by, 437–38
and baseball, 27, 34
and basketball, 38–40, 380
and Bays, see Bays, Paula
and Beauvoir, see Beauvoir, Simone de
and Betty, 421–25, 428, 429, 436
birth and early years of, 3, 5–6, 17, 18–34, 18
breakdowns of, xv, 115–17, 119, 121, 127, 163, 232n, 360–63, 372
Brewster County jail and trial of, 94–97, 101, 106, 110n
and brothels, 53–54
as carnival shill, 76
and Carter case, 448–53, 459, 460, 462, 463–68, 472–75, 481
and censorship, 91, 109, 290, 300, 352, 356
and changes in publishing industry, 380–83, 393, 399
and college, 45, 47–51, 52–57, 134
and Communist Party, xiv–xv, 102, 120, 133-34, 143, 146, 169, 198n, 199, 290, 314–15, 360, 405–6, 432
on conformity, 306
critical response to works of, xvi, 320, 481; see also specific novels
death of, xvi, 482–84
desire to escape, 325, 347–49, 352–53, 363, 389
discharge from the army, 207–9
and divorce, 214, 325, 327, 336, 340–41, 352, 359, 429
early writing efforts of, 32–33
fame of, xiii, 4, 90, 222, 264, 279, 286–87, 308, 344, 370–71, 423
family background of, 6–17
FBI investigations of, xiv–xv, 4, 169, 198–99, 313–16, 359, 360, 364, 365, 420, 436, 486, 493
feeling his life was collapsing, 329–30, 335, 349, 350, 360–61
gambling, 202, 241, 321, 325, 359, 372, 395–98, 395, 427–29, 486
Gary, Indiana, cottage of, 291–92, 293–95, 297, 308
gregariousness of, 50–51, 478–79
heart attack of, 475
and his father, 17, 25–27, 31–32, 35–36, 43–45
and his grandfather, 52, 404–5
and his mother, 17, 22–23, 25, 37, 51, 208, 209, 220, 382, 393–94, 400
in Hollywood, 280–84, 308, 317, 330–36
honors and awards to, xiii, xiv, 230, 250, 266, 277, 284–85, 313, 358, 371, 447, 468, 480
and Illinois Writers’ Project, 136–38, 144, 145–46, 154, 162, 174, 184
influence of, xiii–xiv, 146, 409, 414–16, 476
interviews with, 5, 277, 307–8, 330n, 341n, 343–45, 357n, 370–71, 377, 402, 403–9, 415, 460, 471, 476, 479, 481–82
isolation of, 48, 50, 51, 254–55, 304, 308, 317, 335, 412–13, 431, 478
as a Jew, 48n
jobs held by, 130, 131, 136, 184, 185, 424
and John Reed Club, 90–91, 100–102, 133
journalism career chosen by, 56–57, 68, 371, 393, 406, 429, 433, 472
and Kentucky Derby, 372–74
and League of American Writers, 118–19, 120, 133, 139, 146, 152–53, 170–71, 314
legacy of, 5, 232n, 400, 404, 479, 485–87
luck running out, 324, 359–60, 365
in Marseille, 203–4
media appearances of, 383
memorial to, 485–87
and money, 246, 320–21, 325, 328, 329, 332, 335, 345–46, 358–59, 360, 361, 367, 370, 371–72, 374, 380–82, 423, 424, 434–35, 477, 481
Moscow trials defended by, 143, 153, 258, 315
move to Chicago, 167–68; see also Chicago
name changes of, 101, 194–95, 198
new public persona of, 382–83, 404, 408–9
novels as a single literary project, 337–38, 355
novels by, see specific titles
paranoia of, xv, 120, 312–13, 350, 355, 365, 374, 387, 392
in Paris with Beauvoir, 261–63, 385–90
passport application approved, 383, 384, 388, 389
passport denied to, xv, 312–13, 314, 315, 320, 328, 346, 352–53, 359, 360, 364, 429
in Paterson, 452–55, 459–64
people watching; collecting material, 130, 132, 135–36, 139, 153–54, 156, 157, 159, 160–61, 180, 187, 189, 207, 212, 219, 233–36, 246–47, 327
and photo book about Chicago, 287, 297, 324
plunge into icy lagoon, 366–69, 371
poetry by, see Algren, Nelson, short stories and poetry of
political risks taken by, 256–57, 268, 289–90, 303, 305–7, 313, 314, 407
on the power of writing, 90, 104, 189, 400, 408
in psychiatric hospital, 117–18
on the purposes of writing, 135, 136, 188–89, 258–59, 306–7, 408
reading, 32, 48–49, 134–35
rearrangements in social life of, 382
reckless living of, 320–21, 408–9
and Red Scare, xiv, 169, 256–58, 268, 287, 289–90, 303, 304, 305, 326, 365, 382–83, 406, 486
return home, 128, 209
on the road, 63, 66–68, 75–76, 86, 87–89, 90, 204, 307, 325, 327–30, 343, 347–49, 350, 352, 353, 400–402
schooling of, 23, 33, 37, 45–46, 405
self-blame of, 365, 371
short stories by, see Algren, Nelson, short stories and poetry of
and Sinclair gas station, 72–75, 80, 327, 445
Stoicism of, 48–49, 51, 52, 57, 63, 134
stories and lies about, xv, 114, 127, 486
teaching writing workshops, 340, 341, 381, 415, 424–29, 452
teen years of, 37–46
titles chosen by, 175n, 250, 260
typewriter taken by, 92, 95–96
urge to write, 77–79, 88, 204, 212
Vietnam tour of, 433–36
and Vietnam War, 425, 426, 427, 429–31
work available to, 286–87; absence of, 297
on writing as futile activity, 322, 366–67
writing as sanctuary to, 329
writing Chicago tetralogy, 136, 153, 159–61
writing course taught by, 286–87
writing ideas of, 214–15, 219, 246, 320
writing letters, 75–76, 80, 94
writing style of, xi–xiii, 34, 55, 78, 81, 88–89, 106, 130, 133–34, 135–36, 147, 174, 180, 183, 222, 236, 301, 325, 338, 344, 356–57, 374, 390–93, 417, 423, 443, 472
Algren, Nelson, short stories and poetry of:
“American Diary,” 91
“Art of Fiction No. 11,” 75n
“Ballet for Opening Day,” 445
“Blanche Sweet under the Tapioca,” 511
“Bullring of the Summer Night,” 443–44
“Dark Came Early in That Country,” 442–43
“Depend on Aunt Elly,” 221
“Design for Departure,” 216
“Do It the Hard Way,” 188–89
in glossy magazines, 381, 414
“The Heroes,” 216
“Home and Goodnight,” 161–62
“How Long Blues,” 123
“I Never Hollered Cheezit the Cops,” 445
“Is Your Name Joe?,” 221–22
“The Last Carousel,” 75n, 445
“The Lonesome Hermit,” 33
“Moon of the Arfy Darfy,” 444
poetry by, 91, 123, 161–62
“Previous Days,” 243-44n
short stories by, 190, 215–16, 417, 442–47
“So Help Me,” 75n, 77–81, 85, 89, 101–2, 130, 135, 212; see also Neon Wilderness
“That’s the Way It’s Always Been,” 216
“Watch Out for Daddy,” 444–45
“What Country Do You Think You’re In?,” 445
Ali, Muhammad, 465
Alpine, Texas, Algren in, 88–92, 94, 9
6–97, 364
Alsberg, Henry, 156
America Eats (Illinois Writers’ Project), 146n
American Academy and [National] Institute of Arts and Letters, xiii, 230, 447, 480–81
American Century, 211, 276, 306, 393
American Dream, 211, 325
American Mercury, 109
American Writers’ Congress:
First, 118–20, 147–48
Second, 141, 148, 152
Ames, Elizabeth, 121
Anderson, Alston, 343–45, 415
Anvil, The: Stories for Workers, 77, 81–82, 84, 103, 109, 148, 258
Appel, Ben, 326
Aptheker, Herbert, 195–96
Documentary History of the Negro People, 195n
Arbor House Publishing, 474, 475, 486
Artis, John, 449–53, 460, 464–66, 472
Asch, Nathan, 121
Aswell, Edward, 171, 172, 175–76, 184, 185, 198, 215
Atlantic, The, 433, 435
Attica prison uprising (1971), 472
Avon Books, 250, 264, 358n
Baez, Joan, 3, 380
Bair, Deirdre, 228n
Balch, Jack, 120
Baldwin, James, 402, 418
Ballantine Books, 358, 359n
Banks, Russell, xiii, 415–16
Barrymore, John, 162
Barthelme, Donald, 480
Barzun, Jacques, 480
Battle of Redwood Ferry, 9
Bays, John, 279, 287, 302, 304
Bays, Paula, 380
Algren’s attempts to help, 243–45, 279
Algren’s relationship with, 287, 294–95, 302–3, 309, 317, 370
in “Blanche Sweet Under the Tapioca,” 511
and drugs, 243–45, 294, 304
and John, 279, 287, 302, 304
lifestyle of, 235–36, 243
and Man with the Golden Arm, 332
as “Margo,” 235n, 243–44n, 511
new husband of, 370
novel planned about life of, 324, 326, 341, 344n, 370n, 429, 445
in “Previous Days,” 243–44n
and Tabet, 303–4, 316–17
Beauvoir, Simone de, 5, 224–33, 380, 414
affair of Algren and, 227–30, 231–33, 236–40, 246, 250, 251–54, 255, 260–65, 290–93, 308, 386–88, 389, 406–7, 423, 482
After the War: Force of Circumstance, Vol. I, 228n, 387, 406
and Algren’s aging, 387–88
Algren’s book dedication to, 391
Algren’s visit (1959) with, 383–90
on Algren’s writing, xiv, 229
America Day by Day, 228n, 237n, 239, 240
correspondence with, 4, 236–38, 287, 317, 325, 379, 383–84, 424
fame of, 264
influence of, 389
