Does it matter if Joseph Mitchell embellished his journalism?

He is long known to have used composite characters and a new biography will reveal more embellishments – but perhaps that’s the magic of his workOver the weekend, the feathers of American literary journalists ruffled lightly in the breeze of a review that appeared in the New York Review of Books. The review, written by longtime New Yorker staff writer Janet Malcolm, was of an upcoming biography of another New Yorker staff writer, Joseph Mitchell, due to be published in the United States on 28 April. Malcolm’s review can be read as a pre-emptive defence of Mitchell’s legacy as one of the giants of American literary journalism. The biographer in question, Thomas Kunkel, has apparently found more evidence of what was already somewhat known: that Mitchell embellished his nonfiction, often condensing characters and facts to smooth out his stories. In one already well-known example, a long piece called Old Mr Flood condenses several men’s stories into the titular Mr Flood. Mitchell admitted this openly in a preface to the book later published under that name.He has mixed up nonfiction with fiction. He has made an unwholesome, almost toxic brew out of the two genres. It is too bad he is dead and can’t be pilloried. Or perhaps it is all right that he is dead, because he is suffering the torments of hell for his sins against the spirit of fact. And so on.Every writer of nonfiction who has struggled with the ditch and the bushes knows what Mitchell is talking about, but few of us... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2015-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Other Publishing stories related to: 'Does it matter if Joseph Mitchell embellished his journalism?'


Does it matter if Joseph Mitchell embellished his journalism?

He is long known to have used composite characters and a new biography will reveal more embellishments – but perhaps that’s the magic of his workOver the weekend, the feathers of American literary journalists ruffled lightly in the breeze of a review that appeared in the New York Review of... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #roman empire


Vliegenthart's book club journal to Mitchell Beazley

Mitchell Beazley has acquired a "book club journal" from vlogger Sanne Vliegenthart Books & Quills, helping readers to get the most out of being part of a book club. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-27 01:37:43 UTC ]
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Breaking News by Alan Rusbridger review – the remaking of journalism and why it matters now

The former Guardian editor details a revolution in journalism. Can it still perform its vital, truth-telling role?Truth is a small word liable to sanctimonious overuse and philosophical dispute, but in its humblest sense of accurate and verifiable information we like to think we know it when we... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What Exactly Was Joseph Mitchell Doing All Those Years at 'The New Yorker'?

He showed up for work, the magazine kept paying him, but he published nothing for over 30 years. One of the great literary mysteries is finally solved. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-04-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Medium Relaunches Matter, Devoted To Long-Form Journalism

An experiment in digital publishing continues to evolve.Medium, the publisher-platform hybrid backed by Twitter cofounder Ev Williams, is relaunching Matter today. As you may recall Matter was a successful Kickstarter project for in-depth reporting that Medium acquired last year.Read Full Story Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2014-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It doesn't matter if collusion is a crime. All that matters is how the House reacts

Charter, which operates as Spectrum since its 2016 merger with Time Warner Cable, is in hot water with New York regulators. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-08-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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OpenAI will train its AI models on the Financial Times' journalism

The Financial Times has become the latest news organization to strike a deal with OpenAI. In a joint announcement on Monday, the Financial Times and OpenAI said that maker of ChatGPT will use the Financial Times’ journalism to train its AI models and collaborate on developing new AI products and... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2024-04-29 17:32:56 UTC ]
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Book Review: Joseph Epstein’s New Memoir and Book of Essays

The editor and essayist Joseph Epstein looks back on his life and career in two new books. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2024-04-22 09:03:39 UTC ]
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Helen Elaine Lee, Joseph Plaster Among 2024 Publishing Triangle Award Winners

The winners of the 36th annual Triangle Awards, which honor the year’s best LGBTQ fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and trans literature published in 2023, were honored at a celebration held at the New School in New York City on April 17. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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How one of the world’s oldest newspapers is using AI to reinvent journalism

Berrow’s Worcester Journal is one of several papers owned by the UK’s second biggest regional news publisher to hire ‘AI-assisted’ reporters On 7 October 1779 a letter appeared in Berrow’s Worcester Journal. “To the printer,” wrote a disgruntled reader. “I take the liberty of informing you and... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-12-28 14:03:33 UTC ]
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PW Notables 2023: Mitchell Kaplan

Mitchell Kaplan has been an influential fixture in publishing since he founded the bookstore chain Books & Books in Miami in 1982. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-12-15 05:00:00 UTC ]
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The 'Wall Street Journal' Drops Its Bestseller Lists

With this past weekend's edition, the 'Journal' has ended running weekly bestseller lists. The paper had carried a total of seven lists. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-11-07 05:00:00 UTC ]
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David Mitchell, Weekly Editor Who Exposed a Corrupt Cult, Dies at 79

His tiny California newspaper won a Pulitzer Prize for its exposé of Synanon, a renowned drug rehabilitation program that had turned into a violent operation. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-11-01 21:32:07 UTC ]
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From ancient Jewish texts to AI, a sequence of figures turns matter into meaning

Computer languages are ultimately rendered in ones and zeros, even AI programs. Though this technology is new, the concept it’s hinged on is not. Isaac Asimov’s iconic science fiction collection I, Robot, tells the story of androids created at U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men Inc. The androids... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2023-10-17 06:00:00 UTC ]
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Music, history and courageous journalism: Baillie Gifford prize shortlist announced

Judges praise the final six ‘exquisite and ambitious’ works in contention for the £50,000 award for nonfictionBooks tackling climate change, China, the NHS, European revolutions, ballet and music feature on the shortlist for this year’s Baillie Gifford prize for nonfiction.The six-long list... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-10-08 19:00:48 UTC ]
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Albanese says attacks on Dan Andrews ‘low point in journalism’ as News Corp vitriol continues after resignation

Murdoch papers declare the premier’s electoral popularity was a ‘cult’ and his legacy nothing but a state ‘deep in debt’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastThe Sunday Herald Sun’s front-page photo of the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-09-27 03:28:06 UTC ]
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Why It Matters That Marvel Comics Are Becoming Penguin Classics

This month, Penguin released the three latest titles in its Penguin Classics Marvel Collection. We spoke with the series editor, Ben Saunders, and two authors who wrote forewords to the books, Jerry Craft and Rainbow Rowell, about the importance of enshrining comics in the literary canon. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-09-20 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Métro Média to declare bankruptcy as local journalism takes another hit

Métro Média will declare bankruptcy this week, permanently ending its coverage of local government in parts of the province's two largest cities, the head of the Quebec newspaper publisher said Sunday. Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2023-09-17 21:15:07 UTC ]
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Scientific journal retracts article that claimed no evidence of climate crisis

Publisher Springer Nature says 2022 article ‘not supported by available evidence’ as editors launch investigationOne of the world’s biggest scientific publishers has retracted a journal article that claimed to have found no evidence of a climate crisis.Springer Nature said it had retracted the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-08-25 15:00:14 UTC ]
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Christopher Carduff, 'Wall Street Journal' Books Editor, Dies at 66

Carduff, who was named books editor at the 'Wall Street Journal' in 2017, was also a contributing editor for the Library of America Series and the publishing consultant to John Updike's literary trust. He died on August 14. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-08-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
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