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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What I Write in My Journal is Just for Me (It is Not My Memoir)

I wrote in my journal this morning. I am not going to disclose its contents to you here, on this page, on Beyoncé’s internet. What I write in my journal, its unfiltered stream of consciousness, is just for me. A memoir is not a journal. * Also this morning: I wrote up to the very […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-28 08:57:23 UTC ]
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“Eclectic, Refreshingly Wild, and Important.” Exploring the Archives of America’s Best Literary Journals

The 28th issue of Kayak—a literary magazine edited and published by George Hitchcock out of Santa Cruz, California—appeared in 1972. The issue includes mostly poetry, as well as a few book reviews, a work of verse fiction, collages, illustrations lifted from old books and manuals, and an acerbic... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-19 08:57:28 UTC ]
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Albert Whitman's Joseph Campbell Dies at 52

Albert Whitman business director Joseph Campbell, who spent his entire career at the Chicagoland children's publishing house, died on August 5. He was 52 years old. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-08-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Cambridge University Press Announces a Pakistan Studies Journal

The new Pakistan-focused journal is to survey colonialism, nationalism, gender representation, devotion,  popular culture, diaspora, and more. The post Cambridge University Press Announces a Pakistan Studies Journal appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-08-18 20:34:51 UTC ]
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What made Harvey Weinstein a monster? Does it matter?

Ken Auletta widens the lens on the sordid tale and inadvertently humanizes its villain. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-07-15 12:00:17 UTC ]
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Berlin’s Springer Nature: Open Access Up 40 Percent in Transformative Journals

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61 summers of reading: Elinor Lipman recalls the books that mattered

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Washington Post Wins Pulitzer Prize In Public Service Journalism For Jan. 6 Coverage

The Post’s extensive reporting found numerous failures in political systems and security before, during and after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. Continue reading at The Huffington Post

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Why Reading Holocaust Books Written From a Jewish Perspective Matters

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Poetry matters. Two new books remind us why.

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Black Lives Matter Spurs a Publishing Awakening

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Oz editor-in-chief rages against the ‘tearing down’ of News Corp journalism | Weekly Beast

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[ The Guardian | 2022-03-25 03:05:12 UTC ]
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Awards: Mitchell, Mordaunt, Lewis, and Carney Win Parliamentary Awards

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-03-18 19:15:50 UTC ]
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'Wall Street Journal' and its owners hit by cyberattack linked to China

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The longtime journalist recounts the oddball characters and vibrant newsroom of the Washington Star. Continue reading at The Washington Post

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Penguin Michael Joseph scoops Tremelling's fighter pilot memoir

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Lea launches £15k Kickstarter for new short story journal featuring Sarah Hall

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Little Island signs Mitchell's middle-grade novel on Ireland's asylum system

Little Island Books has landed Jane Mitchell's "urgently needed" middle-grade novel on Ireland's asylum-seeker accommodation system. Continue reading at The Bookseller

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Angry Robot Books signs Crittendon novel in its first Black Voices Matter deal

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I used to imagine an Apple event where its c.e.o. Tim Cook would unveil a standalone audiobook app with exclusive audio-only titles available on subscription. Continue reading at The Bookseller

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