Remembering Joan Didion: ‘Her ability to operate outside of herself was unparalleled’

The American author was not only brilliant but also generous and kind to younger writers, writes Emma BrockesThere is that famous photo of Joan Didion, taken in Malibu in 1976, in which she leans on a deck overlooking the beach, cigarette in hand, scotch glass at her elbow, and regards her family – John Dunne, her husband, and their then 10-year-old daughter, Quintana – through lowered, side-long eyes. Like other iconic photos of Didion from the period, she is at one remove from the group, off to the side and in this case, looking not at the camera but at her family as they look at the camera. It’s the pose Didion perfected, in life as in art, and when news of her death at the age of 87 broke on Thursday, it was a shock to see another frame from that sequence surface online. In it, Didion, eyes fixed forward, smiles broadly at the camera in the conventional style – a rare glimpse behind the persona.The paradox of Didion was not unusual among writers, whose confidence is often born of a million anxieties. But her ability to operate outside herself – to measure the gap between inside and out and slyly mock any effort to conceal it – was unparalleled. She was, famously and by her own account, diffident, brittle, runtish, prone to migraines, afraid of the telephone, and as she wrote in the preface to her 1968 collection Slouching Towards Bethlehem, “bad at interviewing people”, apparent deficits that, in Didion’s hands, were of course precisely what permitted her entry to... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2021-12-24 18:44:54 UTC ]
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Remembering Joan Didion: ‘Her ability to operate outside of herself was unparalleled’

The American author was not only brilliant but also generous and kind to younger writers, writes Emma BrockesThere is that famous photo of Joan Didion, taken in Malibu in 1976, in which she leans on a deck overlooking the beach, cigarette in hand, scotch glass at her elbow, and regards her... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-12-24 18:44:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #rare glimpse #american author


Joan Didion Remembered at St. John the Divine

On September 21, hundreds gathered at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine to celebrate the life and work of writer Joan Didion, who died on December 23, 2021, at the age of 87. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-09-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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PEN's Joan Didion event lacked just one thing: Joan Didion

PEN Center USA's 23rd annual literary awards festival went off without a hitch on Monday night -- except for the fact that its lifetime achievement award winner, Joan Didion, was not in attendance.PEN Center USA's 23rd annual literary awards festival went off without a hitch at the Beverly Hills... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Review: ‘The Year of Magical Thinking’ Gets Joan Didion’s Intention Just Right

A play based on the writer’s memoir about the death of her husband, in its first New York revival, goes small to powerful effect. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-11-02 23:00:05 UTC ]
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The essential Joan Didion: An L.A. Times reading list for newcomers and fans alike

The author, who died Thursday, produced decades' worth of memorable work. Here's our guide to starting — or continuing — your Didion journey. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-12-23 21:24:38 UTC ]
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Joan Didion, American journalist and author, dies at age 87

The unsparing observer of US culture, politics and public life won huge acclaim for her memoir The Year of Magical Thinking• Read Alex Clark’s interview with Joan Didion from February 2021• Obituary: Joan DidionJoan Didion, the eminent journalist, author and anthropologist of contemporary... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-12-23 17:19:56 UTC ]
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Joan Didion, who chronicled American decadence and hypocrisy, dies at 87

Her novels and essays explored the agitated, fractured state of the nation’s psyche. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-12-23 17:15:33 UTC ]
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Joan Didion, Revered Journalist and Novelist, Dies at 87

Joan Didion, one of the most widely respected journalists and writers of the latter half of 20th century, has died due to complications from Parkinson’s disease. She was 87. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-12-23 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Joan Didion’s ‘Let Me Tell You What I Mean’ shows a writer ahead of her time

Didion’s writing has often revealed what was previously hidden, parsed what was unconscious. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-02-09 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Joan Didion commands the essay form in ‘Let Me Tell You What I Mean’

A collection of Didion's work showcases her evolution as a young writer and exhibits her preoccupation with understanding the world through writing. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2021-02-01 23:55:55 UTC ]
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Joan Didion commands the essay form in ‘Let Me Tell You What I Mean’

A collection of Didion's work showcases her evolution as a young writer and exhibits her preoccupation with understanding the world through writing. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2021-02-01 23:55:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #essay form #work showcases #young writer


A new collection of Joan Didion’s work reminds us that she is her most memorable character

The Library of America’s “Joan Didion: The 1960s & 70s” highlights some of the author’s finest writing Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2019-11-07 15:00:00 UTC ]
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Discovering the screenplay of Joan Didion's 'Play It As It Lays'

Recently, I bought a copy of a 1972 anthology called "Works in Progress" that includes what appears to be the only published screenwriting by Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne. The sample in question features the first 44 pages of "Play It As It Lays," the 1972 film based on Didion's novel of... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Joan Didion documentary is in the works

Didion's nephew Griffin Dunne turned to Kickstarter to fund the film and it's already passed its goal. Didion's work 'The Year of Magical Thinking' won the National Book Award for nonfiction. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Remembering Stephen Rubin, with an Evening of Words and Music

About 200 friends attended a memorial service on Thursday evening at New York’s Metropolitan Club to celebrate the memory of the influential publisher and noted opera buff, who died last October. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-03-01 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Remembering India’s Asoke Ghosh: ‘Friend, Mentor, and Guide’

Called by some 'the father of Indian publishing,' publisher Asoke Ghosh was active in the International Publishers Association's work. The post Remembering India’s Asoke Ghosh: ‘Friend, Mentor, and Guide’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-02-06 23:12:12 UTC ]
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Wonderwell Closes Publishing Operations, Partners with Greenleaf on New Imprint

Hybrid publisher Wonderwell has shut down its publishing operations, and on February 1 will launch a new imprint, Wonderwell Press, as part of the Greenleaf Book Group. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-30 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee on Remembering Earth

Emergence Magazine is an online publication with annual print edition exploring the threads connecting ecology, culture, and spirituality. As we experience the desecration of our lands and waters, the extinguishing of species, and a loss of sacred connection to the Earth, we look to emerging... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-01-22 09:02:59 UTC ]
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