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 | All news stories tagged with: #american author #rare glimpse


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 | All news stories tagged with: #young writer #work showcases #essay form


Remembering Joan Bingham

Joan Bingham was a good friend, a hard-working colleague, and a wonderful partner in Grove Atlantic. Starting with a phone call in the spring of 1992, she set in motion the events that led to the merger of Grove Weidenfeld and Atlantic Monthly Press to create this mid-sized independent literary... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-13 09:48:41 UTC ]
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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 Mike Shatzkin: Book Industry Commentator

Longtime consultant, book-business analyst, and conference producer Mike Shatzkin has died in New York City at age 77. The post Remembering Mike Shatzkin: Book Industry Commentator appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-11-07 19:14:00 UTC ]
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The University of Cincinnati Press to Shut Down Operations

The University of Cincinnati Press will shut down operations on June 25 as the University of Cincinnati is withdrawing financial support. The press's scholarly list will transfer to the University of Minnesota and its regional interest list will transfer to Ohio State University. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-10-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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“Brilliant, Unquiet Minds.” Remembering the Writers Who Struggled With Their Demons

It was raining the day I met Elizabeth Wurtzel. She arrived at our offices wrapped in a wool scarf. I was a newly minted editor at Houghton Mifflin, and we were considering her memoir on depression, then titled “I Feel So Down I Want to Die.” She apologized for being late. She fished in her […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-10-02 08:55:10 UTC ]
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Russian Newspaper Sobesednik Suspends Operations After Being Labeled ‘Foreign Agent’

The Sobesednik publishing house in Russia suspended production at all of its outlets for up to three months, including its popular newspaper, following a decision by authorities to place the company on the list of "foreign agents," Yelena Milchanovska, a Sobesednik... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2024-09-19 11:51:00 UTC ]
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2024 In Memoriam: Children's Book Creators and Publishers Remembered

We pay tribute to the authors, illustrators, and publishing professionals we have lost so far this year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-07-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
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