Richard Elman
Encyclopedia
Richard Elman was a novelist, poet, journalist, and teacher. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. His parents were Yiddish-speaking and came to this country at the turn of the 20th century from Russo-Poland. His boyhood is captured in his comic novel Fredi & Shirl & The Kids: An Autobiography In Fables.
At Syracuse University (B. A., 1955), Elman's teachers, Daniel Curley and Donald Dike, encouraged his writing. At Syracuse, Elman met Emily Schorr, who became a painter. They married in 1955, and in 1964 their daughter Margaret was born. The marriage ended in divorce. In 1979, Elman married Alice (Neufeld) Goode, a teacher, who was his wife until his death. Their daughter Lila was born in 1981.
Elman thought of himself as a socialist and his journalism reflected his concerns about social and political injustice.
who taught there.
In the 1930s, Winters had been a friend of David Lamson who had worked at Stanford University Press. Winters defended his friend when Lamson was accused and convicted of killing his wife; after serving time on death row, Lamson's case was re-tried and he was freed after two more trials and hung juries. Elman became familiar with the events, and the crime became the springboard for his novel, An Education In Blood. Winters was portrayed in the novel through the character of Jim Hill.
Elman describes Winters as well as others he met and befriended at Stanford, such as the poet Thom Gunn
and the writer, Tillie Olsen
, in his memoir, Namedropping: Mostly Literary Memoirs.
, as a public affairs director from 1961-64. He helped Bob Fass
, a boyhood friend, get work there. At WBAI, Elman produced radio documentaries, such as a sound montage "The Last Days of Hart Crane
", which featured tape-recorded interviews of people who had been close to the poet during his lifetime. The poet Robert Lowell
, came to the studio to listen to the montage, and later Lowell contributed to a second montage on Ford Madox Ford
's American years.
In 1965, Elman worked as a research associate for the School of Social Work Research Center at Columbia University. His work of non-fiction, The Poorhouse State: The American Way of Life On Public Assistance evolved from those experiences where he spent two years interviewing people on relief in New York's Lower East Side.
In 1967, Elman published another book of reportage Ill-at-Ease in Compton about the mechanisms of discrimination at work in Compton, California, a city with a large lower-middle class population.
Between 1963 and 1966 much of Elman's income was derived from writing freelance pieces for magazines, including Cavalier
, Commonweal
, The Nation
, and The New Republic
. He also reviewed books for The New York Times
.
In 1968, Elman published The 28th Day of Elul, the first of a trilogy of novels, followed by Lilo's Diary (1968) and The Reckoning (1969). Each of the novels tells the same story from a different point of view about the fate of the Yagodahs, a Hungarian family at the end of World War II. Elie Wiesel
said of The 28th Day of Elul in his review for The New York Times: "Born and raised in New York City, Richard M. Elman was barely 10 when the nightmare ended in Europe. Yet he evokes some of its living fragmentary images as though his voice came from within."
In 1968, he signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War.
regime. He traveled on assignment for GEO (magazine)
with the photojournalist Susan Meiselas
and his text accompanied her photos of the Sandinistan rebels. Elman's account of that trip and succeeding visits to Nicaragua are told in his book, Cocktails at Somoza's: A Reporter's Sketchbook.
Throughout the 1980s, Nicaragua colored Elman's imaginative life. His book of poems, In Chontales, his comic novel, The Menu Cypher, and his collection of stories, Disco Frito, are all set in Nicaragua.
His book of poems, Cathedral-Tree-Train (1992) is a brooding, unsentimental but loving elegy for a friend, abstract-expressionist painter Keith Sanzenbach.
Elman died shortly before the publication of his memoir, Namedropping: Mostly Literary Memoirs. The book consists of brief portraits of people he met, including Isaac Bashevis Singer
, Faye Dunaway
, Little Richard Penniman, and Louise Varèse.
At various times over the course of his career, he taught creative writing: at Bennington College (1967-68), Bennington College Summer Writing Workshop (1974-), Columbia University (1968-1976), Sarah Lawrence (1970), The University of Pennsylvania (1981-83), Notre Dame, and Stony Brook University.
NON-FICTION
POETRY
At Syracuse University (B. A., 1955), Elman's teachers, Daniel Curley and Donald Dike, encouraged his writing. At Syracuse, Elman met Emily Schorr, who became a painter. They married in 1955, and in 1964 their daughter Margaret was born. The marriage ended in divorce. In 1979, Elman married Alice (Neufeld) Goode, a teacher, who was his wife until his death. Their daughter Lila was born in 1981.
Elman thought of himself as a socialist and his journalism reflected his concerns about social and political injustice.
Stanford University and its later influence
Elman studied creative writing at Stanford University (M.A. 1957) where he came under the influence of poet and critic Yvor WintersYvor Winters
Arthur Yvor Winters was an American poet and literary critic.-As modernist:Winters's early poetry, which appeared in small avant-garde magazines alongside work by writers like James Joyce and Gertrude Stein, was written in the modernist idiom, and was heavily influenced both by Native American...
who taught there.
In the 1930s, Winters had been a friend of David Lamson who had worked at Stanford University Press. Winters defended his friend when Lamson was accused and convicted of killing his wife; after serving time on death row, Lamson's case was re-tried and he was freed after two more trials and hung juries. Elman became familiar with the events, and the crime became the springboard for his novel, An Education In Blood. Winters was portrayed in the novel through the character of Jim Hill.
Elman describes Winters as well as others he met and befriended at Stanford, such as the poet Thom Gunn
Thom Gunn
Thom Gunn, born Thomson William Gunn , was an Anglo-American poet who was praised both for his early verses in England, where he was associated with The Movement and his later poetry in America, even after moving toward a looser, free-verse style...
and the writer, Tillie Olsen
Tillie Olsen
Tillie Lerner Olsen was an American writer associated with the political turmoil of the 1930s and the first generation of American feminists.-Biography:...
, in his memoir, Namedropping: Mostly Literary Memoirs.
New York and the 1960s
Elman returned to New York and worked for the Pacifica Foundation, WBAIWBAI
WBAI, a part of the Pacifica Radio Network, is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station, broadcasting at 99.5 FM in New York City.Its programming is leftist/progressive, and a mixture of political news and opinion from a leftist perspective, tinged with aspects of its complex and varied...
, as a public affairs director from 1961-64. He helped Bob Fass
Bob Fass
Bob Fass is an American radio personality and pioneer of free-form radio, who has broadcast in the New York region for 40 years....
, a boyhood friend, get work there. At WBAI, Elman produced radio documentaries, such as a sound montage "The Last Days of Hart Crane
Hart Crane
-Career:Throughout the early 1920s, small but well-respected literary magazines published some of Crane’s lyrics, gaining him, among the avant-garde, a respect that White Buildings , his first volume, ratified and strengthened...
", which featured tape-recorded interviews of people who had been close to the poet during his lifetime. The poet Robert Lowell
Robert Lowell
Robert Traill Spence Lowell IV was an American poet, considered the founder of the confessional poetry movement. He was appointed the sixth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress where he served from 1947 until 1948...
, came to the studio to listen to the montage, and later Lowell contributed to a second montage on Ford Madox Ford
Ford Madox Ford
Ford Madox Ford was an English novelist, poet, critic and editor whose journals, The English Review and The Transatlantic Review, were instrumental in the development of early 20th-century English literature...
's American years.
In 1965, Elman worked as a research associate for the School of Social Work Research Center at Columbia University. His work of non-fiction, The Poorhouse State: The American Way of Life On Public Assistance evolved from those experiences where he spent two years interviewing people on relief in New York's Lower East Side.
In 1967, Elman published another book of reportage Ill-at-Ease in Compton about the mechanisms of discrimination at work in Compton, California, a city with a large lower-middle class population.
Between 1963 and 1966 much of Elman's income was derived from writing freelance pieces for magazines, including Cavalier
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
, Commonweal
Commonweal
Commonweal is a American journal of opinion edited and managed by lay Catholics. It is headquartered in The Interchurch Center in New York City.-History:...
, The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
, and The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
. He also reviewed books for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
.
In 1968, Elman published The 28th Day of Elul, the first of a trilogy of novels, followed by Lilo's Diary (1968) and The Reckoning (1969). Each of the novels tells the same story from a different point of view about the fate of the Yagodahs, a Hungarian family at the end of World War II. Elie Wiesel
Elie Wiesel
Sir Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel KBE; born September 30, 1928) is a Hungarian-born Jewish-American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He is the author of 57 books, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a prisoner in the Auschwitz, Buna, and...
said of The 28th Day of Elul in his review for The New York Times: "Born and raised in New York City, Richard M. Elman was barely 10 when the nightmare ended in Europe. Yet he evokes some of its living fragmentary images as though his voice came from within."
In 1968, he signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War.
Nicaragua and the 1970s and 80s
Elman worked as a journalist in Central America, covering the war in Nicaragua against the SomozaSomoza
The Somoza family was an influential political dynasty who ruled Nicaragua as an hereditary dictatorship. Their influence exceeded their combined 43 years in the de facto presidency, as they were the power behind the other presidents of the time through their control of the National Guard...
regime. He traveled on assignment for GEO (magazine)
GEO (magazine)
GEO is a family of educational monthly magazines similar to the National Geographic magazine. It is known for its profound reports, which are accompanied by opulent pictures.The first edition appeared in Germany in 1976...
with the photojournalist Susan Meiselas
Susan Meiselas
Susan Meiselas is an American documentary photographer. She has been associated with Magnum Photos since 1976 and a full member since 1980. Her works have been published in newspapers and magazines including The New York Times, The Times, Time, Geo and Paris Match...
and his text accompanied her photos of the Sandinistan rebels. Elman's account of that trip and succeeding visits to Nicaragua are told in his book, Cocktails at Somoza's: A Reporter's Sketchbook.
Throughout the 1980s, Nicaragua colored Elman's imaginative life. His book of poems, In Chontales, his comic novel, The Menu Cypher, and his collection of stories, Disco Frito, are all set in Nicaragua.
1990s
In his novel Tar Beach, Elman returned to the subject of family life in Brooklyn after World War II. In John Domini's review of the novel, he wrote, "rarely has a slice of life been cut so thin, so elegantly."His book of poems, Cathedral-Tree-Train (1992) is a brooding, unsentimental but loving elegy for a friend, abstract-expressionist painter Keith Sanzenbach.
Elman died shortly before the publication of his memoir, Namedropping: Mostly Literary Memoirs. The book consists of brief portraits of people he met, including Isaac Bashevis Singer
Isaac Bashevis Singer
Isaac Bashevis Singer – July 24, 1991) was a Polish Jewish American author noted for his short stories. He was one of the leading figures in the Yiddish literary movement, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978...
, Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway is an American actress.Dunaway won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Network after receiving previous nominations for the critically acclaimed films Bonnie and Clyde and Chinatown...
, Little Richard Penniman, and Louise Varèse.
At various times over the course of his career, he taught creative writing: at Bennington College (1967-68), Bennington College Summer Writing Workshop (1974-), Columbia University (1968-1976), Sarah Lawrence (1970), The University of Pennsylvania (1981-83), Notre Dame, and Stony Brook University.
Books
FICTION- Tar Beach (1991)
- Disco Frito (1988)
- The Menu Cyper (1982)
- The Breadfruit Lotteries (1980)
- Little Lives (under the pseudonym John Howland Spyker) (1978)
- Crossing Over and Other Tales (1973)
- Fredi & Shirl & The Kids (1972)
- An Education In Blood (1971)
- The Reckoning (1969)
- Lilo's Diary (1968)
- The 28th Day of ElulElulElul is the twelfth month of the Jewish civil year and the sixth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a summer month of 29 days...
(1967) - A Coat for the Tsar (1958)
NON-FICTION
- Namedropping: Mostly Literary Memoirs (1998)
- Cocktails at SomozaSomozaThe Somoza family was an influential political dynasty who ruled Nicaragua as an hereditary dictatorship. Their influence exceeded their combined 43 years in the de facto presidency, as they were the power behind the other presidents of the time through their control of the National Guard...
's: a reporter's sketchbook of events in revolutionary Nicaragua (1981) - Uptight with the Stones: A Novelist's Report (1973)
- Charles BoothCharles Booth (philanthropist)Charles Booth was an English philanthropist and social researcher. He is most famed for his innovative work on documenting working class life in London at the end of the 19th century, work that along with that of Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree influenced government intervention against poverty in the...
's London: A Portrait of the Poor at the Turn of the Century, Drawn from His 'Life and Labor of the People in London' by Albert Fried and Richard M. Elman, editors (1968) - Ill-at-Ease in Compton (1967)
- The Poorhouse State: The American Way of Life on Public Assistance (1966)
POETRY
- Cathedral-Tree-Train and Other Poems (1992)
- In Chontales (1980)
- Homage to Fats Navarro (1978)
- The Man Who Ate New York (1975)
- The Girl from Samos (translation) in Menander: The Grouch, Desperately Seeking Justice, Closely Cropped Locks, The Girl from Samos, and The Shield eds. David Slavitt and Palmer Bovie (1998) ISBN 0-8122-1652-0 (paper)
- The Phoenician Women (translation) in Euripides, 3: Alcestis, Daughters of Troy, The Phoenician Women, Iphigenia at Aulis, and Rhesus eds. David Slavitt and Palmer Bovie (1998)
Further reading
Contemporary Authors Autobiography Series, Volume 3, ed. Adele Sarkissisan, Gale Research Company, Detroit, Michigan, 1986.External links
- http://www.literati.net/Elman http://www.literati.net/Elman