James Purdy (July 17, 1914-March 13, 2009)

I became aware of James Purdy’s work shortly before his death in 2009. Not knowing exactly where to begin, I decided to begin at the beginning with his collection of short stories titled, Don’t Call Me By My Right Name (subsequently published with his first novella 63: Dream Palace as Color of Darkness (New Directions, 1961)). I haven’t been so enamored with a short story collection in a very long while. Having recently picked up a copy of The Complete Short Stories of James Purdy (Liveright, 2013), I look forward to reading more of his work. Wired for Books has posted some very good interviews with Purdy conducted by Don Swaim in the 1980s.

This post originally appeared in slightly different form  on FritzPeters.info, April 18, 2009. 

The Book of the Year by Fritz Peters

New York:  Harper & Bros., 1950

After the tremendously successful The World Next Door, Fritz Peters took a break from writing adult fiction and produced a wonderful children's book. The Book of the Year is about country life and is told from 12 perspectives, one for each month. Fritz, by turns,  tells the story of the house, the brook, the crocus, the grass, the tree, the rain, the sun, the wheat, the fire, the wind, the cricket and the Christmas tree. The writing is poetic and paints pictures that are enhanced by the wonderful illustrations by Ilonka Karasz.

The Book of the Year was marketed as a children's book, however as an adult, I found it to be one of the most engaging children's books I've seen. What I found so compelling about the work was that each of the chapters can stand alone and the story that is being told is so interconnected, you could begin reading anywhere in the book. As well, the illustrations by Ilonka Karasz work so well with the text. "Her aim was to illustrate the book in such a way that the drawings would be an extension of the emotion and visual elements of the text, rather than an interpretation of the events." (dustjacket) In this endeavor, Ms. Karasz was completely successful.

New York : Lion Press, 1966

A second edition was released by The Lion Press in 1966 under the title, All the Year 'Round: The Book of the Year. It includes the same text as was in the 1st edition, but was re-illustrated by Nancy Grossman. The new illustrations work well with the text, but are quite different in feeling than the originals. The most striking difference is that the new edition has two illustrations per chapter, while the original had a single illustration. Ms. Karasz, in the 1950 edition was able to convey nearly all of the imagery from the text in a single image. Part of the joy of her artwork is trying to find all of the little things that she managed to include. The Grossman illustrations, while adequate, don't convey that level of detail.

When I first discovered that Fritz Peters had written a children's book, I was puzzled. His adult fiction was so intense, I wondered why he chose to write this book. After reading The Book of the Year, I think that it was less about writing a children's book and more about writing something poetic and spiritual. Understanding how humans relate to each other and the other aspects of nature and seeing the interdependencies all living things rely upon is a deeply spiritual vision. All of Fritz's writings, I feel were used to tell his truths. This book is no different. If there is anything that we should gain from reading this book it is that we are all connected. And that is a beautiful thing.

This post originally appeared in slightly different form  on FritzPeters.info, January 17, 2010. 

All Things Human by Stuart Benton (George Sylvester Viereck)

New York: Sheridan House, 1949

Viereck is probably more well known for his  autobiographical pulp, Men Into Beasts which detailed his imprisonment from 1942 to 1947 for his Nazi sympathies and his work as a correspondent for a Nazi publication.

All Things Human is the story of Stuart Kent, a banker in Midmetropolis, who ends up on the wrong side of a powerful politician. The day after he has sex with his secretary, he is arrested for her murder. His lawyer is more interested in Kent's wife than he is in defending him.

It's a bit sensational and trashy but at the same time shows the fluidity of sexuality, in and out of prison. It's about having everything, losing it all and finding yourself in the process.

Bibliographies & Ratings: Cory (III); Garde (OTP, a, **); Mattachine Review (III); Young (260)