Happy Death Day, F. Scott Fitzgerald

“The following day, as Scott ate a candy bar and made notes in his newly arrived Princeton Alumni Weekly, Ms. Graham saw him jump from his armchair, grab the mantelpiece, gasp, and fall to the floor. She ran to the manager of the building, Harry Culver, founder of Culver City. Upon entering the apartment and assisting Scott, he stated, “I’m afraid he’s dead.” Fitzgerald died of a massive heart attack. His body was removed to the Pierce Brothers Mortuary.”

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Taking Another Stab at Gatsby

My experiences with Baz Luhrmann films: 1996: took my high school girlfriend to see Romeo + Juliet, hated the movie, and got no play. 2002: got drunk and fell asleep watching Moulin Rouge, but had “Lady Marmalade” stuck in my head for days. Today, 2010: It was announced last month that Luhrmann acquired the rites to The Great Gatsby and I’m just now reading about this??? Tomorrow, 2010:  I will wake up the same bitter and jaded bastard that I […]

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Bites: PEN’s Spelling Bee, Fitzgerald’s Taxes, Whitman’s Jeans, Obama the Comic, France Hates Scientology, and more

Last night at Le Poisson Rouge, some of New York’s biggest writers got together for a spelling bee to benefit PEN American center’s literary journal, PEN America and the release of their eleventh issue, “Make Believe.” Lit. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s tax returns.(Thanks, The Rumpus) Whoa, another e-reader from Barnes & Noble?  I’m totally confused. Today, we’re tackling e-readers and book reading, I guess.  First, Book Bench with Bruce McCalls’ new book Fifty Things to do with a Book (Now that […]

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Bites: Poe and Balloon Boy, Roth Interviewed, Fitzgerald’s taxes, Kim Gordon’s art, and more

Did you ever think there was a Balloon Boy and Edgar Allan Poe link?  Did you care? Philip Roth gives an interview over on The Daily Beast.  Holy shite. Apparently hipsters hate trivia night, but we proved that nerds don’t, and the good folks as  L Magazine filmed it. Lit. The Mexican government kept an eye on Gabriel García Márquez, thinking he was a Colombian spy. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s taxes. I’m interested. How to survive as a writer in the […]

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Bites: Fitzgerald’s penis, remembering Frank McCourt, Dave Eggers is popular, mad props, and Huxley on vacation

“if a descendant of F. Scott Fitzgerald demands the removal of the chapter in “A Moveable Feast” about the size of Fitzgerald’s penis…” There is more controversy about Scribner letting Hemingway’s grandson rework A Moveable Feast, and it has yielded that great quote above. Salon remembers Frank McCourt. Time interviews Dave Eggers. John Darnielle gives mad props to Brandon Stousy’s metal column over at Pitchfork. I love the title “Huxley packed light and would’ve love-hated the internet“. Tobias at The […]

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