A life of flannery oconnor, which was a national book critics circle award finalist, a new york times notable book of the year, and a new york times bestseller. His 2015 memoir smash cut recounts life in 1970s and 1980s new york city. Follow new york times books on facebook, twitter and instagram, sign up for our newsletter or our literary calendar. Suggested reading from critics and editors at the new york times. It has often been held that the lack is due to a paucity of heroes among us, or else that modern. In a new memoir, brad gooch recalls gay new york in the heady and turbulent 1970s and early 80s, a time of promiscuity and elebration that quickly turned to fear, paranoia, and anguish.
February 27, 1949 tragedy and the common man by arthur miller n this age few tragedies are written. This philosophy is a yearround commonsense approach. Gooch is currently a professor of english at william paterson university in new jersey. An irreverent escapade is a 1955 novel by american author patrick dennis chronicling the madcap adventures of a boy, patrick, growing up as the ward of the sister of his dead father, his aunt mame dennis the book. Book 1 of the fair city files, is a kirkus best books. The nobelwinning economist who wants you to read more fiction.
If a library is to have only one book on flannery oconnor, this should be it. The acclaimed new york times bestselling author of smash cut, flannery, and city poet delivers the first popular biography of rumi, the thirteenthcentury persian poet revered by contemporary western. Finding comfort in the classics the new york times. A life of flannery oconnor into the following lists. The life of the sufi poet of love harper, 2017 and rumi. I suppose i can always come back to them in 50 years if i live that long, and if civilization still persists. Oneills parents moved around much in oneills youth.
Gooch anthony cushing tony, born december 3, 1937, amarillo, tx, died of complications from cancer at his home in manhattan on january 24, 2017. We use cookies to recognize your repeat visits and preferences, as. Smash cut is an eloquent, deeply felt exploration of love and ambition in dangerous times. Jennifer gooch hummer is the awardwinning author and screenwriter for her debut novel, girl unmoored, which has been optioned for film. A life of flannery oconnor, published in 2009, chose the oconnors own words as the book s epigraph. Gooch, whose literary output includes biographies of frank ohara and flannery oconnor, three novels and other nonfiction, leads a far more stable and traditional life than that of his.
Brad gooch, the author of the acclaimed city poet, returns with a searing memoir of life in 1980s new york city. But brad gooch s biography strives to make it all quite normal under the circumstances. As for biographies, there wont be any biographies of. Book excerpt ablock, probably the largest freestanding cellblock in the world, is 588 feet long, twelve feet shy of the length of two football fields. Gooch s biography of flannery oconnor is a beautiful testament to one of the greatest shortstory writers of the 20th century.
Gooch, a novelist and poet whose books also include flannery. A life of flannery oconnor, aims to produce a continuous biographical narrative out of rumis life and to make his spiritual journey intelligible to the people who buy the watereddown version of rumi printed on shower curtains. Gooch traces this epic journey from central asia, where rumi was born in 1207, traveling with his family, displaced by mongol terror, to settle in konya, turkey. Gooch charts the progress of brookner through his illness, and writes unforgettably about endings. New york times ten best books of 2009 are in fiction. Sally rooneys attention span has improved the new york times. The life of the sufi poet of love by brad gooch new york times bestselling author of flannery, by brad gooch on. Jane gross the new old age blog the new york times. The life and times of frank ohara, he would seem a curious choice to address the theological tragicomic thickets of her work and brave the vast repository of oconnoriana. In this breakthrough biography, brad gooch brilliantly brings to life the man and puts a face to the name rumi, vividly coloring in his time and placea world as rife with conflict as our own. The temptation to hang up was trumped by knowing id only have to start over.
The national book critics circle announced the finalists for its 2009 book awards on saturday night at housing works bookstore cafe in new york. New york times 100 notable books of 2009 fiction and nonfiction. Anthony gooch obituary new york, ny new york times. Brad gooch s 1988 novel scary kisses is a chronicle of the career of model todd from his discovery through his ensuing season as the new face in milan, paris, and new york.
Editors and writers on the books desk along with colleagues from the newsroom recommend some timetested books that offer escape. Joseph oneill was born in cork, ireland, on 23 february 1964. A life of flannery oconnor, which was a finalist for a national book critics circle award in biography, a new york. Gooch is a stylish writer and his crisp, cinematic dialogue keeps scary kisses from becoming just another peek at the lurid sex lives of those who have enlisted in the glamour professionsan utterly realistic and classy chronicle of their type and time. A life of flannery oconnor little, brown, 2009, which was a national book critics circle award finalist, a new york times notable book of the year, and a new york times bestseller. Authoritatively ranked lists of books sold in the united states, sorted by format and genre. Some years ago, shortly after i came to the times, i overheard a colleague disparaging flannery oconnors fiction. Gooch, whose literary output includes biographies of frank ohara and flannery oconnor, three novels and other nonfiction, leads a far more stable and traditional life than that of his youth. Far from simply writing the story of oconnors life, gooch. Brad gooch and maryam mortaz, everymans library, 2019.
In the gritty new york of the 70s and 80s, not exactly a. Janet maslin, new york times goochs biography is a marvel of concision but skimps on nothing if oconnors writing glows with edged comic genius, biographer gooch is himself no slouch. Witty, obsessed and almost inhumanly brave, flannery oconnor was peculiar, her work even more so. The acclaimed new york times bestselling author of smash cut, flannery, and city poet delivers the first popular biography of rumi, the thirteenthcentury persian poet revered by. Brad gooch is a poet, novelist, and biographer, whose most recent books are rumis secret. Gooch and his boyfriend howard brookner met nine years after, and one block away. A history of the morbid, musical, quarrelsome, brilliant wittgensteins. New york times 100 notable books of 2009 fiction and. Gooch, who reaffirms the discerning taste he demonstrated in his 1993 biography of the poet frank ohara, is an unusually patient acolyte. National book critics circle finalists are announced the. The board and staff of the new york botanical garden offer their condolences to florence davis, a dear friend and garden trustee, on the death of her husband, anthony gooch.
His 2015 memoir smash cut recounts life in 1970s and 1980s new york city, including the time gooch spent. I know of no books written by zombies, the title character of brad gooch s new novel giddily. Brad gooch arrived in new york in the 1970s, eager for artistic and personal freedom. Rankings on weekly lists reflect sales for the week. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of stats perform is strictly prohibited. Brad gooch is a poet, novelist, and biographer, whose most recent book is rumis secret. A life of flannery oconnor, aims to produce a continuous biographical narrative out of rumis life and to make his. He first expressed interest in writing an oconnor biography nearly three decades. But brad gooch s biography strives to make it all quite normal under the circumstances, of course.
1451 431 760 1294 699 197 1071 1134 581 702 1414 286 402 236 1292 1386 1279 1185 396 1130 737 1416 333 450 355 1320 993 1075 1585 1553 1233 474 329 886 370 181 1209 854 124 1039 1456 380 270