Here at The New Yorker
Here at The New Yorker is a 1975 best-selling book by American writer Brendan Gill, writer and drama critic for The New Yorker magazine.
The book
Published on the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of The New Yorker, Gill's book is a semi-autobiographical memoir built around his time as an
Gill admits in the introduction that his view of his colleagues is at times highly biased. He detested James Thurber, for instance, calling him a "malicious man"[1] who for his own amusement instigated a number of feuds between New Yorker writers, including one between Gill himself and writer John O'Hara over a book review.[2] Despite respecting Harold Ross for his work on the magazine, Gill reveals his "primitive" and "embarrassing" racism, which excluded blacks from even the most menial positions with the magazine and kept black writers and even article subjects out of its pages.[3] His portrait of William Shawn, however, appeared unsound to some reviewers; Gill portrayed Shawn as a gentle and kind man, but also showed Shawn firing an employee simply for displaying mildly bad taste while off duty.[4] Gill also describes Shawn's well-known prudery, including his reactions to the phrase "cow paddies" and to Henry Green's inspiration for his novel Loving,[5] yet refrains from mentioning that for many years Shawn was leading a double life, with a wife and children in the suburbs and a mistress (Lillian Ross, a colleague who later wrote about the affair) and stepson in the city.[6]
Reception
Here at The New Yorker first appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list on March 16, 1975, remaining on the list for sixteen weeks and reaching No. 2 on May 25.[7] It was reprinted in paperback both by Random House and by Berkley Medallion Press. A revised edition was published in 1987 with a new introduction, and was reprinted in 1997, the year of Gill's death.
Reviews
Reviews of Here at The New Yorker were favorable.
where reviewer Paul Gray said, "A seasoned New Yorker writer can make even New Yorker writers interesting."Response by colleagues
Gill's subjects did not all share the enthusiasm of his more positive reviewers. Fellow writer
References
- Gill, Brendan. Here at the New Yorker. New York: Da Capo Press, 1997. ISBN 0-306-80810-2.
Notes
- ISBN 0-425-03043-1. P. 188.
- ^ Gill, op.cit., pp. 284-301.
- ^ Gill, op.cit., p. 186-192.
- ^ a b "A Swarm of Bumblebees". Review of Here at The New Yorker by Christopher Lehmann-Haupt. The New York Times Book Review, February 10, 1975. Accessed March 22, 2009.
- ^ Gill, op.cit., p. 415
- ISBN 1-58243-110-8.
- ^ New York Times Best Seller lists - 1975.
- ^ "For 50 Years, The Talk of the Town". Review by Colman McCarthy. Washington Post, January 25, 1975, p. A18.
- ^ "50 Years of Wit". Review by Roderick Nordell. Christian Science Monitor, February 19, 1975, p. 14.
- ^ "Anniversary Waltz". Review by Paul Gray. Time, February 24, 1975. Accessed March 22, 2009.
- ^ Brendan Gill Dies at 83. Herbert Muschamp, The New York Times, December 29, 1997. Accessed March 23, 2009.
- ^ "Still Here at The New Yorker". Gill, Brendan. The New York Times, October 4, 1987. Accessed March 22, 2009.
- ^ "White at The New Yorker". Letter to the Editor by Leo M. Dolenski with reply by Brendan Gill. The New York Times, November 1, 1987. Accessed March 23, 2009.