Not exactly the same ring to it, eh? Christopher Hitchens reflects on his pal Joseph Heller. How a cultural conundrum almost came up four short if not for Leon Uris. – The Nation
Category: people
AN AFTERNOON WITH PICASSO
One afternoon in 1943, Brassai spent an afternoon with Picasso in his house. Picasso on signing his work, on keeping tidy, on people taking his things. – University of Chicago Press
FILMMAKER ROMAN POLANSKI –
– was inducted into France’s Academie des Beaux Arts this week – an embrace by the French establishment. – BBC
THE PAVAROTTIS IN COURT
Divorce drags on through the Italian courts. – BBC
SAY IT AIN’T SO SNOOPY
- Charles M. Schultz announces his retirement, due to colon cancer. – BBC
- New York Times account
JOSEPH HELLER
“Catch 22” author has died of a heart attack. He was 76. – BBC
NY Times account
London Telegraph account
ABOUT AND BY COOKE
Two new books about and by Alistair Cooke. An interview with his biographer Nick Clarke. – The Idler
RETURN TO SENDER
A new biography of Norman Mailer is more interesting than the man himself. “Mailer was judged as an important thinker by his contemporaries, revered intellectuals among them, who praised a substantial amount of his work at the time of its publication. One must accuse them of poor judgment.” – New York Press
PINTER AT 70
The playwright takes a movie role. And talks about his upcoming plays. – New York Times
A LIFE IN FILM
Since Woody Allen’s personal life went tabloid in 1992, the man can’t release a movie without his personal life becoming a source of endless speculation. As the latest movie opens, a critic asks him why he continues. – Toronto Globe and Mail