O'HARA, FRAZIER, AND THE SLOW DEATH OF 'DUENDE'

 THANKS FOR CONTENT FORWARDED BY MARK PLOTCZYK
  

George Frazier, left, and John O'Hara

Garcia Lorca Conceived it, John O'Hara Wore it, George Frazier Popularized it, Brooks Brothers Once Embodied it

By Samuel Goldman

George Frazier had a story about the first time he met John O’Hara. The journalist and clotheshorse Frazier was introduced to the novelist O’Hara while hanging out at a Greenwich Village jazz club. The famously cranky O’Hara looked Frazier up and down before inviting him to have a drink. “You’re welcome at my table,” he announced. “You’re wearing a Brooks Brothers shirt.”

Frazier was known for popularizing the idea of duende. A Spanish folk term for a sort of goblin, duende came during the twentieth century to designate “style that’s truly alive”—a quality essential to those icons of Spanish culture, the poet, the flamenco singer, and the bullfighter. Frazier extended the concept to the exemplars of midcentury America. Clark Gable, Fred Astaire, and Miles Davis had duende. So did the Brooks Brothers shirt that they, like Frazier, habitually wore.

As with any object that possesses duende, it is hard to articulate what is so special about that shirt. It has several distinctive features, but the magic lies almost entirely in the collar. Known as “button-down” to ­unreflective dressers and a “polo collar” to the enthusiast, the Brooks design involves points that are 33/8 inches long and fasten just over three inches apart—almost but not quite half the distance between the top two buttons along the central placket.

O'HARA AND HEMINGWAY

JOHN O’HARA’S ‘HOW CAN I TELL YOU?’: AN ALLEGORY OF HEMINGWAY’S SUICIDE

By Steven Goldleaf

On July 3rd, 1961, as news of Ernest Hemingway’s death began to circulate, John O’Hara had been sitting in the TV room of his summer cottage at Quogue on the south shore of Long Island with his daughter Wylie, who had just turned 16. Suddenly, O’Hara bolted for his bedroom to retrieve a framed photo, taken some thirty years earlier, of the two successful and prosperous young authors flanking the owner of Manhattan’s Stork Club. Tears streamed down O’Hara’s cheeks. Showing the photograph to his teenaged daughter, he told her, “I understand it so well.”

“It,” of course, was Hemingway’s suicide, and O’Hara never shared his understanding with anyone outside of that Quogue cottage.  Inside the beachfront cottage that day, Wylie didn’t press her father for further details of his understanding, so the remark remains to this day tantalizing. “I understand it so well.” On numerous occasions over the past few decades, I’ve spoken with his daughter, who last month turned 73, and Wylie O’Hara Holahan Doughty, as charming and forthcoming as a literary executor is allowed to be, regrets that those bare details are all that she remembers from that day in 1961.

Summer Meeting Update

The John O'Hara Society Summer meeting is scheduled for Sunday, June 22 in Philadelphia, PA.

Pals will meet for lunch, business and conversation between 12:30 PM and 1:00 at the Irish Pub, 2007 Walnut Street.  The meeting will officially begin at 1:00.

For those who are local or staying in town through the evening, we will also have an "after event," beginning at 7:00 PM.  Pals will meet at the Barnes & Noble cafe at 19th and Walnut, on the 2nd floor.  From there we will head to another venue for drinks, food and conversation, probably the Pen and Pencil Club. 

If you are planning to attend the lunch, please RSVP to Robert Knott at knottrg [at] hotmail [dot] com or Richard Carreno at writersclearinghouse [at] yahoo [dot] com.

Those planning to attend the after event can text Richard at 215 908 4375 the day of to confirm their plans or with any questions.

John O'Hara Remembered

 

Norman Mailer almost killed one of his wives. John O'Hara, when besotted by drink, was no gentleman. But in today's lit'ry circles, Mailer often gets a pass. O'Hara never does. Get to meet 'the Master of the Fancied Slight,' as O'Hara was known, in the following brilliant new dissection of the author's life by Charles F. McElwee III.  

 

Touchy, Touchy 

By Charles F. McElwee III

 

John O'Hara wanted acceptance, but acceptance required penance. The author's acerbic, self-destructive personality limited the accolades and tributes he demanded. O'Hara had too many enemies, and he added many in his exhausting life. An Olympian grudge holder, O'Hara routinely blacklisted friends for no particular reason.

 

He was a brawler, a boozer and a blowhard - the holy trinity of a jerk. Bars were O'Hara's boxing rings, and he slugged and rumbled at negligible or imagined provocations. He threw fists at a dwarf in New York's "21" Club, only to be knocked down by another dwarf who joined the fight. He even smacked a woman for a tardy lunch arrival. The high society O'Hara craved loathed him for his alcohol-soaked brutality. Everyone knew him as "a master of the fancied slight." 

 

NY Summer Meeting Recap

On Saturday, July 13 members of the John O’Hara Society met at Connolly’s restaurant in New York City for their summer meeting.  In attendance were Steven Goldleaf, Robert Knott, and Robert and Jenny Saliba.

Topics of discussion included the upcoming publication of Steven Goldleaf’s collection of O’Hara’s New York stories, to be published by Penguin Classics.  New York Stories will arrive in bookstores and online retailers on August 27^th and Society members discussed how best to support its publication.  It was decided that future blog posts will feature interviews with Steven Goldleaf about the book and announcements of related events as they are scheduled.  For example, a September event at a Brooklyn, NY bookstore will be promoted on the blog as soon as more details become available.

Over lunch members discussed a variety of O’Hara related topics, including Robert Knott’s recent visit to Penn State to visit the O’Hara study and review their holdings of O’Hara papers.  Robert Saliba, who has visited Penn State in the past, shared his memories of a similar trip and the thrill of reviewing the original manuscript of Appointment in Samarra.  The possibility of scheduling a Society field trip to Penn State was raised (as it has been in the past) although nothing has been scheduled at this time.

Members will reconvene in January at a location still to be determined.  Suggestions for topics or locations for the January meeting are gladly accepted in the comments section below.

Summer Meeting July 13, 2013

The John O'Hara Society's summer meeting will be held at noon on July 13, 2013 in New York City.  Topics for discussion will include events related to the launch of Pal Steven Goldleaf's new collection of O'Hara New York Stories.

We are currently set to to meet at our usual New York setting, Connolly's at 14 East 47th street.  If you have any other suggestions for a venue, feel free to leave them in the comments field and watch this space for further updates.

 AGM Saturday January 26 in NYC

The John O’Hara Society’s AGM meeting will be held at 12:00 PM on Saturday, January 26, 2013.
The meeting will feature lunch and Society business. Additional agenda (items to be confirmed) may include the presentation of papers relating to O'Hara and his work, discussion of upcoming O'Hara publications and other JOH-related news.

The meeting will be held in New York City at Connolly’s Pub at 14 East 47th Street. There is no charge for the meeting although attendees are responsible for their individual food and drink costs. If you plan to attend, please RSVP in the comments section below or to Robert Knott at Balfour2 [at] aol [dot] com by January 23, 2013.

Summer Meeting! Etc.

Don’t Forget the Summer Meeting

The John O’Hara Society’s summer meeting will be held at 12:00 PM on Saturday, July 21. 

The meeting will feature lunch, Society business and a book club style discussion of THE LOCKWOOD CONCERN. All attendees are encouraged to have read all or part of the novel in advance of the meeting.

We are currently scheduled to meet in New York City at Connolly’s Pub at 14 East 47th Street, but may change venue based on the origin of attendees. If you plan to attend, please RSVP in the comments section below or to Robert Knott at Balfour2 [at] aol [dot] com by July 13, 2012.

We’re looking forward to a great turnout.

Revised Pal Joey

The Barn Theatre in Augusta, MI has mounted a “revisal” of PAL JOEY. It sounds heavily revised. According to Encore Michigan, “In this version, Joey is a talented black singer in 1948 Chicago, and it's mostly his skin color holding him back. So he uses what he knows – sex – to gain power in an unequal world.”

Carreño-Checket Collection Formed

NEW JOHN O'HARA COLLECTION AVAILABLE @philabooks|booksellers, an on-line Philadelphia bookshop that's unique in featuring titles by and about the author John O'Hara, has merged its extensive catalog with an exclusive, privately-owned O'Hara collection to create a now one-of-a-kind compilation of the legendary New Yorker writer's works. The new catalog, consolidated as the Carreño-Checket Collection, is named for Richard Carreño, the managing partner of @philabooks, and the late James Checket of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, a private collector and a member of the John O'Hara Society. Carreño is a founding member of the Society. @philabooks entered into the merger agreement with James Checket's estate, administered by his widow, Sally Miller. The newly assembled collection includes more than one hundred titles, with firsts of virtually all of O'Hara's English-language and foreign language editions. The collection, when fully fleshed out, will also include photographs, magazines, and related ephemera. As such, it will be among the most comprehensive non-institutional O'Hara collections anywhere. Carreño said he and Miller want to maintain the collection as a unit. Their aim, he said, is to sell or donate the collection to a private or public institution that can safeguard it as well give the public access to it. Interested parties can contact Carreño via philabooks@yahoo.com. A regularly updated catalog is also available via www.philabooks.webs.com. Updates will also be posted to the John O'Hara Society blog via www.OHaraSociety.blogspot.com.

Contact us at JohnOHaraSoc@yahoo.com. We're always looking for contributors and comment. Join the conversation! © 2011 Writers Clearinghouse Est. 1976 @ Fabyan, Connecticut.

Robert Knott Reports...

Robert and Jenny Saliba, left, and Robert Knott

... On AGM in Princeton

The John O’Hara Society’s Annual General Meeting was held January 28th in the Yankee Tap Room of the Nassau Inn in Princeton, NJ. In attendance were Robert Saliba, Jenny Saliba and Robert Knott.


Discussions and proposals included:

-The Summer Meeting: The date for a summer meeting in New York City for July 21st.

-Meeting Format and Location: In an effort to increase participation and stimulate discussion of O’Hara it was proposed that the Society would select a book for discussion each year and a portion of our meeting would be dedicated to discussion of title. THE LOCKWOOD CONCERN was proposed as the first in this series. Discussion could commence at the July meeting and continue at the January, 2013 meeting, at which time a new title would be selected.


In addition, it was proposed that at least one meeting a year include a presentation or program by a member of a paper, a travelogue or some personal impression on the works of O’Hara (or related topics). To kick this off, Robert Knott is willing to present a paper he wrote in college assessing O’Hara’s works.

Considering these changes in format, the need for a quieter and more appropriate meeting space was identified. Members would love to hear any suggestions for appropriate venues in New York, Princeton, Philadelphia and elsewhere that might include restaurants with small private rooms or library, church and school spaces that do not charge a fee.

-The New Website: Plans to upgrade the Society’s web presence proceeded with discussion of the Society adopting a template similar to that of the Richard Yates Society. Robert Saliba & Robert Knott volunteered to review template options and develop copy and content for the new format, potentially including Robert Saliba’s John O’Hara calendar.

It is hoped that members (or willing friends and acquaintances) with technical expertise will volunteer to help launch the site and transfer/archive content from the existing site.

Harrisburg Hails O'Hara

Photo: Writers Clearinghouse/Joan T. Kane

O'Hara Gets His Due in Penn State Capital


O'Hara Society member Christine Goldbeck of Middleton, Pennsylvania, right, lectured 11 November on the Master and A Rage to Live, set in a fictional Harrisburg. With her is member Erica Ramus from Pottsville and Society facilitator Richard Carreno of Philadelphia. Also present was Pal Joan T. Kane of Philadelphia, above seated. After Christine's lecture, about 75 attendees gathered for a screening of the 1965 film A Rage to Live inspired by the book. The lecture was held at the Midtown Scholar Bookstore as part of the Second Annual Harrisburg Book Festival. Carreno also represented @philabooks|booksellers, an on-line bookshop that specializes in books by and about John O'Hara.

Who Are We?

The Society by the Stats
Not surprisingly, most of the visitors to this Society blog are from the United States, according to a new breakdown of 'hits' to the John O'Hara Society website.

In descending order, visitors from the following countries also have us a look-see:
Canada
United Kingdom
Latvia
Russia
Germany
Maldova
South Korea
Malaysia

Any comments?


Contact us at JohnOHaraSoc@yahoo.com. We're always looking for contributors. Join the conversation! © 2010 Writers Clearinghouse. Est. 1976 @ Fabyan, Connecticut.

O'Hara Takes Manhattan

Crowd gathers at Connolly's Pub to watch Pal Richard harangue group. Photo/Writers Clearinghouse

New York City Field Trip
New York
After lunch at Connolley's Pub on 47th, off Fifth, about a dozen members soldiered on, well-fed and watered and in good spirits, spending the balmy afternoon Saturday (12 June) hitting several of the notable sites in Mid-town associated with the Master.

Two of them, 21 and the Algonquin, are well-known John O'Hara watering holes, and the later being, as well, sort of a club-room for many former New Yorker staff writers.

From Connolley's, our next stop, a few blocks uptown, was the Italianate palazzo on Madison Avenue that now houses the Palace Hotel.(Remember Lenora Hemsley, 'The Queen of Mean'? She owned the p(a)lace).

Back in the day, though, the building's north wing housed Bennett Cerf's 'serfdom,' Random House. We re-enacted the iconic tableau, of the 1960's, when O'Hara steam-rolled his Silver Cloud Roller into the palazzo's courtyard. There, to be greeted by the fawning Cerf, who, in recognition of another O'Hara publishing event, presented JOH with another engraved, silver cigarette case.

Pal Carol Gramer tried to get us a tour of what might be left of the publisher's HQ, now an urban research centre. She knocked on the door.'The place is closed,' she said.

Onward to 21,just a short hop across Fifth. Drinks? Nibbles? Also closed. No lunch on Saturdays. Still, Carol marched in and inquired of a busy receptionist if we --members of the intrepid John O'Hara Society -- could visit the basement quarters, the site of 21's original speakeasy. The receptionist was duely impressed. 'No,' she said.

Step forward, to the rescue, a tall, well-spoken gentleman who identified himself as 'Rev.' Turns out 'Rev' is a Baptist minister. Also the chief men's room toilet attendant.'The job has been in my family since 1949,' he said. At first, we thought he owned the joint.

We didn't tour the speakeasy, but thanks to Rev we did get a tour of the men's toilet, boasting risque murals over its urinals. Female pals were impressed with thse self-flushing urinals. Apparently, they haven't ever seen such modern contraptions, circa 1965. (Male pals wondered what technological advancements might be found in the ladies loo. We checked. At least, no off-colour murals. What is the meaning of this?).

Rev also gave us a walkabout of the restaurant proper, during which time Pal Steve Goldleaf was videoing the proceedings. (Watch it on YouTube, when we get it posted later this week. If we can figure it out).

Shortly thereafter, We gathered in front the restaurant for a few minutes, getting our bearings before trotting off to the Yale Club. (Vanderbilt Avenue, across from Grand Central Station). But at that point, we noticed that he had 'lost' Steve. After about five minutes later or so, he sheepishly emerged from 21. 'Sorry, I was chatting to Rev.' (Had a Baptist conversion occurred. Steve wasn't talking).

Once we saw the wedding crowd, spilling into Vanderbilt Avenue, in front of the Yale Club, we realised that a visit was near impossible. This, despite Carol Gramer's powers of persuasion.

Plan B. The old HQ of the The New Yorker, off Fifth on 43rd Street. A plaque recognised the building as a 'literary site,' and listed many of the literary luminaries who had set foot through the building's portal. Everyone, that is, except John O'Hara, of course. 'What else is new,' said Pal Robert Saliba.

Actually, nothing. Another plaque screwed into the front of the Algonquin Hotel also had no mention of The New Yorker's most prolific short story writer -- and the one indididual who, by the bye, defined the template of the magazine's short fiction. (Never mind, we're used to that).

What we were also getting used to by this time was getting rebuffed. He had hoped to scamp through 25 West 43rd Street via its arcade to get to 44th Street and the Algonquin. No soap! says the guard. 'But we're, we're members of the John...' says
Carol. Oh, never mind.

We looped around Sixth Avenue instead, nestling ourselves comfortably in the hotel's lounge. A load off our feet. And load from our wallets. Mixed drinks at $18 a shot. Beer at $7 per bottle.

Of course, the Society's storming of Manhattan wasn't all fun and games.

Earlier, thanks to ring-master Pal Richard Carreno, we actually conducted a bit of house-keeping.

Most important, Robert Saliba and Robert Knott were awarded Pal Joey Awards for their work in promoting the cause. Robert S. for his brilliant annotation of Appointment in Samarra. (See separate page at this website, always being updated). Robert K. for tireless efforts in arranging this Field Trip event, as well as being PR agent for our most recent Princeton AGM. (He gets a Pal Joey with a cluster).

Robert K. was also appointed Society Librarian, assigned to maintaining our archive. Robert has also volunteered to to re-record portions of the WVIA-FM tape, as well as some O'Hara-related videos he has in his possession. Robert will also be contacting WVIA-FM officers about archive materials that might want to share with us.

Steve Goldleaf has agreed to contact Wylie O'Hara, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to see if she would kindly join one of our group meetings. Be it in NYC, Cambridge, or Princeton.

Steve is also sending us the aforementioned video for posting at YouTube, and his pix file of O'Hara sites in Los Angeles. We're also hoping to post here a chapter of Steve's murder mystery re the death of F.Scott Fitzgerald. Who was the villan. Sheila Graham? Coca Cola? (Fitz drank 16 bottles of the leaded stuff a day). Or, John O'Hara? Yes, Steve relegates the Master as a Person of Interest.

Thanks to Robert Saliba, our next Field Trip will soon be arranged. Sometime this fall, we're hoping to visit the O'Hara study, transplanted from Princeton to State College, Pennsylvania, at the State University of Pennsylvania. Transportation issues should be addressed to Pal Richard.

Pal Pamela MacArthur has also agreed to arrange that copies of her scholarly work The Genteel John O'Hara be sold through this website. Details to follow. (Editor's note: The Society has abandoned its paid membership category. Wherein once paid-up members received O'Hara materials (ie books, etc.) for free, all items will now be available at cost, excluding postage, from membership HQ (JohnOHaraSoc@yahoo.com).

A new review of The Genteel John O'Hara will soon be appearing here.

Also attending were Joan T. Kane, Jenny Saliba, Heidi Schubert, Nancy Karvellas, and Helene Ashner.        

There with O'Hara Ghost

AGM at Nassau Inn, Princeton:
Afternoon of Saturday, 30 January

From left, Joan Kane; Sharon who accompanied Steve Goodleaf; Charlie Epstein with Catol Gramer; Robert and Jenny Saliba; Robert Knott; Richard Carreno; Bill and Carol Ritter Wright. (That's a photo of Bill Bradley, former US Senator and Princeton graduate, top left).

Contact us at JohnOHaraSoc@yahoo.com. We're always looking for contributors. Join the conversation! © 2010 Writers Clearinghouse, Est. 1976 @ Fabyan, Connecticut.

From Roberta Saliba

New Companion Guide to Samarra

I went on OHara.blogspot.com, but wasn't quite sure how to post the following:

Today, January 31, 2010, is the 105th anniversary of John O'Hara's birth at 125 Mahantongo Street, Pottsville, Pennsylvania, son of Dr. Patricia H. and Katherine Delaney O'Hara.


Yesterday's Annual General Meeting in Princeton reminded me of a passage from From the Terrace, where Alfred Eaton, a student in his Princeton dormitory room in January 1917, reads a newspaper clipping of the murder-suicide of his old girl friend Norma Budd and her paramour:

"Alfred re-read the newspaper and put it down and looked out the window and saw nothing but what there was to see: the hard ground, some of it dug up for trench warfare exercises; the leafless trees; the young men in civilian clothing and some in the uniform of the officers' training units; the corners of dormitories; the tops of towers; the groundkeeper's wagon. There was not a woman in sight and not a man in this little world of men who had known Norma Budd, who had felt anything with her. He noticed a man with a Krag slung from his shoulder; an older, Regular Army man, a sergeant. who was probably on his way to teach some younger men to shoot."

Page 203, Random House, 1958.

I also want to review Pam MacArthur's and Steven Goldleaf's books and make short mention of my own project on the Companion Guide to Appointment in Samarra.

AGM

New DVD?

Thanks, Richard. I wish I could have made the meeting. What is the new DVD?


I see in Internet Move Database (imd.com) that Robert Loggia will be starring a movie called "Over the River and Through the Wood(s)" but there is no other information. Could this be an O'Hara adaptation?


Richard Rabicoff
9356 Indian Trail Way
Perry Hall, MD 21128


Contact us at JohnOHaraSoc@yahoo.com. We're always looking for contributors. Join the conversation! © 2009 Writers Clearinghouse, Est. 1976 @ Fabyan, Connecticut.

AGM Notes
The big news from yesterday's 3rd Annual General Meeting, held in Princeton, New Jersey, is the elimination of paid membership.

It was decided at last year's AGM, held in Philadelphia, that the Society would create two classes of membership. It would continue free membership, open to all, and paid membership (at $25 per annum). Those subscribing to the paid membership received 'free' premiums.

Robert Knott noted that the reasoning behind the paid membership -- to encourage membership growth and participation -- was not successful.

The Society has about 25 paid members, representing an ongoing core group. Another 30 or so on our e-mail alert list. About 45 separate members are listed on our Facebook.com fan page.

With the phasing out of the paid membership, it was agreed that preimums will be now distributed at cost, either by direct contact with individual members or by contact with the corresponding secretary at JohnOHaraSoc@yahoo.com. Thanks to Robert, another O'Hara-related DVD was distributed yesterday. Notice of new premiums will be posted at this website.

It was also agreed that 'field trip' to O'Hara sites will be conducted this summer, in June, in New York City. An itinerary is now being drafted, and also will be posted here. If you have and ideas about places to visit in New York, please contact the corresponding secretary.

Everyone also agreed that greater particpation, in an inter-active way, with the website needs to be encouraged.

We are also hoping to arrange for another field trip the Master's study at Pennsylvania State University, in State College.

Yesterday's AGM, attended by 11 Pals, was held at an old O'Hara haunt, the Tap Room in the Nassau Inn. Our lunched lasted almost four hours, and involved vigourous informal disccussion, as well as the heretofore business matters.

Photos to be posted.

Let's See Your O'Hara Books!

Philadelphia l August 2009

Dear Colleagues -->
If you're a collector of the works of John O'Hara, you might want to list your holdings at the John O'Hara Society website.

Whether you are simply a collector and/or dealer, thinking about purchases or sales, listing your titles and other O'Hara materials will surely help in rounding out your O'Haraia, or make it possible for someone else to do so.

How you want to list your collection is up to you. If you're selling, establishing condition, the extent of detail, the volume of listings, and price is your choice. If you're a collector who simply wants to permanently record your collection and make its existence known to the public, that's OK, too.

For all involved, there will be no better way or venue to announce your want lists -- and speak directly to more than 100 persons who are established O'Hara fans.

Send your lists via an in-text e-mail (no attachments, please) to: JohnOHaraSociety@yahoo.com. Of course, this a FREE service..

Yours,
Richard

Contact us at JohnOHaraSociety@yahoo.com, or by telephone at +(00)12672531086. We're always looking for contributors. Join the conversation! © 2009 Writers Clearinghouse.

An O'Hara on O'Hara

On 13 August 2009, Marty O'Hara writes:

My name is Martin E. O'Hara III and John was was my great uncle. My father (also Martin aka Big Mart or pop-pop depending upon your perspective) and my grandfather (the original Martin aka know as pop-pop) would tell me stories about John. As a child/young man I can remember sitting with my grandfather on his porch (on Norwegian street) and he would tell me stories mostly about their childhood adventures.

Recently my father has bestowed upon me all of John's books, short stories, newspaper articles, etc. This new possession has re-kindled my long forgotten interest in him (which is how I found your [John O'Hara Society] blog)....

I never knew the man [John O'Hara] personally,but from all of the time I spent in Pottsville and the time I spent with my grandfatherI can see (and feel) his experiences vividly through his writing.

I am writing to you today to say that I appreciate you keeping his memory alive and well. I understand that most of the memories he left behind overshadow his work, and it is refreshing to see a different POV.

Regards,
Marty O'Hara

Free Membership Freebie on the Way!

Pal Joey DVD -- Free!

Thanks to Pal Joey winner Robert Knott we have a DVD available of the film version (with Frank Sinatra) of Pal Joey. If you're a paid-up member of the John O'Hara Society, a FREE copy of the DVD is on the way.

Any Society news? Send for posting!

Richard