Description
Book SynopsisTheodore Dreiser (1871–1946) has long been recognized as a pivotal figure in twentieth-century American literary and cultural history. His fiction played (and still plays) a major role in the vigorous debate over the relationship of art to social reality and political purpose, and his complex and compelling personality has always attracted much attention. From about 1912–15 to his death he was often considered the greatest American writer of the period. Theodore Dreiser Recalled collects for the first time commentary on this literary giant by those of his own time who knew him well. The book includes seventy-six recollections by friends, lovers, and literary associates, ranging in time of publication from 1912 to 1995. Presented with both expert and general readers in mind, the book not only clarifies and extends our knowledge of many aspects of Dreiser’s life and career but also makes excellent reading. In their various ways—from H. L. Mencken’s acerbic accounts of their friendship to one of Edgar Lee Masters’s most powerful poems to Kirah Markham’s bittersweet memories of their affair and to Esther McCoy’s compelling narrative of Dreiser’s death—the recollections demonstrate Dreiser’s ability to move others to recall him not only in full detail but with panache.
Trade Review'Touching on the entire spectrum of the author’s controversial life and career,
Theodore Dreiser Recalled is a must read not only for Dreiserians but for anyone interested in a multiperspectival portrayal of a watershed figure in US realism and naturalism.'
Klaus H. Schmidt,
Studies in American NaturalismReviews ‘Riveting reading… the continually changing perspectives on Dreiser from different subject positions convey a dynamic and complex personality…
Theodore Dreiser Recalled is best read in book reviewer fashion, cover to cover.’
Clare Eby,
American Literary Realism Table of ContentsPrefaceList of IllustrationsAcknowledgmentsChronologyPart One: Personal LifeSection 1 Portraits of Dreiser
Sherwood Anderson
Ernest Boyd
Louise Campbell
Dorothy Dudley
Max Eastman
Ralph Fabri
Waldo Frank
Mike Gold
Harris Merton Lyon
Kirah Markham
Edgar Lee Masters
H. L. Mencken
George Jean Nathan
John Cowper Powys
Edward H. Smith
Marguerite Tjader
Section 2 Relations with Women
Sara (“Jug”) White Dreiser
Thelma Cudlipp
Kirah Markham
Louise Campbell
Helen Dreiser
Yvette Szekely Eastman
Clara Clark Jaeger
Marguerite Tjader
Section 3 Homes
Greenwich Village
Rodin Studios, West 57th St.
Iroki, Mt. Kisco
1015 N. Kings Road, Los Angeles
Section 4 Final Years
Marguerite Tjader
Helen Dreiser
Esther McCoy
Part Two: Career and BeliefsSection 5 Social and Political Activism
Russian Journey
The National Committee for the Defense of Political Prisoners
Harlan
Dreiser’s Anti-Semitism
Dreiser and the Communist Party
Section 6 Magazine Editor
Ev’ry Month The Delineator American SpectatorSection 7 The Craft of Writing
George Jean Nathan
Ludwig Lewisohn
Floyd Dell
Helen Dreiser
Clara Clark Jaeger
Section 8 Literary Friendships
Richard Duffy
Arthur Henry
Sinclair Lewis
Edgar Lee Masters
H. L. Mencken
Section 9 Relations with Publishers and Movie Producers
Doubleday, Page & Co. (Sister Carrie Suppression)
John Lane Co. (The “Genius” Suppression)
Horace Liveright
Paramount Films
Biographical Glossary of ContributorsContents List in Order of Date of Authorship or PublicationNotesBibliography of Recollections of DreiserIndex
