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| “The Writer Who Insists He Knew Tennessee Williams” | |
| Posted by: kieran 01:38 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
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| Link | The New Yorker |
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| Fascinating and ultimately quite sad | |
| Last Edit: DistantDrumming 05:41 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
| Posted by: DistantDrumming 05:40 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
| In reply to: “The Writer Who Insists He Knew Tennessee Williams” - kieran 01:38 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
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| That was a fascinating read. I was actually following Grissom on Facebook without even realizing it. His Follies of God FB group kept hitting my suggested feed and was filled with seemingly fabulous quotes from 20th century luminaries that I followed it without knowing it was tied to Grissom and the similarly titled Williams book. And, then, the quotes started to sound similar to one another and I stopped reading them, assuming it was just another of thousands of FB groups with dubiously sourced material. I found the last paragraph -- evoking the young Grissom's unrealized dreams -- strangely moving. |
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| re: “The Writer Who Insists He Knew Tennessee Williams” | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 04:53 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
| In reply to: “The Writer Who Insists He Knew Tennessee Williams” - kieran 01:38 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
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| Thank you for posting that link. I'm glad some major publication has finally written about this. | |
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| re: “The Writer Who Insists He Knew Tennessee Williams” | |
| Posted by: aislestorm 02:44 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
| In reply to: “The Writer Who Insists He Knew Tennessee Williams” - kieran 01:38 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
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| It’s something I always wondered about when it came to that book, but Helen Shaw goes a little overboard here in what comes off as some sort of personal affront. Really, Helen? It’s not as though it was current news. |
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| re: “The Writer Who Insists He Knew Tennessee Williams” | |
| Last Edit: singleticket 05:51 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
| Posted by: singleticket 05:37 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
| In reply to: re: “The Writer Who Insists He Knew Tennessee Williams” - aislestorm 02:44 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
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| I agree, I like Helen Shaw but this feels like a lot of time and resources spent on someone that even the Tennessee Williams scholars who were interviewed in the piece consider marginal. |
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| “The Interview Artist” | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 03:21 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
| In reply to: re: “The Writer Who Insists He Knew Tennessee Williams” - aislestorm 02:44 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
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| The man has apparently been submitting fabrications as scholarship for decades, in ways that can damage future scholarship about major figures of English-speaking theater in the 20th Century. That is news, whether current or not, and a great story as well, which is what the New Yorker is best at. And the print headline is better and much more interesting than the online headline. |
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| re: “The Interview Artist” | |
| Last Edit: singleticket 05:52 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
| Posted by: singleticket 05:44 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
| In reply to: “The Interview Artist” - Singapore/Fling 03:21 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
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| I agree in principle and Grissom sounds like a jerk. I also agree that facts and scholarship matter. I felt that Shaw kept peppering the piece with items to make Grissom seem like more of a danger... like legal threats that he has made. But those legal threats weren't examined by Shaw to nail down whether they had happened or not and whether they did any kind of damage. |
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| re: “The Interview Artist” | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 06:00 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
| In reply to: re: “The Interview Artist” - singleticket 05:44 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
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| By the end, though, I at least had the impression that he threatened legal action, or at least implied the possibility (according to him), but seemed to have never followed through. | |
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| re: “The Interview Artist” | |
| Last Edit: Amiens 06:39 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
| Posted by: Amiens 06:28 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
| In reply to: re: “The Interview Artist” - AlanScott 06:00 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
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| FWIW I just noticed that James Grissom posted this afternoon on Facebook two emails from Lois Smith in which she briefly and sympathetically seems to be verifying his case. I think she's the only actress still alive who was interviewed by him. In one email (undated, I believe) she states: "I met Jim Grissom in 1990, when he first interviewed me. I don't have any record of dates, but from when I first met him, I was aware he was working on the book, and interviewing women who were the subjects. Sometimes he would show me sections, or talk about how it was going, He was trying to figure out the shape of it, as he interviewed more people. I have never been aware of distortions of any of the people in the book including myself. I don't know what is behind this probing, and what sounds like accusations. I think most of the actresses in the book are no longer living, but they certainly were when Jim was conducting interviews. I hope this might be helpful. Best, Lois Smith." In another email (dated April 4, 2023) she states: "So sorry Jim, this vendetta is continuing I guess, I thought it was over. You first interviewed me in 1990, I remember. I hope for the best, it sounds unpleasant. I think that some people feel an "ownership" of Tennessee, which is challenged by what they see as usurpers. Most peculiar. Good luck. xo Lois" I'm a Facebook friend of Grissom but do not know him. I suspect the truth lies somewhere between extremes and that perhaps he did spend some time with Tennessee Williams in 1982 and did interview some of the women in his book, at least Lois Smith and Marian Seldes (who seems to have undeniably been close to him), and maybe some others. Of course, what makes this so confounding is Grissom's refusal to produce any real documentation of most of these interviews. |
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| re: “The Interview Artist” | |
| Last Edit: AC126748 07:11 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
| Posted by: AC126748 07:09 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
| In reply to: re: “The Interview Artist” - Amiens 06:28 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
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| Because two things can be true simultaneously, it's quite possible that some of Grissom's stories are real and some are taken from whole cloth. Personally, I've always gotten the whiff of the imposter from him, desperately attempting to paint himself as heir apparent to his idol. | |
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| re: “The Interview Artist” | |
| Posted by: Snowgrace 12:02 am EDT 06/06/23 | |
| In reply to: re: “The Interview Artist” - AC126748 07:09 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
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| Sadly, several years ago Grissom never accepted my FB Friend request despite our having over 30 theatre artist "friends" in common...that said, imposter or not, he is helping to keep that treasure of a time in theatre/film history alive for the newest generation of actors, playwrights, directors, etc as well as those of us who wish it still was the norm, & for that I have been so grateful & a regular sharer of FOLLIES OF GOD posts. | |
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