by John Cheever
OLD FRIEND, MARY, ITALY: JC, typescript 21; JC, “Boy in Rome,” SOME PEOPLE, pp. 138–39, 161; JC to Frederick Bracher, July 1964.
“THE SWIMMER”: JC, “The Swimmer,” BRIGADIER, pp. 61–76; JC to Alan Pakula, 1964; interview Frank Perry, 6 June 1985; Lewis Nichols, “A Visit with John Cheever,” NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW, 5 January 1964, p. 28; Grant, “John Cheever: The Art,” pp. 62–63; Munro, “Not Only I,” p. 77; Dana Gioia et al., interview with JC, 23 January 1976, pp. 2–3, 10; tape recording, Joseph Barbato interview with JC, 27 October 1978.
TRIP TO RUSSIA, BRIGADIER REVIEWS: Orville Prescott, “John Cheever’s Comedy and Dismay,” NEW YORK TIMES, 14 October 1964, p. 43; interview MC, 6 June 1983; interview Vassily Aksyonov, 23 January 1986; interview William H. Luers, 22 August 1985; JC to Josephine Herbst, 14 December 1964; Tanya Litvinov to SD, 31 January 1984 and 15 February 1984; JC to Frederick Bracher, 12 February 1965.
YEVTUSHENKO, UPDIKES: John Updike to SD, 25 June 1984 and 18 July 1984; interview MC, 20 October 1984; Robert Cromie, interview with JC, BOOK BEAT, May 1973; Grant, “John Cheever: The Art,” p. 46; JC to Paul Moor, 30 December 1984; JC to John Updike, 1963; JC to Malcolm Cowley, 1963; John Updike, PICKED-UP PIECES (New York, 1976), pp. 5–6; John Updike, memorial tribute to JC, 23 June 1982; Mary Weatherall to SD, 17 December 1984.
LAST DAYS IN RUSSIA: JC, typescript 5 and typescript 21; interview Eugene and Clayre Thaw, 15 July 1984; interview Raymond Carver, 23 October 1984.
INWARD
MOOR, RUSSIAN CORRESPONDENCE: Paul Moor to SD, 20 November 1984 and 30 November 1984; JC to Paul Moor, 3 February 1965; JC to Laurens Schwartz, 2 December 1975; JC to William Maxwell, 1965; Lee S. Strickland (CIA) to SD, 10 June 1986.
WASHINGTON, BROWN, CHICAGO, TRAINS: JC to Frederick Bracher, 23 February 1965; James Dickey to SD, 1 January 1985; interview Richard Stern, 23 April 1975; JC to Richard Stern, 1964 and 1965; Mrs. Donald H. Farquharson to SD, 19 January 1985 and 5 April 1985; interview Ben Cheever, 19 October 1984.
HOWELLS, WHITE HOUSE, DENTISTRY: Glenway Wescott, report on THE WAPSHOT SCANDAL, American Academy and Institute files; JC to William Maxwell, 1965; JC to Richard Stern, 1965; Ralph Ellison, presentation of the Howells Medal, and JC, acceptance of the Howells Medal, 19 May 1965, American Academy and Institute files; “Cheever, John,” CURRENT BIOGRAPHY, 1975, p. 76; interview Ben Cheever and Janet Maslin, 8 November 1983; JC to Frederick Exley, 1965 (two letters).
“GEOMETRY,” MLA: JC to Frederick Exley, 4 October 1965 and late fall 1965; JC to Frederick Bracher, 5 October 1965, late fall 1965, and 4 January 1966; interview William Maxwell, 9 April 1985; JC, typescript 21; Hennig Cohen to SD, 15 December 1984; interview Raphael Rudnik, 18 January 1985; JC to Richard Stern, late 1965; Richard Stern, “Report from the MLA,” NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS, 17 February 1966, pp. 26–28; Richard Stern to SD, 13 September 1984; interview Richard Stern, 23 April 1985; interview Norman Mailer, 29 March 1985; Hilary Mills, MAILER: A BIOGRAPHY (New York, 1982), p. 314; Norman Mailer, CANNIBALS AND CHRISTIANS (New York, 1966), pp. 95–103; interview Robert F. Lucid, 2 April 1985.
POLITICAL RADICALISM OF CHILDREN: JC quoted in Susan Cheever, HOME BEFORE DARK, p. 142; JC to William Maxwell, 1965; JC to Josephine Herbst, May 1965; JC to Tanya Litvinov, 23 May 1966.
FRIDAY CLUB: Interview Tom Glazer, 27 October 1983; interview Arthur Spear, 19 July 1983; interview MC, 6 June 1983; Betsy Brown, “The Friday Club, A Cheever Salon,” NEW YORK TIMES (Westchester section), 27 June 1982, pp. 1, 8; JC to Barrett Clark, 19 January 196__.
“SWIMMER” FILM, ROREM: Interview Frank Perry, 6 June 1985; Vincent Canby, “Lancaster Takes Suburban Swim,” NEW YORK TIMES, 16 July 1966; JC to Richard Stern, 17 August 1966; JC to Frederick Bracher, 15 September 1966; interview Ned Rorem, 20 September 1984.
TROUBLES WITH MARRIAGE, LIQUOR, DR. HAYS: JC, typescript 21; JC, journal, Brandeis library; JC to Frederick Bracher, September 1965; JC to Richard Stern, 18 February 1966; JC to Robert Gottlieb, 21 August 1968; interview Dr. David S. Hays, 14 January 1985; interview MC, 2 June 1984; JC to MC, summer 1966; Anatole Broyard, “Fiction That Lies About Its Dreams,” NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW, 12 January 1986.
SUSIE AND ROB’S WEDDING: Interview Alan Williams, 18 September 1984; interview Robert Cowley, 21 June 1984; JC to William Maxwell, 1967; JC, typescript 21; interview Sally Swope, 8 November 1983; “Susan Cheever Wed to Robert Cowley,” NEW YORK TIMES, 7 May 1967, p. 93; Malcolm Cowley, “Novelist’s Life,” p. 7.
LOREN, WARD, PALAMOUNTAIN, AMES: JC, journal, Brandeis library; interview Carl Dolmetsch, 25 May 1984; JC to Frederick Bracher, 14 September 1967; JC, “Sophia, Sophia, Sophia,” SATURDAY EVENING POST, 21 October 1967, pp. 32–35; interview Aileen Ward, 23 October 1984; interview Anne Palamountain, 17 July 1985; interview Nellie Shannon, 17 July 1985; JC, “Elizabeth Ames,” minutes of the meeting of the corporation of Yaddo, 7 September 1968; JC, “The Hostess of Yaddo,” NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW, 8 May 1977, pp. 3, 34–35.
PROSTATITIS, THANKSGIVING: Interview Dr. Raymond Mutter, 22 June 1984; JC to Dr. Raymond Mutter, 10 November 1967; JC, journal, Brandeis library; JC, “Thanks, Too, for Memories,” pp. C1, C6; JC to Natalie Robins, 3 December 196__; interview Christopher Lehmann-Haupt and Natalie Robins, 22 October 1984; Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, “Authors’ Creative Ways to Get Out of Writing,” NEW YORK TIMES, 6 June 1985, p. C22.
BEN’S ARREST, KING’S DEATH: Interview Ben Cheever, 19 October 1984; JC to Josephine Herbst, early 1968; Dana Gioia et al., interview with JC, 23 January 1976, pp. 17–18; JC, journal, Brandeis library.
DOUBLING
BOURGEOIS ARTIST DIVISION: Interview Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, 26 July 1984; interview Molly Malone Cook, 2 May 1985; interview Aline Benjamin, 5 July 1984; JC, typescript 21; interview Tom Glazer, 3 June 1984; interview Mrs. Wallace Boyd, 29 April 1985; Father George W. Hunt, JOHN CHEEVER: THE HOBGOBLIN COMPANY OF LOVE (Grand Rapids, Mich., 1983), pp. 176–77; JC to Dennis Coates, 29 June 1974.
HOPE LANGE AFFAIR: Interview Virginia Rice Kahn, 5 June 1985; interview Edward Newhouse, 5 June 1984; interview Dr. J. William Silverberg, 18 June 1984; JC, journal, Brandeis library; interview Hope Lange, 24 October 1984.
JOURNAL CONTENTS, SELF-LOATHING: James Valhouli, interview with JC, 2 December 1977; Elizabeth Hardwick, “Cheever, or the Ambiguities,” NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS, 20 December 1984, p. 3; Richard Stern to SD, 11 May 1985; JC, BULLET PARK notes, Brandeis library; JC, journal, Brandeis library; Susan Cheever, HOME BEFORE DARK, p. 67; interview John Leonard, 23 October 1984; interview Federico Cheever, 6 April 1985; interview Max Zimmer, 19 July 1984; interview Dr. Raymond Mutter, 22 June 1984; interview Frances Lindley, 17 September 1984; JC, typescript 21; JC to Arthur Spear, October 1968; JC to Frederick Exley, 1968.
STERN, STYRON, EXLEY, NOBEL, BOM: Interview Richard Stern, 23 April 1985; JC to Josephine Herbst, May 1968; JC to Frederick Exley, 1968 and 14 May 1969; Cheever file, American Academy and Institute; Weaver, “Recollections,” p. 8; JC, journal, Brandeis library.
IRELAND: JC to William Maxwell, 9 August 1968 and late August 1968; JC to Josephine Herbst, 21 August 1968; interview John and Mary Dirks, 16 July 1984; Mary Dirks to SD, 6 August 1984.
SWITCH TO KNOPF, SPENDING: Interview Candida Donadio, 15 June 1984; JC to Frances Lindley, 17 September 1968; JC to Robert Gottlieb, September 1968; interview Connie Bessie, 19 July 1984; interview Robert Cowley, 21 June 1984; interviews MC, 7 November 1983 and 20 October 1984; JC to Frederick Exley, December 1968.
DUALITY OF VISION: Samuel Coale, “Cheever and Hawthorne: The Romancer’s Art,” CRITICAL ESSAYS ON JOHN CHEEVER, ed. Robert G. Collins (Boston, 1982), pp. 193–209; John W. Crowley, “John Cheever and the Ancient Light of New England,” NEW ENGLAND QUARTERLY, June 1983, pp. 270–71; (John Updike), “Notes and Comment,” NEW YORKER, 12 July 1982, pp. 27–28; John Gardner, “Witchcraft in Bullet Park,” NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW, 24 October 1971, p. 2.
BULLET PARK: TECHNIQUE, ENDING: JC, journal, Brandeis library; J
C, BULLET PARK notes, Brandeis library; Robert Gottlieb to JC, 5 September 1968; JC to Robert Gottlieb, Labor Day 1968 and 8 November 1968; Gardner, “Witchcraft,” p. 2; Lee, “Ovid,” p. 72.
BULLET PARK, RELIGION: Lee, “Ovid,” p. 68; Mircea Eliade, THE SACRED AND THE PROFANE (New York, 1969), pp. 11–12; JC, journal, Brandeis library; Dana Gioia, “Meeting Mr. Cheever,” pp. 425–26.
DIVIDED SELVES: HAMMER, NAILLES, TONY: JC, journal, Brandeis library; JC, BULLET PARK notes, Brandeis library; tape recording, Christopher Lehmann-Haupt interview with JC, February 1969; Leslie Aldridge, “Having a Drink with Cheever,” NEW YORK, 28 April 1969, p. 49; Lynne Waldeland, “John Cheever’s BULLET PARK; A Key to His Thought and Art,” CRITICAL ESSAYS, pp. 266–68; Coates, dissertation, pp. 171, 187.
REACTION TO BULLET PARK: JC to Marion Morehouse, 9 April 1969; Aldridge, “Having a Drink,” pp. 48–50; Benjamin DeMott, “A grand gatherum of some late 20th-century American weirdos,” NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW, 27 April 1969, pp. 1, 40–41; Anatole Broyard, “You Wouldn’t Believe It,” NEW REPUBLIC, 26 April 1969, pp. 36–37; Stephen C. Moore, “A Text Already ‘Deconstructed’: BULLET PARK”(paper given at Modern Language Association meeting, 1985); interview Philip Roth, 18 July 1985.
DEPRESSION, DR. SILVERBERG: Stephen Becker to SD, 30 April 1985; JC to William Maxwell, 6 March 1969; JC to John Updike, 13 May 1969; JC and Federico Cheever quoted in Susan Cheever, HOME BEFORE DARK, p. 155; interview Dr. J. William Silverberg, 18 June 1984; interview John and Mary Dirks, 16 July 1984; JC to Allan Gurganus, 11 February 1977.
BOTTOMING
DRUNKENNESS, PARTIES: Interview Robert Cowley, 21 June 1984; interview John and Mary Dirks, 16 July 1984; interview Leonard Field, 18 September 1984; Robert Cromie, interview with JC, BOOK BEAT, May 1973; JC to Malcolm Cowley, spring 1971; Malcolm Cowley to JC, 14 May 1971; Susan Cheever, HOME BEFORE DARK, pp. 182–83; interview MC, 26 July 1984; interview Curtis Harnack and Hortense Calisher, 17 September 1984; interview Robert Penn Warren and Eleanor Clark, 10 July 1984; interview Gray Smith, 11 September 1984; interview John Hersey, 18 October 1984; interview Francis Steegmuller and Shirley Hazzard, 17 January 1985; Shirley Hazzard to SD, 13 January 1987; James O’Hara, “John Cheever,” DICTIONARY OF LITERARY BIOGRAPHY YEARBOOK 1982, ed. Richard Ziegeld (Detroit: Gale Research, 1983), p. 132; Mary Dirks to—, 10 September 1972; interview Tom Glazer, 27 October 1983.
MARRIAGE TENSIONS, INFIDELITY: JC quoted in Susan Cheever, HOME BEFORE DARK, pp. 182–83; interview Sandra Hochman, 17 January 1985; JC, typescript 21; interview Dr. J. William Silverberg, 18 June 1984; interview Frederick Exley, 9 July 1984; interview MC, 12 July 1984.
BRIARCLIFF, POETRY: Interview Roger and Maureen Willson, 29 July 1984; interview Charles Shapiro, 11 April 1985; MC, “Wisteria Morning,” THE NEED FOR CHOCOLATE, pp. 61–64; Marge Leahy, “Mary—the Other Cheever,” SUBURBIA TODAY, 19 April 1981, pp. 6–10; Robin Thrush Jovanovich, “Mary Cheever on Her Own,” MOUNT KISCO PATENT TRADER, 4 January 1985, p. A3; MC to Malcolm Cowley, 3 June 1971 and mid-June 1971; Malcolm Cowley to MC, 10 June 1971; interview Bernard Malamud, 18 January 1985; JC to Bernard Malamud, 10 June 197__; Aldridge, “Having a Drink,” p. 50; interview MC, 12 July 1984.
OTHER WOMEN: Mary Dirks to SD, 9 October 1984; JC to Candida Donadio, 26 January 1970; interview Candida Donadio, 15 June 1984; interview Shana Alexander, 21 September 1985; interview Eugene and Clayre Thaw, 15 July 1984; interview Curtis Harnack and Hortense Calisher, 17 September 1984; JC, typescript 21; Susan Cheever, HOME BEFORE DARK, pp. 125–26; interview Robert Penn Warren and Eleanor Clark, 10 July 1984; interview MC, 12 July 1984.
FATHER-SON, FRED: Interview Robert Cowley, 21 June 1984; interview Ben Cheever, 19 October 1984; interview MC, 2 June 1984 and 26 July 1984; JC, typescript 21; interviews Federico Cheever, 10 February 1985, 11 February 1985, and 6 April 1985; interview Sara Spencer, 10 November 1983.
KOREA, RUSSIA: JC to William Maxwell, 1970; JC, typescript 21; John Updike to SD, 25 June 1984; MC to John Updike, 1970; John Updike to MC, 30 September 1970; JC, “The Melancholy of Distance,” Chekhov and Our Age, ed. James McCarkey (Ithaca, 1984), pp. 125–35; interview Curtis Harnack and Hortense Calisher, 17 September 1984; Virginia M. Grinager, “Cheever Finds Russians Full of Warmth, Hospitality,” OSSINING CITIZEN REGISTER, 20 December 1973; interview Federico Cheever, 10 February 1985; Tanya Litvinov to SD, 7 March 1984 and 6 December 1984; JC, typescript 21; tape recording, Father George W. Hunt et al., interview with JC, April 1980; Federico Cheever quoted in Susan Cheever, HOME BEFORE DARK, p. 158.
PLAYBOY, CHICAGO: Richard Todd, “Gathering at Bunnymede,” ATLANTIC MONTHLY, January 1972, pp. 86–88; Richard Stern to SD, 13 September 1984; interview Richard Stern, 23 April 1985; JC to Frederick Exley, 1 June 1971; interview Saul Bellow, 10 July 1984.
SING SING, LANG: Diane Hofkins, “Cheever: Literature a Key,” OSSINING CITIZEN REGISTER, 2 November 1977, p. A3; interview Donald Lang, 20 September 1984; “The Attica Tragedy,” NEWSWEEK, 27 September 1971, pp. 22–38; interview John and Mary Dirks, 16 July 1984; Mary Dirks to SD, 6 August 1984; Mary Dirks to—, 21 February 1972 and 7 December 1972; interview Robert Cowley, 21 June 1984; JC to Allan Gurganus, 15 March 1974 and 27 April 1974; interview Gray Smith, 11 September 1984; interview Barrett and Jane Clark, 28 June 1984; interview Federico Cheever, 11 February 1985; JC to Candida Donadio, 18 July 1972; Callaway, interview with JC, 15 October 1981; interview Philip and Mimi Boyer, 8–9 July 1984; JC to Robert Gottlieb, 28 August 1982; “Chronicler of Suburbia,” MD., March 1978, p. 114.
COMPETITION, TELEVISION: Interview Philip Roth, 18 July 1984; JC to Malcolm Cowley, 26 April 1972; interview Curtis Harnack and Hortense Calisher, 17 September 1984; interview Morris Lurie, 16 December 1985; Jacqueline Tavernier-Courbin and R. G. Collins, “An Interview with John Cheever,” THALIA, 1978, p. 7; Susan Colgan, “‘Literature in Peril’: Cheever,” OSSINING CITIZEN REGISTER, 24 May 1972, p. 3; JC to John Updike, 197—
IOWA, JOHN VS. MARY: Interview Frederick Exley, 9 July 1984; Frederick Exley, “On Cheever, Styron, and That Place,” unpublished typescript; JC to Frederick Exley, late 1972 and 22 March 1973; interview Federico Cheever, 10 February 1985; interview MC, 26 July 1984; MC, “Gorgon,” THE NEED FOR CHOCOLATE, pp. 18–21; interview Rick Siggelkow, 24 July 1984.
CARDIOMYOPATHY, HOSPITALIZATION: Interview Dr. Raymond Mutter, 22 June 1984; interview Dr. Robert A. Johnson, 18 December 1984; interview Robert Cowley, 21 June 1984; Susan Cheever, HOME BEFORE DARK, pp. 181, 184–85; MC to Malcolm Cowley, 4 October 1982; JC to Candida Donadio, May 1973; JC to Robert Gottlieb, 26 May 1973; JC to Dr. Raymond Mutter, 4 June 1973; JC to Mrs. Burnham Carter, Jr., 5 June 1973; interview Dr. Frank Jewett, 29 June 1984.
ACADEMY, APPLES: Robert Penn Warren et al., nominating petition for JC’s membership in the American Academy, 16 May 1973; L. Woiwode, “Cheever at His Best, As If He Were Growing Younger,” NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW, 20 May 1973, pp. 1, 10, is a representative review.
IOWA-BOSTON-SMITHERS
IOWA WELCOME, IRVING, CARVER: JC, “An Afternoon Walk in Iowa City, Iowa,” TRAVEL & LEISURE, September 1974, pp. 32, 50; JC to John and Mary Dirks, 20 September 1973; interview Allan Gurganus, 16 September 1984; Frederick Exley, PAGES FROM A COLD ISLAND (New York, 1975), pp. 246–47; Ron Hansen to SD, 25 June 1984; JC to Sara Spencer, 4 October 1973; JC to Arthur Spear, 29 October 1973; John Irving, “But what you always remember …,” SEEMS LIKE OLD TIMES (Iowa City, 1986), pp. 114–16; Mona Simpson, “Raymond Carver: The Art of Fiction,” PARIS REVIEW, Summer 1983, pp. 204–5; interview Raymond Carver, 23 October 1984.
DRINKING, TEACHING: Interview John Leonard, 23 October 1984; interview T. Coraghessan Boyle, 11 February 1985; Ron Hansen to SD, 25 June 1984; Sarah Irwin to SD, 18 July 1984; JC to Laurens Schwartz, 9 October 1975; interview Bob Chibka, 5 June 1985; interview Allan Gurganus, 16 September 1984; JC on Dick Cavett show, 21 March 1978; interview John C. Gerber, 29 April 1985.
MINER, IRWIN, SPIVAK, GURGANUS: Interview
Lucy Miner, 18 October 1984; Lucy Miner to SD, 28 January 1987; interview John Leggett, 28 April 1985; interview Mrs. Wallace Boyd, 29 April 1985; interview Federico Cheever, 10 February 1985; Sarah Irwin to SD, 18 July 1984; interview Gayatry Spivak, 28 December 1984; interviews Allan Gurganus, 31 May 1984 and 16 September 1984; Allan Gurganus to SD, 18 February 1986; interview Bob Chibka, 5 June 1985.
ATTACK, ACADEMY, RETURN: JC to Dr. Raymond Mutter, 8 September 1973; Sarah Irwin to SD, 18 July 1984; Aaron Copland to JC, 23 November 1973; Margaret Mills to JC, 20 November 1975; JC, typescript 21; Caskie Stinnett to SD, 26 November 1985; JC to Candida Donadio, 16 April 1974.
SEPARATION, GURGANUS STORY: JC to Frederick Exley, 31 January 1974; JC to Allan Gurganus, 21 February 1974, 5 March 1974, and 8 March 1974.
BOOZE, COATES: Interview John and Mary Dirks, 16 July 1984; interview Aline Benjamin, 5 July 1984; JC to Dennis Coates, 11 March 1974 and 11 April 1974; interview Dennis Coates, 28 May 1984 and 8 October 1984; JC, “The Leaves, the Lion-Fish and the Bear,” ESQUIRE, November 1974, pp. 110–11, 192–93, 195–96.
TALK OF DIVORCE: Interview John and Mary Dirks, 16 July 1984; Mary Dirks to SD, 6 August 1984.
DEGRADATION, PROVINCETOWN, FRED AS PROTECTOR: Interview Gayatry Spivak, 28 December 1984; Mary Dirks to SD, 9 August 1984; interview Christopher Lehmann-Haupt and Natalie Robins, 22 October 1984; interview Molly Malone Cook, 2 May 1985; interview Virginia Rice Kahn, 5 June 1985; interviews Federico Cheever, 10 February 1985 and 11 February 1985; Lucy Miner to SD, 17 March 1987; interview Dr. Raymond Mutter, 22 June 1984.
BOSTON—“A NEW LIFE”: Interview Dr. Frank Jewett, 29 June 1984; interview MC, 20 October 1984; JC to John and Mary Dirks, 11 September 1974; JC, typescript 15; David Robertson to SD, 23 March 1985; George Starbuck to SD, 28 October 1983; interview George Starbuck, 16 October 1984; John Malcolm Brinnin to SD, 9 May 1984; JC to William Maxwell, 3 September 1974; McCabe, “The Inner Realm.”
VALHOULI, SCHWARTZ, UPDIKE: Interview James Valhouli, 15 October 1984; interview Laurens Schwartz, 29 July 1985; Laurens Schwartz to SD, 1 August 1985; MC to SD, 15 June 1985; John Updike to SD, 25 June 1984 and 13 November 1984.