The Tender Hour of Twilight

by Richard Seaver

  2. In his well-researched book Venus Bound, John de St. Jorre names me as the translator of O. Though he is not absolutely sure, he says that if “money were to be wagered I would place mine unequivocally on the Seavers [meaning me and Jeannette].” I say: John, if you can break the code of the author’s name and that of the translator, you will know for certain the identity of both.

  49. Grove Goes Public

  1. In today’s terms, one should multiply by roughly five or six.

  2. By “no-brainer” I refer to the contents of the craniums of those brokers who, without doing their homework, were still recommending the stock at that point.

  50. Genet Comes to America

  1. Actually, when finally released, the FBI file on Genet ran to more than five hundred pages.

  51. The 1968 Convention

  1. Rosica Colin, Jean’s longtime literary agent.

  2. A bad pun, but one that delighted Genet. Because of his daily matinal door knocks, we said he reminded us of a (bad) American joke series, namely, the antique “knock, knock” jokes. The pun here is on Genet’s name and the similar-sounding French verb, gêner, literally to embarrass or inconvenience. Thus, “Ne vous gênez pas,” which freely translates as “Be my guest” or, in this instance, “Come right in.”

  3. John Berendt remembers the moment quite differently and, alas, far less romantically. He recalls pressing Genet against the wall and shouting to the cop, “Stop! He’s an old man! Don’t!” And he didn’t.

  52. And Now for My Fee

  1. True to his word, Jean did come back a year and a half later, in March 1970, and involved himself deeply in the Black Panther movement.

  2. Later Genet’s agent, Rosica Colin, told me, however, that she had received, on Jean’s behalf, a portion of the fee agreed upon for the second piece, together with a standard rejection letter.

  54. Fur, Leather, and Machine Workers, Arise

  1. “More-or-less” because at Grove some of the editors who were considered full-time worked part-time at their request, and some worked partly at home because of domestic needs. In short, in keeping with its liberal practices of the past, in its new, larger incarnation it did its best to accommodate its employees’ personal schedules. Another tactical error, for that effort at accommodation, in retrospect, was barely, if at all, appreciated.

  Acknowledgments

  I thank my invaluable friends Jill Jakes, Joanne Turnbull, Dan Okrent, Toby and Dan Talbot, and Steven Lipstitz for generously taking the time to read the nine-hundred-plus manuscript pages of Dick’s memoir. Your important notes helped and encouraged me at a time when it was most needed. Leon Friedman, thank you for stepping in with your sound advice, shepherding Dick’s manuscript into the publishing world and astutely targeting the right publisher. I can’t imagine a better place than Farrar, Straus and Giroux for Dick’s writing. Jonathan Galassi, your enthusiasm, high standards, and devotion made my and Dick’s dream come true. Thank you. I very much enjoyed our collaboration, Sean McDonald. Your excellent editorial hand made all the difference in how the book was shaped. A big hug to Charlotte Strick for creating such a happy book cover. And to Abby Kagan, who had in earlier days worked with Dick at Holt; this serendipitous reunion of designing Dick’s book turned the whole experience into something quite special. Nathalie, Alex, and Nicholas, without your love and unwavering support—editorial and otherwise—the task of editing the work of one of the best editors would never have happened. To all, thank you.

  INDEX

  The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your eBook. Please use the search function on your eReading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.

  Abbey, John

  Ablard, Charles

  Académie Française

  Act Without Words I

  Adamov, Arthur

  Adolphe (Constant)

  Affluent Society, The (Galbraith)

  Agnès de rien (film)

  Air France, RS hired to teach English to stewardesses

  Alberts, David

  Allard, Paule

  Alleg, Henri

  Allen, Donald

  Alvarez, A.

  Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen

  America (steamship)

  America as a Civilization (Lerner)

  American Field Service fellowship

  American Friends Service Committee

  American School, Paris

  American Youth Hostels

  Anouilh, Jean

  Antonioni, Michelangelo

  Apollinaire, Guillaume

  Arcade Publishing

  Architectural Record (magazine)

  Arden, John

  Arrabal, Fernando

  Arrault, Monsieur (printer)

  Artaud, Antonin

  Artists in Residence (AIRs)

  Asher, Aaron

  Auch, Lord

  Auschwitz

  Autobiography of Malcolm X, The

  Automobile Graveyard, The (Arrabal)

  Ayer, A. J.

  Aymé, Marcel

  Bair, Deirdre

  Baird, Denny

  Baker, Bud

  Balcomb, John

  Balcony, The (Genet)

  Baldwin, James

  Baraka, Amiri

  Barnacle, Nora

  Barnes, Clive

  Barral, Carlos

  Bataille, Georges

  Baudelaire, Charles

  Beach, Sylvia

  Beardsley, Aubrey

  Beckett, John (cousin of Samuel)

  Beckett, Samuel: addenda to Watt; approached about writing TV screenplays; attends baseball game; begins writing in English again; and Brendan Behan; comparison with James Joyce; comparison with Joseph Conrad; connection to James Joyce; declines to translate his work into English; difficulty finding publisher for Watt; in Evergreen Review; and Film; follows RS from Grove to Viking; and Formentor Prize; forgoes advance for Watt publication; as golfer; as Grove Press author; output after decision to write in French; personal manner; as poet; rights issues; RS’s initial efforts to contact; RS’s initial interest in; RS’s view of his work; RS translates French-language works of; RS translates “Le calmant”; RS writes piece about in Merlin; sends letter welcoming RS to Grove; unexpectedly delivers Watt manuscript to RS; WORKS: Eleuthéria; Endgame; Happy Days; How It Is; Krapp’s Last Tape; “La fin”; “Le calmant”; “L’expulsé”; L’innommable; Mercier and Camier; More Pricks Than Kicks; Murphy; “Suite”; “Texte pour Rien”; see also Malone Dies; Molloy; Waiting for Godot; Watt

  Beckett, Suzanne (wife of Samuel)

  Behan, Brendan

  Bellows, Phyllis

  Belmont, Georges

  Berendt, John, and 1968 Democratic convention

  Berlitz School

  Bernanos, Georges

  Berne, Eric

  Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris

  Big Table (magazine)

  Black Cat, Grove mass-market book line

  Black Diaries of Roger Casement, The

  Black Muslims

  Black Panthers

  Blacks, The (Genet)

  Black Skin, White Masks (Fanon)

  Black Spring (Miller)

  “Black Writer and the New Censorship, The” (Lester)

  black writers

  Blin, Roger

  Blum, Léon

  Bonjour tristesse (Sagan)

  Bonnell, Linc

  book clubs

  Book Find Club

  Book-of-the-Month Club

  bookstores: Eighth Street Bookshop, New York City; English Bookshop, Paris; Gallimard Bookstore, Paris; Librairie Mistral, Paris; Phoenix Bookshop, New York City

  Booth, George

  Bordas (publisher)

  Borges, Jorge Luis

  Bourdin, Paul

  Bourel, Monsieur

  Bowles, Patrick: background; Beckett’s view; first mentions Alex Trocchi to
RS; and Genet’s The Thief’s Journal; and initial Merlinite Watt reading; as Merlinite; reads RS piece on Beckett; after RS leaves Paris; takes RS to meet Alex Trocchi; translates Beckett’s Molloy into English; view of alliance with publisher of erotica; view of Beckett;

  Brandt, Willy

  Brantl, George

  Brassaï (photographer)

  Braverman, Harry

  Braziller, George: as boss; hires RS; RS leaves firm; see also Book Find Club

  Braziller, Marsha

  Brecht, Bertolt

  Brendan Behan (O’Connor)

  Brigade Mondaine

  Brodney, Richard

  Brooklyn Bar Association

  Brown, Pat

  Bryan, Frederick van Pelt

  Bryant, Baird

  Burnett, Carl

  Burroughs, William: connection to Allen Ginsberg; follows RS from Grove to Viking; as Grove Press author; at 1962 Edinburgh Festival; and 1968 Democratic convention; rights issues; see also Naked Lunch (Burroughs)

  Cain’s Book (Trocchi)

  Calder, John

  “Calmative, The” (Beckett)

  Calvados

  Calvino, Italo

  Camus, Albert; dispute with Sartre; as editor of Combat

  Candy (Southern and Hoffenberg)

  Carlier, Robert

  carrefour de Buci, Paris

  Cartel of Social and Moral Action

  Casablanca (film)

  Casement, Roger

  Casement diaries

  Castelli, Jean

  Cau, Jean

  Céline, Louis-Ferdinand

  censorship, literary: in France; in U.S.; see also Lady Chatterley’s Lover (book); Miller, Henry; Naked Lunch (Burroughs); Story of O (Réage)

  Cerf, Bennett

  Chambon work camp

  Chaplin, Charlie

  Chareau, Pierre

  Chaumont, France

  Chevalier, Maurice

  Chicago Review (magazine)

  Christenberry, Robert

  Cinema 16

  Cioran, Emil

  Citizen Kane (film)

  City Lights, San Francisco

  City of Night (Rechy)

  Clair, René

  Claudel, Paul

  Clerx, Tony

  Coca-Cola

  Cockburn, Lord

  Cocteau, Jean

  Coenties Slip, New York City

  Coffey, Joe

  Cohen, Leonard

  Cohn, Roy

  Colette

  Colin, Rosica

  collaboration

  Collection, The (Pinter)

  Collection Merlin: Beckett’s work as catalyst; Grove acquires rights to Watt from; initial discussion with Maurice Girodias; initial list of books signed; invites Plimpton onto board; naming; plans for; printing considerations

  Collège Cévenol

  Columbus (steamship); collision at sea; RS edits cruise book;

  Combat (newspaper)

  Commager, Henry Steele

  Communism

  Comstock, Anthony

  Connection, The (Gelber)

  Connolly, Cyril

  Conrad, Joseph, comparison with Samuel Beckett

  Constant, Benjamin

  “Continued,” see “Suite” (Beckett)

  Cooper, Michael

  Coover, Robert

  copyright

  Corea, Chick

  Correspondance inédite du marquis de Sade, de ses proches et de ses familiers (Bourdin)

  Corso, Gregory

  Cowley, Malcolm

  Criterion (publisher)

  Critique (magazine)

  Customs Service, U.S.

  Daley, Richard

  Damio, Ward

  Dead Lecturer, The (Jones)

  Debauched Hospodar, The (Apollinaire)

  de Beauvoir, Simone

  de Berg, Jean (pseudonym)

  DeBoer, Bernard

  Dédéyan, Charles

  Defez, René

  de Grazia, Edward

  DeJohnette, Jack

  DeJuge, Louis

  Delaney, Shelagh

  Dellinger, Dave

  Delorme, Danièle

  Democratic Convention, 1968, Chicago; Hayden piece in Evergreen Review

  Democratic Socialists of America

  Denise René art gallery, Paris

  Denoël, Robert

  Deputy, The (Hochhuth)

  Der Marquis de Sade und seine Zeit (Dühren)

  de Rougemont, Denis

  d’Estrée, Sabine (pseudonym)

  de Vilmorin, Louise

  Dewey, Thomas E.

  Diary of a Harlem Schoolteacher (Haskins)

  Dick-Read, Dr. Grantly

  Dimanche Matin (magazine)

  Direct Energy (management consultant firm)

  Dock Brief, The (Mortimer)

  Dodd, Mead

  Douglas, William O.

  du Gard, Martin

  Duhamel, Georges

  Dühren, Eugen

  Dujardin, Édouard

  Duras, Marguerite

  Dürrenmatt, Friedrich

  Dwarfs, The (Pinter)

  École des Beaux-Arts, Paris

  Edinburgh Festival

  Eighth Street Bookshop, New York City

  Einaudi (publisher)

  Eleuthéria (Beckett)

  Eleven Thousand Rods, The (Apollinaire)

  Eliot, T.S.

  En attendant Godot, see Waiting for Godot (Beckett)

  Endgame (Beckett)

  English Bookshop, Paris

  Enzensberger, Hans Magnus

  Epstein, Jason

  Erasers, The (Robbe-Grillet)

  Eros Denied: Sex in Western Society (Young)

  Esquire (magazine): Genet’s visit to offices; paying Genet for writing two pieces; plans for coverage of 1968 Democratic convention

  Evans, Matthew

  Evergreen Review: begins publication; circulation; denounced by Gerald Ford; Don Allen’s role; “Mr. Freedom” issue; publishes excerpt from William O. Douglas’s Points of View; publishes excerpts of Last Exit to Brooklyn; publishes Genet’s “A Salute to a Hundred Thousand Stars”; publishes partial translation of Story of O; publishes Rechy’s “Mardi Gras”; role in Grove Press publishing; RS approached about editing; RS’s view; Tom Hayden piece on 1968 Democratic convention; Trocchi piece in

  “Expelled, The” (Beckett)

  Experiment in International Living

  Faber and Faber

  Fanny Hill

  Fanon, Frantz

  Far East, RS in

  Farrar, Straus and Giroux

  Faure, Edgar

  Faure, Lucie

  fellowships, see American Field Service fellowship

  Felsenthal, Francine

  Feltrinelli (publisher)

  Ferlinghetti, Lawrence

  Figatner, Herman

  Film (Beckett screenplay)

  films: Grove’s art film interest; Grove’s film-book projects

  Finnegans Wake (book)

  Finnegans Wake (film)

  Fishman, Irving

  Fitzgerald, Scott

  Flaubert, Gustave

  FOAs (Faithful Old Authors)

  Foner, Henry

  Fontaine (magazine)

  Fontenay-aux-Roses, France

  Ford, Gerald

  Formentor Prize

  For Whom the Bell Tolls (Hemingway)

  400 Blows, The (book from film)

  Franco, Gen. Francisco

  Frankfurt Book Fair

  Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (newspaper)

  Frechtman, Bernard

  Friedman, Sandy

  Frogé, Gaït

  Frost, Robert

  Fulbright Program

  Fur, Leather, and Machine Workers

  Gabin, Jean

  Galbraith, John Kenneth

  Gallimard (publisher); and Formentor Prize

  Gallimard, Gaston

  Gallimard Bookstore, Paris

  Games People Play (Berne) />
  García Hortelano, Juan

  Gelber, Jack

  Geller, Jules

  Genet, Jean: approached about writing TV screenplays; arrival in U.S. to cover 1968 Democratic convention; as Grove Press author; and Grove’s drama program; in Merlin issue number four; and 1968 Democratic convention; personal manner; Rosset’s interest in; RS meets translator Bernard Frechtman; RS’s view of work; Sartre’s view; tours New York’s Forty-second Street; U.S. censorship issue; U.S. government interest in; writes two pieces on Democratic convention; WORKS: The Balcony; The Blacks; Journal du voleur; The Maids; “The Members of the Assembly”; Our Lady of the Flowers; The Thief’s Journal

  Germaine, Madame

  Ghost Sonata (Strindberg)

  Gide, André

  Gielgud, John

  Gigi (Colette)

  Gingrich, Arnold

  Ginsberg, Allen: connection to William Burroughs; as Grove Press author; interest in Burroughs’s Naked Lunch; and 1968 Democratic convention

  Giraudoux, Jean

  Girodias, Eric

  Girodias, Marcelle Eugenie

  Girodias, Maurice: as avowed purveyor of eroticism; background; feud with Jean-Jacques Pauvert over Story of O; and Grove Press; and Lolita; meets Merlinites; Merlinite alliance with Olympia Press; and Naked Lunch; at 1959 Frankfurt Book Fair; offers printing and distribution help with Collection Merlin; provides publishing assistance with Beckett’s Watt; and rights issues concerning Tropic of Cancer; after RS leaves Paris

  Gold, Herbert

  Goldfischer, Morrie

  Goldman, Albert

  Gombrowicz, Witold

  Goodman, Benjamin

  Goudeket, Maurice

  Gover, Robert

  Goytisolo, Juan

  Grande Séverine

  Gregory, Dick

  Grove Press: archives; attempt to unionize; as Beckett’s American publisher; book club; book covers and jackets; executive committee; film-book projects; film interest; financial status; and Formentor Prize; at Frankfurt Book Fair; growth and change; interest in Genet’s U.S. visit; and Lady Chatterley’s Lover; notable authors; operations and management; Phyllis Bellows at; public stock offering; as publisher of plays; Rosset’s efforts to hire RS; RS first meets Barney Rosset; RS leaves; RS’s first day; RS’s late hours; and Tropic of Cancer; women’s rights occupation; see also Evergreen Review; Rosset, Barney