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Lawrence Epstein
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"Famous Blue Raincoat" (by Lawrence J. Epstein)
Were the haunting, breathtaking, painful lyrics of “Famous Blue Raincoat” written by almost any other songwriter besides Leonard Cohen, there would be no question about the song’s meaning. It appears to a straightforward confessional letter about a love triangle between... Continue reading
Posted May 24, 2012 at The Best American Poetry
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Bob Dylan's Identity (by Lawrence J. Epstein)
Imagination takes precedence over intellect for Bob Dylan. David Dalton tries to trace the career of that remarkable imagination in his book Who Is That Man?: In Search of the Real Bob Dylan (Hyperion) which is being published today. Dalton,... Continue reading
Posted Apr 24, 2012 at The Best American Poetry
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Theo Van Gogh (by Lawrence J. Epstein)
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Vincent Van Gogh was born 159 years ago today. But that's not a picture of him. It's a picture of his younger brother Theo, who virtually single-handedly provided the financial and emotional support that allowed his brother to paint. When... Continue reading
Posted Mar 30, 2012 at The Best American Poetry
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Thanks so much for your kind comments, Bill. Larry
Toggle Commented Mar 9, 2012 on What Nighthawks Says About Fiction (by Lawrence J. Epstein) at The Best American Poetry
What Nighthawks Says About Fiction (by Lawrence J. Epstein)
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Seventy years ago Edward Hopper completed his masterpiece, a chilling painting that captured the reality and pain of human loneliness. (For the information completist, the painting was finished on January 21, 1942). Nighthawks has become the iconic symbol of a... Continue reading
Posted Mar 9, 2012 at The Best American Poetry
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Gracie Allen for President (by Lawrence J. Epstein)
Stephen Colbert's mock exploration of a presidential run this year was not the first time a comedian satirically sought the highest office. Will Rogers, Eddie Cantor, and Pat Paulsen were among the others. But of all the aspiring leaders, Gracie... Continue reading
Posted Feb 22, 2012 at The Best American Poetry
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Thanks so much, Stacey. Let me tell you, it's good to be back!
Toggle Commented Feb 9, 2012 on A Heart Attack and a Novel (by Lawrence J. Epstein) at The Best American Poetry
A Heart Attack and a Novel (by Lawrence J. Epstein)
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Edmund Wilson called it a "shock of recognition," the realization of a truth that you knew but did not previously recognize. It took me twelve hours to be shocked into realizing that the small pain in my right shoulder with... Continue reading
Posted Feb 8, 2012 at The Best American Poetry
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Mystery Authors Who Write Fast (by Lawrence J. Epstein)
In her posthumously published autobiography, Agatha Christie revealed that she wrote The Mysterious Affair at Styles, her first detective novel, in two weeks. Ed McBain wrote his early 87th precinct novels in about a month each. Christie and McBain were... Continue reading
Posted Apr 15, 2011 at The Best American Poetry
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The First American Fictional Detective (by Lawrence J. Epstein)
All detective story readers know that C. Auguste Dupin, first appearing in the 1841 tale "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," was the orignal fictional crime solver. Poe created him even before the word "detective" existed. But Dupin was French.... Continue reading
Posted Apr 4, 2011 at The Best American Poetry
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The Draft Dodger Blues (by Larry Epstein)
People want me to join the Grand Army of Literary Pessimists. A recruiting sergeant for the Army comes to visit me regularly in the darkest corner of the night when I'm unable to sleep. He begins with an accusation. "Are... Continue reading
Posted Dec 30, 2010 at The Best American Poetry
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Jewish True Tales by Larry Epstein
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I'm celebrating this first day of Hanukkah by launching a new project called Jewish True Tales with stories about Jewish life. The first post has anecdotes about Einstein, Emma Lazarus, and Leslie Howard (above), the British actor and anti-Nazi activist.... Continue reading
Posted Dec 2, 2010 at The Best American Poetry
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Leon Uris and the Power of Words (by Larry Epstein)
It's been fifty years since the film version of Exodus was released. I first read the book when I was thirteen, and, though I didn't know history well enough to grasp the full power of the words, I was entranced... Continue reading
Posted Nov 8, 2010 at The Best American Poetry
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GREIL MARCUS AND DYLAN (by Lawrence J. Epstein)
What is this gold? This is Bob Dylan by Greil Marcus Writings 1968-2010 (PublicAffairs), a just-published treasure trove of the author's indispensable riffs on America's enigmatic musical legend. As the most interesting writer about Bob Dylan, Marcus is brutally honest,... Continue reading
Posted Oct 18, 2010 at The Best American Poetry
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The Detective Hero (by Larry Epstein)
Did Robert B. Parker ever write a bad sentence? The question arose as I read Parker's latest Spenser novel, Painted Ladies. The book has a bittersweet aura. I always enjoy Parker's spare prose and crackling dialogue seasoned with wisecracks and... Continue reading
Posted Oct 8, 2010 at The Best American Poetry
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Why We Read Mysteries (by Larry Epstein)
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What's interesting about a killer orangutan and a purloined letter? Or about the endlessly fascinating literature that grew from Edgar Allan Poe's valiant effort to push back against the madness trying to create an empire in his mind? This is... Continue reading
Posted Sep 13, 2010 at The Best American Poetry
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Literary Anecdotes (by Larry Epstein)
Ever since I began reading adult fiction, I have been interested in anecdotes about famous writers. The principal reason for this was that in learning about writers I hoped I could somehow absorb their skills and derive directives for leading... Continue reading
Posted Jul 2, 2010 at The Best American Poetry
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The Bob Dylan Mask (by Lawrence J. Epstein)
There are those artists who never have an unuttered thought. They feel compelled to reveal their most intimate feelings, their nastiest habits, and the messiest clutter of their personal lives. The caution light in their brain has gone out. And... Continue reading
Posted May 31, 2010 at The Best American Poetry
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Bob Dylan and Israel (by Lawrence J. Epstein)
It is possible to select carefully chosen materials from Bob Dylan's life and songs to reflect your own beliefs. So it is with some hesitation that I describe Dylan's relationship with Israel. I will present all the material, sparse as... Continue reading
Posted Apr 25, 2010 at The Best American Poetry
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Busy Being Dylan (by Lawrence J. Epstein)
One of the charms and one of the dangers of listening to Bob Dylan is that you begin to substitute his language for your own. Sometimes an image is so startling that you attach it to your own perception of... Continue reading
Posted Apr 12, 2010 at The Best American Poetry
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Rhymes With Bob Dylan (by Lawrence J. Epstein)
Bob Dylan structures his songs through rhymes. Given his skills, the results can be comforting, jarring, or rousing. But why do Dylan's rhymes work so well? Why are rhymes in any song often so enchanting? Rhymes are pleasing to the... Continue reading
Posted Feb 24, 2010 at The Best American Poetry
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Bob Dylan as Rebel (by Lawrence J. Epstein)
Subtlety is a threat to minds manacled by ideology. That is why Bob Dylan so angered those people who were determined to slap a label on him. Anthemic folk singer, protest poet, folk-rock hipster. It didn't matter. They were all... Continue reading
Posted Jan 26, 2010 at The Best American Poetry
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Writing About Dylan and Folk Music (by Lawrence J. Epstein)
Woody Guthrie's sister answered the phone. I told her my name, explained that I was writing a book about folk singers, and asked if I could speak with her. After three minutes, Mary Jo Guthrie Edgmon invited me over for... Continue reading
Posted Jan 19, 2010 at The Best American Poetry
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Bob Dylan's Voice (by Lawrence J. Epstein)
Mark Twain, in a characteristically wry observation, once noted that "Wagner's music is better than it sounds." A comparable comment can be made about Bob Dylan's voice, or, more accurately, his voices. Anyone who, without warning, first listened to Nashville... Continue reading
Posted Jan 3, 2010 at The Best American Poetry
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Will Dylan Survive? (by Lawrence J. Epstein)
Salvatore Quasimodo wasn't the Hunchback of Notre Dame. He was the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature fifty years ago. Also in 1959, Robert Lewis Taylor won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Susan Kohner and Juanita Moore were nominated... Continue reading
Posted Nov 15, 2009 at The Best American Poetry
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