TypeTown #40: “If I don't measure up... at least leave me to my delusion.”

🇺🇸 Philip Roth, Mary McCarthy, Ray Zill, more...

Jul 02, 2023

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Welcome, welcome.

Here we are again, staring down the barrel of another week of toil.

So how about we delay the inevitable for five glorious minutes?

Philip Roth knew a thing or two about putting in the hours.

Over a 50-year career, he produced more than 20 novels — as well as a supporting cast of short story collections.

And, despite his doubts, he was acclaimed from the outset.

“If I don’t measure up as an American writer, as least leave me to my delusion.”

Aged just 27, he won the National Book Award in 1960 with Goodbye, Columbus.

By the end of the sixties, he’d broken into the mass market with Portnoy’s Complaint.

TypeTown is drawn to Roth through a shared appreciation for two of life’s essentials: typewriters (obviously)… and an afternoon snooze.

“Let me tell you about the nap. It’s absolutely fantastic.”

His work blurred the lines between fiction and autobiography. Where one world ended and the other began, few were clear.

“Writing is frustration. It’s daily frustration, not to mention humiliation. It’s just like baseball: you fail two-thirds of the time.”

But he had plenty of home runs.

He was awarded the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for American Pastoral and the Man Booker International Prize in 2011. In 2012, he received a Library of Congress Creative Achievement Award for Fiction.

After his death in 2018, his possessions — including two typewriters — were auctioned for charity. His Olivetti pulled in $17,500. A Selectric sold for $4,800.

TypeTown hopes they are being put to good use.

“The road to hell is paved with works-in-progress.”

READ» Yogi Berra's baseball bat and a $17,500 typewriter: a visit to the auction of Philip Roth's estate - The Guardian

READ» Into The Clear - The New Yorker

READ» Philip Roth, Giant of the American Novel, Is Dead at 85 - Vogue

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Time to Hail Mary?

Prodding away at the Hermes that saw her through her later years, Mary McCarthy resembles an ageing Italian nun.

Her work, however, didn’t quite match.

She shocked audiences 80 years ago, using a Remington portable to bash out frank depictions of female sexuality.

Thankfully, she’d long since left Catholicism and declared herself an atheist.

So no Hail Marys necessary.

“We are the hero of our own story.”

A renowned critic and novelist, her other subjects included Vietnam and Watergate. Little of substance in mid-20th-century American life escaped her gaze.

It was the sharpness of her observations that caused most unease.

“People with bad consciences always fear the judgment of children.”

WATCH» Mary McCarthy Describes How She Responds To Criticism - The Dick Cavett Show

READ» Mary McCarthy, 77, Is Dead; Novelist, Memoirist and Critic - The New York Times

READ» Biography - The Mary McCarthy Society

Ray of light

We close this week with a cranking gear change from past to present and the work of typewriter enthusiast and poet Ray Zill.

Washington-based Ray has a new project in the works — and it looks perfect for TypeTowners.

Using 3x5 inch catalog cards, Ray is trying to create a collaborative artist book project. Full details here.

“There are very few rules!”

Poet Ray Prints

Poet Ray Prints on Instagram: “Shout-out to my talented partner Kyle who handcrafted this beautiful wooden box to house the Community drawer. If you have to judge a book by it’s cover, I’m grateful we have this one. 💕 Check out some of the cards I received for this project by going to poetrayprints.com/community And, I’m still accepting submissions! #catalogcards #cardcatalog #community #mailart #makeart #woodworking #bookarts #artistbook #artistsoninstagram”

June 26, 2023

READ» About - Poet Ray Prints