Oct

27

Disturbing The Cleese.

Posted by Christopher Waldrop

October 27, 2009 | 1 Comment

There’s something weird about October 27th. Both Dylan Thomas and Sylvia Plath were born on this day, in 1914 and 1932 respectively. Maybe this is just a coincidence, though. You could probably take any day and find that it’s the birthday of several famous people. For instance, John Cleese was also born on October 27th, [...]

Sep

17

You Can Hear The Whistle Blow A Hundred Miles.

Posted by Christopher Waldrop

September 17, 2009 | 1 Comment

To say I grew up listening to Peter, Paul, And Mary would be an understatement. My mother played their albums on a daily basis. When I got my first tape recorder I had a lot of fun recording my best friend belching, but what I really listened to–in bed before going to sleep almost every [...]

Jun

16

Maybe We’re All Phonies.

Posted by Christopher Waldrop

June 16, 2009 | Leave a Comment

There are a few books that are so ubiquitous, books that probably everyone’s read, that, in spite of our normal obsession with the biographies of geniuses, the authors themselves seem to disappear. And sometimes the authors do disappear. Harper Lee famously quit giving interviews. And J.D. Salinger has been a recluse since…well, longer than some of us have been alive. [...]

Apr

9

What’s In A Name? (Part 2)

Posted by Christopher Waldrop

April 9, 2009 | 1 Comment

I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.
Whatever I see, I swallow immediately.
-from Mirror
For almost any reader Sylvia Plath’s poetry comes with baggage, specifically the baggage of her suicide at the age of thirty, although some probably also know the story of her marriage to Ted Hughes, and how he left her for another [...]

Apr

8

What’s In A Name? (Part 1)

Posted by Christopher Waldrop

April 8, 2009 | 1 Comment

The purpose of biography is something that concerns me mainly because I’ve always been fascinated by the lives of people I admire. The overall arc of their lives, from birth to death, and the mundane details in between interest me because I can’t help wondering what they were like in person. And yet there’s a [...]