In Philadelphia l THE JOHN O'HARA SOCIETY

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Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:32:00 +0000

AT THE JOHN O'HARA WEBSITE ---> www.OHara Society.blogspot.com.

Richard

@philabooks|booksellers philadelphia+washington | www.philabooks.webs.com

John O'Hara Society|Philadelphia | www.OHaraSociety.blogspot.com

25 October 1957

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:48:00 +0000

Oct2009 Filed under: MOVIE NEWS, NEWS OF THE DAY

On this day in 1957, COLUMBIA PICTURES released PAL JOEY. Directed by GEORGE SIDNEY from the novel by JOHN O'HARA, this story of a charming cad and his hectic love life is a classic Hollywood musical. Included in the cast are FRANK SINATRA, KIM NOVAK, RITA HAYWORTH, BARBARA NICHOLS and BOBBY SHERWOOD. The terrific score includes such standards as THERE'S A SMALL HOTEL and BEWITCHED, BOTHERED AND

Richard Rabicoff Reports:

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:48:00 +0000

O'Hara Sighting: The Atlantic

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 8:38 AM

Now I know why I love Mad Men. An article by Benjamin Schwartz in the November Atlantic, 'Mad About Mad Men' (http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200911/schwarz-mad-men) offers an expansive critique of the show, mixing praise and potshots for various characters and scenes. So many of the kudos for the show--precision of period details, precision of the dialogue--are redolent of O"Hara that you keep expecting JOH to crop up, amid the usual suspects of Cheever, Yates, et al.

And toward the end, the miracle occurs:

"Today the megamovie is America's most accomplished and vital mass entertainment, so it's fitting that Mad Men, which is the most quintessentially American megamovie made to date, explores a peculiarly American theme and exploits a peculiarly American asset. Leave it to a show that famously employs an unusually high number of women writers to capture—more vividly than anything I've encountered save Norman Mailer's short story "The Language of Men" and, obliquely, John O'Hara's "Graven Image" — the unrelenting, low-level competition and consequent posing, the miscues and jarringness, the monotonous lack of intimacy that characterize a good deal of the conversation among middle-class American males. And leave it to television to enshrine correct Americanese."

Now we just need a "megamovie" version of, what? From the Terrace? to show people the original gospel.

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 03:31:00 +0000

Pal Matt's Papers Go to Harry Ransom Center

AUSTIN, Texas — A collection of correspondence from the estate of Matthew Bruccoli (1931-2008), a professor, researcher and editor known for his lifelong interest in and scholarship on F. Scott Fitzgerald, has been donated to the Harry Ransom Center, a humanities research library and museum at The University of Texas at Austin. The collection was a gift from Bruccoli's widow, Arlyn Bruccoli.

Bruccoli taught at the University of Virginia, Ohio State University and, for the majority of his career, the University of South Carolina. He wrote more than 50 books of literary biography and criticism about Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway alone, while also publishing widely on such authors as John O'Hara, Thomas Wolfe, Raymond Chandler and Joseph Heller.

Bruccoli edited numerous works of literature and letters, including those of his former professor, Vladimir Nabokov. Beginning in 1978 and working with Richard Layman and C. E. Frazer Clark Jr., Bruccoli helped produce the "Dictionary of Literary Biography" (DLB), a definitive literary encyclopedia consisting of nearly 400 volumes to date.

As a teenager, Bruccoli's interest in Fitzgerald was piqued one afternoon while driving in the backseat of his parents' car when he heard the radio broadcast of Fitzgerald's short story "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz." His initially thwarted attempt to find any of Fitzgerald's books in his high school library only deepened his quest. That he finally located a copy of "The Great Gatsby" a week later, he has said, "ruined" his life, for he has been "reading the book ever since."

Most of the collection materials concern Bruccoli's work on the DLB and his research and writing on Fitzgerald and Hemingway.

There are several hundred pages of corrected proofs and correspondence related to writers' biographical entries for DLB. Writers represented in the collection include Eric Ambler, Stanley Burnshaw, John Cheever, Umberto Eco, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Alan Furst, David Hare, Seamus Heaney, Richard S. Kennedy, William Kennedy, Doris Lessing, Norman Mailer, David Mamet, Bernard Malamud, Henry Miller, Toni Morrison, Iris Murdoch, Tim O'Brien, Harold Pinter, Salman Rushdie, William Styron, Tom Wolfe and Richard Yates, among others.

There are two folders of John Updike materials, which include photos, Bruccoli's correspondence with Updike, a typescript of an introduction on Nabokov that is heavily corrected in Updike's hand, and proofs and correspondence related to Updike's DLB entry.

The collection includes Fitzgerald ephemera and letters from various Fitzgerald and Hemingway family members, including Scottie Fitzgerald Lanahan (Fitzgerald's daughter), Sunny Miller (Hemingway's sister) and Mary Hemingway (Hemingway's fourth wife).

There are letters to Jerry Weingart from Scottie Fitzgerald Lanahan in which she suggests Weingart speak with Edmund Wilson and Judge John Briggs about her father, about whom Weingart was writing. A postcard from Lanaham mentions that Compton Mackenzie's book "Sinister Street" influenced Fitzgerald when he was writing "This Side of Paradise."

Bruccoli corresponded with various writers during his research for his book of Fitzgerald's correspondence, "Notebooks," and there are letters from S. J. Perelman, P. G. Wodehose, Glenway Wescott (to Lanahan), Archibald MacLeish, Allen Tate and Thornton Wilder, all regarding Fitzgerald.

The collection also includes letters related to Bruccoli's work on Hemingway, including correspondence from Alvah Bessie, Nathaniel Benchley, Hadley [Hemingway] Mowrer and Lillian Ross.

The correspondence in the Bruccoli collection dates from 1968 to 2006, with the greatest concentration from the mid-1970s to the 1980s.

The materials will be accessible once organized and housed.

High-resolution press images of a selection of the new materials are available.

For more information, contact: Alicia Dietrich, Harry Huntt Ransom Humanities Research Center, 512-232-3667; Jennifer Tisdale, Harry Huntt Ransom Humanities Research Center, 512-471-8949.

Contact us at JohnOHaraSoc@yahoo.com. We're always looking for contributors. Join the conversation! © 2009 Writers Clearinghouse, Est. 1976 @ Fabyan, Connecticut.

Welcome!

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 23:32:00 +0000

Welcome Old -- and New Members! See You at Facebook.com!

Richard Merkin RIP: O'Hara Acolyte

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 23:25:00 +0000

All Boutonniere-ed Up

By Richard Carreno
Junto Staff Writer
There were two sides to Richard Merkin, artist, writer, bon vivant, flaneur, raconteur, bull-shitter, who died Saturday, at 71, in New York of a heart attack. There was the Providence, Rhode Island, Merkin. There was the New York Merkin. There were probably other 'sides' to Merkin that I didn't know. But the list I mention, based on the I Merkin I knew in Providence and Boston, seems enough for one life.

It was a life that he shared generously with those, like me, who needed guidance in men's fashion -- oh yeah, Merkin was a toff, too -- and a glib, cheeky quote for an upcoming newspaper story.

The Merkin I knew -- mostly in the 70s and 80s -- was a teacher, as well. (He was a graduate and a long-time instructor at the Rhode Island School of Design).

His presence in Providence as a man-about-town was legendary. I don't think anyone else in Prov at that time was wearing a bowler as everyday hatwear. And Savile Row bespoke suits. And Lobb shoes. The bowler, from Lock, not surprisingly. Or anyone who sucked up as many fancy-Dan cigs (Turkish tabac, I suppose) from a silver case. We used to meet for lunch, drinks. He'd show me around the galleries near Brown. Hey, I was getting an education.

That was the New England Merkin. Image-wise, an Amtrak ride away in New York, I suppose he cut a similar swath, with his favourite croc shoes and boutonniere. But that was the West Side Merkin I didn't know -- the writer for GQ, a pornography boffin, and, in later years, a cover artist for The New Yorker. (How could this immaculate man, seriously, be an artist? Where was the paint under the fingernails? Merkin's nails were always buffed).

There was yet another Merkin. He was also a man of letters. His GQ column was named 'Sense of Style' -- a direct steal from George Frazier's old col in Esquire. He was one of the acolytes of Charlie Davidson -- he of The Andover Shop in Cambridge -- as was Chris Lydon and, to a much lesser degree, myself, as well. We were all sorta Frazier manque, especially after George died -- what was it? -- in 1971.

Still, there was the Merkin-Frazier controversy. It was probably even reported in The Boston Globe. That would be, of course, the old Boston Globe. The Globe that Frazier used to write for. Frazier thought it correct to wear a pocket hankerchief and a boutonniere at the same time. Merkin thought that was painting the lilly. High dungeon, that stuff.

For all of us, the big cheese was John O'Hara. From O'Hara, all flowed. And, yes, O'Hara sided with Merkin regarding the pocket square/boutonniere dust-up. I think Charlie, ever the fiercest Frazier-ite, even agreed with that.

(For detailed obituary, go to www.Junto.blogspot.com).

An O'Hara Showcase

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 06:26:00 +0000

Private Collections

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 18:36:00 +0000

Richard Carreno John O'Hara Collection

General Titles
An Artist is His Own Fault, LN/LN 1977 FIRST $39.99

And Other Stories, G/G FIRST Inscription, embossed, Previous owner's signature $4.99
_____, VG/VG FIRST Bookplate Previous owner's signature $24.99

Appointment in Samarra, VG/NW Paper 1985 Brit edition $4.99
_____, LN/NW 2003 Vintage edition TBP
_____, LN/LN 1994 Modern Library edition TBP
_____, VG/G 1994 Modern Library edition $4.99
_____, VG/NW Yellowing Undated WW II wartime edition Bookplate TBP
_____, LN/LN Facsimile 1934 First edition 1961 FIRST TBP. (2 copies).
_____, G/NW Ex Libris Bookplate1935 4th edition TBP.
_____, G/NW Bookplate 1935 ?? edition TBP
_____, G/NW Torn upper spine 1935 TBP
_____, VG/G Bookplate 1953 Modern edition TBP
_____, G/NW Bookplate 1935 5th edition TBP
_____, (Rendez-Vous a Samarra), LN/NW Paper En francais 2005 French edition $14.99

Assembly, VG/NW Bookplate FIRST 1962 Cresset Brit edition TBP
_____, G/NW FIRST Embossed Previous owner's sig Bookplate TBP

Big Laugh, The, VG/VG 1962 FIRST Cresset Brit edition In protective plastic wrap $19.99
_____, VG/VG Some tears at wrapper spine Bookplate FIRST $24.99
_____, VG/NW Paper Bookplate 1997 FIRST Ecco edition $9.99

BUtterfield 8, G/NW Paper 1961 Brit Penguin edition $1.99
_____, LN/NW Paper 1999 Prion Brit edition, $7.99 (2 copies).
_____, VG/NW 1951 Shakespeare House edition TBP
_____, G/NW Paper 1960 Brit Penguin edition $1.99
_____, LN/NW Paper 2003 Modern Library edition $9.99
_____, VG/VG Undated Modern Library edition $11.99
_____, G/NW Paper 1961 Brit Penguin edition $1.99

Cape Cod Lighter, VG/G 1962 5th edition $2.99
_____, VG/G 1962 3rd Printing $2.99

Collected Stories of John O'Hara,VG/NW Paper $5.99.
_____, VG/NW Paper Bookplate1984 FIRST Brit edition $9.99
_____, LN/LN 1984 FIRST TBP.
_____, LN/NW Paper 1984 FIRST TBP.
_____, VG/NW 1984 FIRST TBP

Doctor's Son, The, VG/NW Paper Undated Avon edition TBP

Elizabeth Appleton, VG/G 1963 Second Printing TBP.
_____, G/NW Ex Libris Library binding 1963 FIRST Brit edition $2.99.
_____, VG/NW 1963 FIRST Cresset Brit edition TBP

Ewings, The, VG/VG Bookplate 1972 FIRST Brit edition $14.99

Farmer's Hotel ,The, 1951 FIRST TBP
_____, G/NW 1951 FIRST TBP
_____, VG/G Bookplate 1951 FIRST TBP

Family Party, VG/G Bookplate In plastic protective wrap Prev owner's sig 1956 FIRST $39,99

Files on Parade, G/NW Paper Brittle, yellowing FIRST 1943 Avon Modern Monthly TBP

Forty Nine Stories LN/NW 1962 Modern Library FIRST TBP

From the Terrace, G/VG Bookplate In plastic protective wrap Previous owner's sig 1958 FIRST $19.99
_____, VG/VG Bookplate In plastic protective wrap 1958 FIRST $29.99
_____, LN/NW Paper Bookplate 2nd edition $14.99

Good Samaritan & Other Stories, VG/G 1974 FIRST $29.99

Great Short Stories of John O'Hara, G/NW Paper 1956 Bantam edition $0.99
_____, VG/NW Paper 1967 Canadian edition $0.99

Hat on the Bed, The, G/NW Bookplate 1963 FIRST TBP

Hellbox, VG/NW Bookplate 1947 2nd edition Previous owner's sig $9.99.
_____, VG/VG Bookplate In plastic protective wrap 1947 2nd edition $14.99
_____, VG/VG Bookplate Some chipping at wrapper spine FIRST In plastic protective wrap $39.99

Here's O'Hara, VG/NW 1946 reprint Bookplate TBP
_____, G/NW FIRST Ex Libris Library bound Bookplate TBP
_____, G/NW FIRST Torn, damaged spine Prev owner's sig Bookplate Artifact TBP

Hope of Heaven, VG/NW Paper 1985 C+G edition TBP

Horse Knows the Way, VG/NW Bookplate 1964 FIRST $9.99
_____, VG/G 1964 FIRST $19.99
_____, LN/LN FIRST $49.99
_____, LN/LN FIRST Bookplate $34.99

Instrument, The, VG/VG Book Club 1967 $2.99

John O'Hara's Hollywood, LN/NW Paper FIRST Bookplated edited by Bruccoli $9.99

Lockwood Concern, G/VG Ex Libris Library markings Bookplate FIRST 1965 $9.99
_____, LN/LN Bookplate 1965 Brit Club Club edition $9.99
_____, LN/LN 1967 FIRST Brit edition $24.99

Lovey Childs: A Philadelphian's Story, G/NW Ex-Libris 1969 $2.99
_____, G/NW Ex Libris 1969 FIRST TBP

My Turn, G/NW Paper FIRST Signet edition 1967 $0.99.
_____, VG/NW Paper FIRST Signet 1967 edition $1.99

O'Hara Generation, G/NW 1969 edition $1.99
_____, VG/NW Paper $2.99
_____, VG/NW 1969 FIRST TBP

Ourselves to Know, VG/VG 1960 FIRST Brit edition $14.99
_____, VG/NW 1962 Brit edition $9.99
_____, VG/G FIRST Bookplate In plastic protective wrap Prev owner's sig $19.99

Pal Joey, N/NW Paper 1999 Prion edition TBP
_____, LN/LN 1952 Book Club edition TBP

Pipe Night, VG/NW 1945 5th WW II wartime edition $7.99
_____, G/NW Paper Canadian Popular Library edition $1.99
_____, VG/NW 1945 6th Wartime edition 6.99
_____, VG/G 1946 Forum FIRST TBP.
_____, VG/VG 1946 Forum FIRST TBP

Rage to Live, VG/VG1949 7th Printing, In plastic protective wrap $9.99
_____, G/NW FIRST Bookplate Prev owner's sig $9.99
_____, VG/NW Paper FIRST Reviewers' Selection series Rare 4.99
_____, Rage to Live,VG/NW 4th printing $4.99
_____, (Smania Di Vita), VG/NW Bookplate FIRST Italian edition Rare TBP

Sermons and Soda-Water, G/VG Ex Libris FIRST Brit edition TBP
_____,VG/NW Paper 1986 Carroll & Graf edition TBP
_____, VG/NW Hardback 1960 Third edition 3 vol boxed set $24.99.
_____, VG/NW Paper FIRST Carroll & Graf edition1986 TBP

Sweet and Sour, LN/LN Bookplate in plastic protective wrap 1954 FIRST $29.99
_____, LN/NW Bookplate 1954 FIRST TBP

Ten North Frederick, $1.99,G/NW Paper 1962 Brit Panther edition
_____, VG/NW, 3rd Printing 1955 TBP

Three of the Best: Pal Joey, Hope of Heaven, Sermons and Soda Water VG/NW Paper 1986 Brit edition TBP

Time Element and Other Stories, LN/LN 1972 FIRST $24.99

Two by O'Hara, LN/LN 1979 FIRST TBP

Waiting for Winter, VG/VG Bookplate Brit edition $9.99
_____, G/NW Broken spine Ex libris Library markings Bookplate FIRST $2.99

Special Editions
Americans in London, Brian N. Morton, BN/NW Paper re O'Hara 1986 FIRST $14.99

American Short Story, The: A Treasury of the Memorable and Familiar, edited by Thomas Parkes (includes Imagine Kissing Pete), LN/LN, FIRST New York: Galahad Books 1994 $9.99

At Random: The Reminiscences of Bennett Cerf, re O'Hara citations LN/VG Bookplate embossed stamp, 1977 FIRST TBP

At Random: Books and Bookpeople from Random House, LN/NW Paper, includes 'Appointment with O'Hara,' 1994 FIRST $9.99

Encyclopedia of American Humor, edited by Bennet Cerf, includes O'Hara, et al, G/G Ex Libris $0.99

Bedside Tales, Introduction by Peter Arno, VGNW 1945 FIRST TBP

Fifty Great Short Stories, A/NW Paper (Includes O'Hara's 'Graven Image') 1959 Bantam edition 0.99

For Men Only, edited by James M. Cain, G/NW, includes O'Hara, et al, 1944 2nd $0.99

Life of John O'Hara, Frank MacShane, VG/VG 1980 Brit edition TBP.
_____, VG/VG Bookplate, review attached to inside cover, to tear to fron wrapper, 1980 FIRST TBP.

John O'Hara, Robert Emmet Long, N/N 1983 FIRST $5.99. (Three texts available)

John O'Hara: A Checklist, edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli, BN/BN 1972 FIRST signed by editor TBP
_____, edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli, VG/VG 1972 FIRST $49.99

John O'Hara Compendium, edited by Richard Carreno, BN/NW Paper $9.99

John O'Hara: A Descriptive Bibliography, LN/NW 1978 FIRST $59.99

John O'Hara, Sheldon Norman Grebstein, G/NW Paper 1966 FIRST $3.99

John O'Hara, Charles Child Walcutt, VG/NW Ex Libris Library binding 1969 FIRST TBP
_____, VG/VG FIRST $4.99
_____, LN/LN $5.99

John O'Hara Journal, LN/NW Paper Bookplate, Vol. 1, Number 1 Winter 1979-80 TBP.
John O'Hara Journal, LN/NW Paper Bookplate, Vo. 4, Number 1 Spring-Summer 1981 TBP.

Journalism, Writing, and American Literature, Ronald Weber, VG/NW Paper Bookplate unpaginated (15pp?) 1987 FIRST TBP

O'Hara: A Biography of John O'Hara, Finis Farr, LN/LN 1974 FIRST Brit edition TBP
_____, Finis Farr LN/VG 1973 FIRST TBP

O'Hara Concern: A Biography of John O'Hara, Matthew J. Bruccoli, VG/VG Bookplate 1975 FIRST signed by author TBP

On Native Grounds, Alfred Kazin, including 'The Revival of Naturalism' re O'Hara, etc., G/G Bookplate, embossed stamp, notes 1942 FIRST TBP.

Pleasure for Reading, edited by Bennett Cerf, includes O'Hara's 'Bread Alone,' VG/G Slight tear to wrapper 1957 FIRST TBP.

Reader's Digest Condensed Books, G/G Includes 'A Family Party,' 1957 FIRST $0.99.

Saturday Evening Post Stories, The, re O'Hara LN/NW 1960 FIRST TBP

Selected Letters of John O'Hara, edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli, LN/VG 1978 FIRST TBP

Short Stories from The New Yorker, LN/NW 1940 FIRST TBP
_____, G/NW 1951 Brit FIRST TBP
_____, G/NW Paper Wrinkling by water damage, 1966 2nd $1.99

Short Stories from The New Yorker: 1940 to 1950, G/NW Paper Wrinkling by water damage, 1996 2nd $1.99

Wonderful Town: New York Stories from The New Yorker, BN/BN Bookplate 2000 FIRST TBP

World of the Short Story: A 20th Century Collection, edited by Clifton Fadiman, LN/VG Bookplate 1986 FIRST TBP.

Private Collections

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 00:01:00 +0000

James MacDonald's
John O'Hara Collection

Appointment in Samarra Modern Library
Butterfield 8    Harcourt, Brace first
Hope of Heaven (with stories from The Doctor's Son and Files on Parade)      British paperback
Pal Joey    British paperback
Pipe Night    British paperback
Hellbox British paperback
A Rage To Live (2)    British hardback first and Modern Library
The Farmers Hotel Bantam paperback
Sweet and Sour    British paperback
Ten North Frederick    British hardback first
A Family Party    Bantam paperback
From the Terrace (2) Random House first and British hardback first
Ourselves To Know British hardback first
Assembly    Random House first
Sermons and Soda-Water    Random House first
Five Plays British hardback
The Cape Cod Lighter    British paperback
The Big Laugh    Random House first
Forty-nine Stories    Modern Library
Elizabeth Appleton British hardback first
The Hat on the Bed British hardback
The Horse Knows the Way British paperback
The Lockwood Concern    Random House first
Waiting For Winter British hardback
The Instrument                          British hardback first
And Other Stories    Random House first
The Ewings    British hardback first
The Time Element Random House first
Good Samaritan British hardback first
Collected Stories    Random House first
Two By O'Hara      First
An Artist is His Own Fault      First
Selected Letters                           First

O'Hara Finis Farr
The O'Hara Concern      Matthew Brucolli
The Life of John O'Hara                 Frank MacShane
The Art of Burning Bridges             Geoffrey Wolff

Private Collections

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 02:32:00 +0000

David Morowitz O'Hara Collection

A PERSONAL ASSEMBLAGE OF JOHN O’HARA

NOVELS
APPOINTMENT IN SAMARRA
A RAGE TO LIVE
THE BIG LAUGH
BUTTERFIELD 8
THE EWINGS
THE FARMER'S HOTEL
FROM THE TERRACE
THE GOOD SAMARITAN
HOPE OF HEAVEN
THE INSTRUMENT
THE LOCKWOOD CONCERN
LOVEY CHILDS
OURSELVES TO KNOW
PAL JOEY
PIPE NIGHT
TEN NORTH FREDERICK
SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS
ALL THE GIRLS HE WANTED
AND OTHER STORIES
ASSEMBLY
THE CAPE COD LIGHTER
THE DOCTOR'S SON, AND OTHER STORIES
FILES ON PARADE
THE GOOD SAMARITAN AND OTHER STORIES
HELLBOX
HERE’S O’HARA
THE HAT ON THE BED
THE HORSE KNOWS THE WAY
PIPE NIGHT
SERMONS AND SODAWATER (3 NOVELLAS)
THE TIME ELEMENT, AND OTHER STORIES
WAITING FOR WINTER

ESSAYS
MY TURN
SWEET AND SOUR
ANTHOLOGIES
COLLECTED SHORT STORIES-FRANK McSHANE
GIBBSVILLE, PA-THE CLASSIC STORIES MATTHEW BRUCCOLI
SELECTED SHORT STORIES OF JOHN O'HARA (MODERN LIBRARY)
"HERE'S O'HARA"
THREE PLAYS

BIOGRAPHIES-LETTERS, ETC.
FINIS FARR: “O'HARA-A BIOGRAPHY”
FRANK MCSHANE: “THE LIFE OF JOHN O'HARA”
MATTHEW BRUCCOLI: “THE LETTERS OF JOHN O'HARA”
GEOFFREY WOLFF: "THE ART OF BURNING BRIDGES"
MATTHEW BRUCCOLI: "THE O'HARA CONCERN"
A PACH BROS. PORTRAIT OF J. O'H.

(PURCHASED 2007 FROM LIONHEART AUTOGRAPHS & LETTERS)

A LETTER FROM WYLIE O'HARA DOUGHTY

ASSORTED VOLUMES OF “THE JOURNAL OF JOHN O’HARA STUDIES”

Newest Member!

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:56:00 +0000

New Pal Carol Ritter Wright

I have been reading and collecting O'Hara for 40 years, have made 
several literary pilgrimages to Pottsville, and continue to marvel at 
the man's absolute mastery of speech and dialogue.

I was a working newspaper reporter, editor, and columnist for 43 years, 
and have recently begun writing short stories."The Cape Cod Lighter" 
in paperback was my first O'Hara book, and it hooked me immediately, so 
I started searching out and buying and devouring his other works.

I wish I lived closer to Pottsville so I could take part in all of the 
interesting O'Hara activities that are going on there now.When I 
discovered this author,he was persona non grata in his hometown, and 
I'm delighted to see that the community has finally recognized his 
talent and his amazing contribution to American letters.

Carol Ritter Wright
(From a suburb of Rochester, New York)

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 19:54:00 +0000

Let's See Your O'Hara Books!

Philadelphia l August 2009

Dear Colleagues -->
If you're a collector of the works of John O'Hara, you might want to list your holdings at the John O'Hara Society website.

Whether you are simply a collector and/or dealer, thinking about purchases or sales, listing your titles and other O'Hara materials will surely help in rounding out your O'Haraia, or make it possible for someone else to do so.

How you want to list your collection is up to you. If you're selling, establishing condition, the extent of detail, the volume of listings, and price is your choice. If you're a collector who simply wants to permanently record your collection and make its existence known to the public, that's OK, too.

For all involved, there will be no better way or venue to announce your want lists -- and speak directly to more than 100 persons who are established O'Hara fans.

Send your lists via an in-text e-mail (no attachments, please) to: JohnOHaraSociety@yahoo.com. Of course, this a FREE service..

Yours,
Richard

Contact us at JohnOHaraSociety@yahoo.com, or by telephone at +(00)12672531086. We're always looking for contributors. Join the conversation! © 2009 Writers Clearinghouse.

New O'Hara Book!

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:38:00 +0000

Swiss Publisher Backs O'Hara Bio/Analysis

Book synopsis

The writer John O'Hara (1905-1970) came from Pottsville in Pennsylvania. He put his home town and the surrounding vicinity under a microscope to produce an account of 'The Anthracite Region' that rivals Edith Wharton's descriptions of New York and Sinclair Lewis's anatomy of Sauk Centre. With the discerning eye of a local resident, O'Hara recreated this coal-rich region and its people so well that his novelettes, novellas, novels, plays and short stories give a true record of his 'Pennsylvania Protectorate' in the latter part of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century.
In order to reveal the ethnographical, geographical and historical authenticity of the O'Hara Canon, this book examines his writings in the context of Pottsville and the borough of Tamaqua, as well as the nearby towns and villages. The author also investigates both O'Hara's genteel upbringing and his gangster stratum. The book explores the many dimensions of O'Hara's life from the time of his birth until his escape to New York City in 1928. New sources such as unpublished letters and interviews with O'Hara's family, friends and enemies provide important insights into O'Hara, as well as into Pottsville and the surrounding region.

Contents

Contents: O'Hara in the Spawning Grounds of Pennsylvania - O'Hara's Genteel Upper Class in 'The Anthracite Region' - O'Hara's Gangster Stratum in 'Lantenengo County' - O'Hara: The Gentleman, Ethnographer, Geographer and Social Historian - Aftermath.

About the author(s)/editor(s)

The Author: Pamela C. Mac Arthur holds a Master's degree in American and Canadian History from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. After completing a thesis entitled 'John O'Hara: A Biographical Study', she was awarded her D.Phil. in 1999 by the School of English and American Studies at the University of Sussex, United Kingdom.

Post Script

We're looking for more details -- and a review! If you can provide either, please forward immediately!

An O'Hara on O'Hara

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 02:24:00 +0000

On 13 August 2009, Marty O'Hara writes:

My name is Martin E. O'Hara III and John was was my great uncle. My father (also Martin aka Big Mart or pop-pop depending upon your perspective) and my grandfather (the original Martin aka know as pop-pop) would tell me stories about John. As a child/young man I can remember sitting with my grandfather on his porch (on Norwegian street) and he would tell me stories mostly about their childhood adventures.    

Recently my father has bestowed upon me all of John's books, short stories, newspaper articles, etc. This new possession has re-kindled my long forgotten interest in him (which is how I found your [John O'Hara Society] blog)....

I never knew the man [John O'Hara] personally,but from all of the time I spent in Pottsville and the time I spent with my grandfatherI can see (and feel) his experiences vividly through his writing.

I am writing to you today to say that I appreciate you keeping his memory alive and well. I understand that most of the memories he left behind overshadow his work, and it is refreshing to see a different POV.

Regards,
Marty O'Hara

Free Membership Freebie on the Way!

Sat, 08 Aug 2009 22:11:00 +0000

Pal Joey DVD -- Free!
 
Thanks to Pal Joey winner Robert Knott we have a DVD available of the film version (with Frank Sinatra) of Pal Joey. If you're a paid-up member of the John O'Hara Society, a FREE copy of the DVD is on the way.
 
Any Society news? Send for posting!
 
Richard

O'Hara....

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:05:00 +0000

Misses a Few Cylinders....

I have verified that the original manuscript of Appointment in Samarra states that Al Grecco was driving a V-61 Cadillac coach. Thanks to Sandra Stelts, Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts at Penn State, and thanks to our son George Saliba for his research in finding it was a V-16 (16 cylinders). I guess the author got it wrong and no one caught it.
Robert Saliba
Morristown, New Jersey

At the New Yorker Building...

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 22:28:00 +0000

Photo: Writers Clearinghouse

... O'Hara Gets No Respect
Commemorative plaque honouring The New Yorker as long-time tenant of the buildng at 28 West 44th Street. Interesting that, with all due respect, Geffrey Hellman -- by all lights a lesser writer than John O'Hara -- gets mentioned. But no O'Hara!

O'Hara Shelf

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 02:07:00 +0000

Washington Bookshop Highlights O'Hara

Washington
The Capitol Hill Bookshop, just behind the Capitol near Eastern Market, has a shelf, well, a pile devoted to O'Hara. Pretty much a first for the author in this day and age. The texts were nothing special. But well priced. Bookshop gets an all-round A.
--RDC

Contact us at John.OHara.Society@comcast.net, or by telephone at +(00)12672531086. We're always looking for contributors. Join the conversation! © 2009 Writers Clearinghouse.

Ringing O'Hara

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:08:00 +0000

O'Haras in Pottsville Directory

Thanks to Rick Prelinger, of Prelinger Archives, San Francisco, for sending these images! Rick writes: 'After looking at the Soiciety's blog I thought I'd send scans of copy of the 1916 Pottsville telephone directory showing John O'Hara's father listed at 606 Mahantongo. It isn't of the greatest historical significance, but it's fun. Hope to get back to Pottsville one of these days and explore further. It's been awhile.'

Again, many thanks, Rick! I've put you on the e-mail list.

Richard.

Free Books

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:19:00 +0000

Promotion Ends
Sorry, but this promotion, because of demand, has already terminated. No more free books available. (For cheapest O'Hara books, go to www.philabooks.webs.com). Hope to post your free books Monday. That's NOT a holiday, right? Anyway, look out for more cooperative promotions between the Society and @philabooksbooksellers. Happy Fourth of July!

Get a Free O'Hara Book

@philabooksbooksellers is offering subscribed members of The John O'Hara a free book authored by John O'Hara. These are second-hand books, and most are paperbacks. Condition varies. Offer applies as long as supplies last. Send a e-mail to philabooks@comcast.net, noting your membership and your mailing instructions. Offer expires 1 August 2009.

Contact us at John.OHara.Society@comcast.net, or by telephone at +(00)12672531086. We're always looking for contributors. Join the conversation! © 2009 Writers Clearinghouse.

Worldwide View

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:40:00 +0000

International Interest

in Society, Study Says

During the past year, this website of the John O'Hara Society has received visitors from 39 countries, with the United States and the United Kingdom topping the list as the locales producing the most hits.

This is some of the information StatCounter, our statistical source for the website and its companion site, http://www.junto.blogspot.com/, shows.

In descending order, the following are some of the countries represented in the data:

Canada, Germany, Ireland, France, Spain, Japan, Thailand, Finland, Denmark, China, and Italy.

How did visitors come to the site? According to the data, the most common 'keywords,' directing interested parties were, in the following order:

'o'hara novels,' 'john o'hara society,' 'john o'hara,' 'john o'hara novels,' 'john o'hara club,' 'john o'hara blog,' 'dunhill gold plated lighter,' 'wylie o'hara,' 'john o'hara philadelphia,' 'writers clearinghouse press,' 'john o'hara fan club,' 'john o'hara pal joey,' @philabooks,' and the like.

Some of the more interesting hits included the following keywords:

'mere sex,' 'john o'hara still living,' 'my father came home at four o'clock one morning in the fall of 1918, and plumped down on a couch in the john' ohara,' 'date to love author john o'hara,' 'john o'hara jew,' 'erloff,' and the like. (Some others were pretty raunchy).

If you'd like more details about the continuing survey and how it's compiled, just let me know.

--- RDC

Writer's Query

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:36:00 +0000

Did O'Hara Get it Wrong?

In the Companion Guide project I am working on, I think I noticed two mistakes in Appointment in Samarra, and I was wondering if you had the time whether you could check things out in your first edition.

Early on Al Grecco picks up Julian driving home from the Country Club after the drink throwing incident. The books states that Al Grecco is driving a V-61 Cadillac Coach. I went online, and there is no V-61 Cadillac Coach. There is, however, a V-16 Cadillac Coach.

In the scene where Julian wakes up the next day with a hangover, there's a reference to his Kappa Beta Phi Key. There is no Kappa Beta Phi. Instead there is of course Phi Beta Kappa.

I have an email in to Penn State. They promised me an answer. I want to look at the original manuscript to see what was written down. Was this the error of the author or the publisher.

All the more reason for the pilgrimmage to Penn State. Any help you can give me would be appreciated.

--Robert Saliba

The Big Question?

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:25:00 +0000

Left to Right, James Checket, Robert Saliba, Robert Knott, Richard Carreno in front of old O'Hara house, 'Linebrook.'

Photo: Writers Clearinghouse

Why Did O'Hara Move to Princeton?

That was the big question over lunch at the Nassau Inn.

Lots of reasons:

Near Philly and Pottsville.

It wasn't New Haven

It embodied Wall Street money

Ivy League School

Firzgerald?

WASP population

Thanks to Robert Saliba, we also get the official view from the late and pal Matt Bruccoli:

'...Belle wanted to get John out of New York where there were too many distractions and to many bars. He concurred, admitting that it was time for him to make "21" a restaurant and not a career. When Wylie showed a mild asthma condition, the O'Haras began town hunting. Saratoga Springs, where Frank Sullivan lived, was considered, but was rejected because the winters were harsh and it was a long way from the reference sources O'Hara needed. No serious consideration was given to Potttsville. He wanted a college town for the library facilities and for the people; and Princeton won out over New Haven...He liked Princeton's location between Philadelphia and New York and had the theory that the social structure of a college town is set by the living standard of the full professors, This is not the case in Princeton. As John O'Hara certainly knew, Princeton is full of big money, and its social structure is more influenced by Wall Street than by Prospect Street." -- Bruccoli, Matthew J., The O'Hara Concern, p 199.

20 June 2009

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:57:00 +0000

Society Visits O'Hara's Princeton

After lunch at the Nassau Inn, a favourite O'Hara dining spot, Society pals toured the 'Master's Princeton.' Included were the Princeton Chapel, Trinity Church, the Nassau Club, Linebrook, and O'Hara's gravesite in the Princeton Cemetery. After almost four hours, we wound up having tea at the cafe in the new town Library building across from the cemetery. Among our group were Robert and Jenny Saliba, James and Sally Checket, Robert Knott, Carol Gramer, Joan Kane, and Richard Carreno.

Next trip? O'Hara's study at Penn State University. Stay tuned for details!

Press Released

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:01:00 +0000

From: Richard Carreno
Date: 12 June 2009
Re: PRESS ADVISORY (O'Hara Society Field Trip to Princeton, NJ)
Contact: 267.253.1086

When: 20 June 2009, 12:30 PM
Who: John O'Hara Society
Where: Nassau Inn

Society to Princeton Sites Related to Author

The John O'Hara Society, a worldwide group that honours and celebrates the life and work of John O'Hara, arguably America's greatest 20th century short-story writer, will meet Saturday, 20 June, in Princeton, NJ, for a field trip to sites related to the author's life and death.

O'Hara lived in Princeton for many years until his death in 1970.

The group, with its head office in Philadelphia, will meet at 12:30 PM for lunch at the Nassau Inn, Palmer Square, and leave from there for site visits to:

* Princeton Cemetery (O'Hara's gravesite)
* 18 College Road West (his first house in Princeton)
* Princeton University Chapel (site of O'Hara's funeral service)
* Princeton Trinity Church (site of funeral of O'Hara's second wife, Belle)
* Linebrook (O'Hara's house)
* Nassau Club (his club in town)
* Princeton Y.M.C.A. (attended)

The lunch is reserved for CURRENT Society members only. The tour is open to all. Just show up.

For more details about the outing and FREE Society membership, go OHaraSociety.blogspot.com. Or contact the group's membership secretary, Richard Carreno, on 2672531086.

END

Contact us at John.OHara.Society@comcast.net, or by telephone at +(00)12672531086. We're always looking for contributors. Join the conversation! © 2009 Writers Clearinghouse.