tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post7941970989470974071..comments2024-03-28T14:33:26.011-04:00Comments on Jungle Red Writers: Patricia Highsmith's Biographer Joan SchenkarJungle Red Writershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16646429819267618412noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-56187970875804122412010-12-29T05:46:44.402-05:002010-12-29T05:46:44.402-05:00Joan, wonderful interview! I kept nodding my head ...Joan, wonderful interview! I kept nodding my head in agreement as you talk about the intensity of writing about another and the intimacy of it. <br /><br />I don't know that I could have written about a subject like Highsmith. I find that I'm drawn to eccentric, larger-than-life people to write about -- not sure what that says about me!<br /><br />Best of luck and I look forward to the paperback release!Jeff Markshttp://www.jeffreymarks.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-91001783288881484862010-12-28T15:28:33.144-05:002010-12-28T15:28:33.144-05:00Since my husband and I just got around to watching...Since my husband and I just got around to watching "The Talented Mr. Ripley," we were talking about this blog at lunch today. That's when I had a crazy idea. ;) <br /><br />What do you suppose Highsmith would think of all the high-tech stuff expected of authors these days - platforms, podcasts and Facebook? ;) Sneer City, no doubt.<br /><br />Then again, I kind of imagine her writing the most inflammatory rant blog ever to scorch the web. :):)Rhonda Lanehttp://www.thehorseyset.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-20190895470659379342010-12-28T15:05:40.848-05:002010-12-28T15:05:40.848-05:00PJ -- Highsmith is a misanthropist's delight. ...PJ -- Highsmith is a misanthropist's delight. I think you'll be interested to see just how autobiographical that little book she wrote about plotting and writing suspense fiction really is.<br /><br />Pauline -- Highsmith's life and work were so entertwined that I had to invent new forms for biography to accomodate her. The book is organized according to her obsessions. (With a few crime maps and chronologies thrown in for eddification and delight, of course.)<br /><br />Jan-- So glad you like the phrase because it's the way Highsmith approached her diairies and notebooks: creating little fictional scenes that embodied her own emotions. And it's also the way I approached her life. I tried to find new fictional techniques ("lies", if you will) to enter her character in ways as unconventional as she is.<br /><br />Thank you, Rys, I didn't know I could work for such a long time with someone who disturbed me so completely either -- but my admiration for her work kept drawing me back to the desk. Not to mention the fact that I love a good artistic challenge -- and this was one was definitely inter-galactic.<br /><br />Thank you, Mr. Levin, for the compliment.joan schenkarhttp://www.joanschenkar.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-25827660662498189462010-12-28T14:24:49.148-05:002010-12-28T14:24:49.148-05:00Thanks for weighing in, Doug. I read your interest...Thanks for weighing in, Doug. I read your interesting blog post on the topic. I'm not a big reader of biographies, either -- and yet I found the story of Patricia Highsmith endlessly fascinating.Hallie Ephronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04759439029582054503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-54991437959858092262010-12-28T14:05:06.056-05:002010-12-28T14:05:06.056-05:00Thanks for the interview and the book. It would be...Thanks for the interview and the book. It would be interesting, too, perhaps to see a volume of excerpts from Highsmith's cahiers, diaries, and letters -- though maybe they are too fragmented? I found the Marijane Meeker memoir, "Highsmith: A Romance of the 1950s," interesting too, though covering just a slice of Highsmith's life. Ultimately, I find Highsmith's works so interesting, troubling, and visceral that her biography can only illuminate so much. My informal comments on Ms. Schenkar's splendid book are here: http://douglevin.blogspot.com/2010/04/talented-miss-highsmith.htmlDoug Levinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05442233093216368844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-85375254914845892932010-12-28T13:21:43.702-05:002010-12-28T13:21:43.702-05:00Joan and Hallie--congratulations that was a brilli...Joan and Hallie--congratulations that was a brilliant interview.<br /> I was especially interested to read the element of loathing that developed in your relationship with Miss Highsmith. I don't know if I could work of a long time on a subject I didn't actually love, so I'm impressed.Rhys Bowenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06663634889908752121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-89829093808373212792010-12-28T12:43:17.657-05:002010-12-28T12:43:17.657-05:00I have to purchase this biography. It sounds as fa...I have to purchase this biography. It sounds as fascinating as a mystery novel. Usually, I tend to ignore parallels between an author's life and work because they seem at best speculative. But this writer seems to have lived intensely in her mind what she wrote.Pauline Alldredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00847008019331163905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-28290887879337406682010-12-28T12:23:14.800-05:002010-12-28T12:23:14.800-05:00Welcome Joan,
You s paint a fascinating portrait o...Welcome Joan,<br />You s paint a fascinating portrait of Pat Highsmith -- even in such short forum as a blog. <br /><br />(The interview read like a suspense novel with new, bizarre revelations staged in beats, I can just imagine what the book is like) You can definitely tell you lived and breathed her.<br /><br /> I love the lin: the kind of lies that lead the way to truth and would love to know more about how you mean that?<br /><br /> I am reading nothing but non-fiction these days, so this book goes immediately on my list.Jan Broganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11323983086318138814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-75391925799371956122010-12-28T11:50:27.797-05:002010-12-28T11:50:27.797-05:00Looks like a GREAT book. Thank for sharing, Hallie...Looks like a GREAT book. Thank for sharing, Hallie. My favorite book of PH's is Plotting and Writing Suspense Fiction. I didn't know she was a kindred spirit. "Christmas was just an unpleasant detail (she would have hated giving presents, of course), but sentimentality irritated the hell out of her." LOVE IT!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-51142775974351252842010-12-28T11:40:24.636-05:002010-12-28T11:40:24.636-05:00OH, thank you, Joan! Lovely of you...
And yes, yo...OH, thank you, Joan! Lovely of you...<br /><br />And yes, you are SO right. "I'm finished"--is instantly followed by--"I'm doomed."Hank Phillippi Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17420701704169428286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-66021211653246485222010-12-28T11:28:22.789-05:002010-12-28T11:28:22.789-05:00Thanks for your comment, Ramona. Highsmith hid her...Thanks for your comment, Ramona. Highsmith hid her life in plain sight in her fictions -- so I think you'll find the biography interesting.<br /><br />And apologies to you Bobbi for adding that extra "e" to your name. My typing has made my spelling even worse than it usually is!Joan schenkarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-90899668811170159322010-12-28T11:24:51.209-05:002010-12-28T11:24:51.209-05:00Hank -- a pleasure to hear your electronic voice. ...Hank -- a pleasure to hear your electronic voice. You were the BEST panel chair ever (at the Edgar Allan Poe Awards) not to mention being the best-dressed. <br /><br />You know yourself there's no rest for writers. The only thing worse than writing is NOT writing. Though, frankly, I'd love to be NOT writing in some over-priced tropical spa about now.<br /><br />And Rhonda, that's a great question. The truth is, because biography is such a personal art, the subject seems more or less to choose YOU. It's very mysterious, but it actually seems to work that way.......<br /><br />The paperback, btw, is out on Jan. 4.joan schenkarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-77964259580460072892010-12-28T11:18:51.829-05:002010-12-28T11:18:51.829-05:00Thank you so much for this interview. I've rea...Thank you so much for this interview. I've read the Ripley novels and her non-fiction about plotting, but like others said, know very little about her personal life. I look forward to reading this biography--this interview has certainly intrigued me!Ramonahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00627775403015684868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-68626028475746042842010-12-28T11:07:30.623-05:002010-12-28T11:07:30.623-05:00Fascinating, fascinating, Joan. Now I'm eagerl...Fascinating, fascinating, Joan. Now I'm eagerly awaiting that paperback edition.<br /><br />I have a question for Joan ... . <br /><br />Because writing a person's biography is such an intense and even intimate commitment, how do you choose who to research and to write?Rhonda Lanehttp://www.thehorseyset.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-10249402204459528552010-12-28T10:49:05.652-05:002010-12-28T10:49:05.652-05:00Oh, what an astonishing conversation! Joan, you ar...Oh, what an astonishing conversation! Joan, you are quite a survivor--talk about an adventure. Can you relax a bit now? Is your brain letting go a little? Do you wake up in the morning and realize--wait, the book is finished...<br /><br />(Lovely to see you in NYC last spring...hope our paths cross again in person soon.)Hank Phillippi Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17420701704169428286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-29951806361216076932010-12-28T10:24:15.643-05:002010-12-28T10:24:15.643-05:00P.S. Thanks, Bobbie. If you love Highsmith's w...P.S. Thanks, Bobbie. If you love Highsmith's work, her life will fascinate you. The life MADE the work -- and it's like no one else's.joan schenkarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-32813801129832281922010-12-28T10:05:50.876-05:002010-12-28T10:05:50.876-05:00Delighted to be a guest today on Jungle Red, amon...Delighted to be a guest today on Jungle Red, among writers and readers with the taste and talent for the Other Side of American fiction.Joan Schenkarhttp://www.joanschenkar.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-42002328293664977922010-12-28T09:35:38.635-05:002010-12-28T09:35:38.635-05:00What a terrific interview today! I loved Patricia ...What a terrific interview today! I loved Patricia Highsmith's books but knew nothing of her as person. I will certainly look for Joan Schenkar's book.Bobbi Mummhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06374200975450583226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-63726141473734966142010-12-28T09:26:53.119-05:002010-12-28T09:26:53.119-05:00Ooh, and I forgot to mention - the book comes out ...Ooh, and I forgot to mention - the book comes out in January in paperback.Hallie Ephronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04759439029582054503noreply@blogger.com