Category: people

Elizabeth Wurtzel, Author Of ‘Prozac Nation’, Dead At 52

Her memoir, published in 1994, when she was 27, “established her as one of the most provocative writers of her generation, generating awe among readers who saw in her work an honest depiction of depression and mental health issues, as well as derision from critics who accused her of self-absorption, narcissism and relentless self-promotion. … Ms. Wurtzel went on to make ‘a career out of my emotions,’ as she later put it, receiving a reported $500,000 advance for her second book, the essay collection Bitch: In Praise of Difficult Women (1998).” – The Washington Post

TS Eliot’s “Muse” Ordered Her Letters Released 50 Years After Her Death. But Eliot Prepared A Response!

Twenty-four hours after the release of Emily Hale’s letters, the TS Eliot Foundation published a statement from beyond the grave, written by the author of the letters himself in 1960 and expressly designed to accompany their unveiling. There is, indeed, a statement about the statement – “It has come to my ears that she [Hale] has added, or is preparing to add, some sort of commentary of her own”. There then follows what appears to be a piece of pre-emptive exculpation, complete with reference to Henry James’s exploration of unscrupulous literary wrangling, The Aspern Papers, and an account of the changes in Eliot’s feelings towards Hale over the decades. – The Guardian

John Baldessari, Conceptual Artist Who Helped Transform Los Angeles, Has Died At 88

Baldessari’s decades of teaching and witty art-making in Los Angeles helped define it as a visual arts cultural capital. “Inspired by the spirit of Marcel Duchamp, who overturned traditional definitions of art in the early 20th century, and by L.A. artist Edward Ruscha’s imaginative combinations of pictures and words, Baldessari explored language and mass media culture in text-and-image paintings and photo compositions derived from film stills, magazines and other sources.” – Los Angeles Times

T.S. Eliot’s Love Letters To A Woman Not His Wife Are Being Made Public — And He Left A Bitchy Note To Posterity To Go With Them

The poet fell in love with Emily Hale in 1912, while he was a graduate student at Harvard. She did not reciprocate at the time, though they corresponded until 1956, when she announced that she would be donating his letters to her to Princeton, to be opened 50 years after both were dead (i.e., Jan. 2, 2020). Eliot was more than a little irked at Hale’s decision (he had her letters to him destroyed), but, since he couldn’t stop her, he left a statement of his own that “is also revelatory in its own way.” – Slate

Scholar Gertrude Himmelfarb, 94

Few families contributed as much to modern conservatism, although they did so in different ways. While her husband helped organize an influential network of politicians, think tanks and media outlets, and her son became a leading Republican pundit and strategist, Himmelfarb concentrated on social criticism and history’s lessons for the present. – Washington Post

Jack Sheldon, Revered Jazz Trumpeter And ‘Schoolhouse Rock!’ Star, Dead At 88

“While the charismatic and hilarious Sheldon boasted an impressive résumé that included serving as the music director and sidekick on The Merv Griffin Show for 18 years; releasing 23 albums as a bandleader between 1955 and 2007; heading his own 17-piece orchestra; … and acting in various movies and TV shows, he is also lovingly remembered as the affable, lackadaisical crooner from the Schoolhouse Rock! cartoons of the 1970s, including ‘Conjunction Junction’ and ‘I’m Just a Bill.'” – Yahoo!