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Memories of Bobby Fischer; Interviews with Nell Freudenberger and Tom Wolfe
Filed under: Headline Shooter Tagged: Bobby Fischer, books, chess, Dorothy Parker, fiction, in memoriam, interviews, Nell Freudenberger, Tom Wolfe, Walter Tevis
Jason Kottke has a nice roundup of pieces about the late Bobby Fischer, including a 1957 Talk and a 2004 book review from The New Yorker. A few months ago, Emdashes’ own Martin Schneider wrote a detailed post about all things Fischer and The New Yorker—check it out. Then read my favorite novel, The Queen’s Gambit, by Walter Tevis, and go even deeper into the bright and dark mental checkerboards of troubled chess prodigies.
Here’s Nell Freudenberger, interviewed by Lynn Carey for Inside Bay Area, which seems to be the online hub for several Bay Area newspapers, including the Oakland Tribune.
And here’s Tom Wolfe, interviewed by Tim Adams for the Guardian. It reminds me of another Guardian piece I’d been meaning to mention, in which Wolfe seems to misquote Dorothy Parker—who’s said to have given the answer, in a parlor-game challenge to use “horticulture” in a sentence, “You can lead a horticulture, but you can’t make her think”—and then not attribute the (mis)quotation. Or perhaps he’s riffing on Parker’s bon mot (or else the reporter misheard Wolfe); what do you think?
About us
Hello! We're a small band of media enthusiasts, culture addicts, and journalists based in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Emdashes, formerly a New Yorker fan site, is our collection of conversations—mostly civilized—about magazines, movies, politics, design, punctuation, and other things that stir us.
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Dashes, some say, “are particularly useful in a sentence that is long and complex.” Emdashes—like an em dash itself—provides a thoughtful pause amid the hubbub.
Emdashes, founded in 2004, is written and drawn by Emily Gordon, Martin Schneider, Pollux, Jonathan Taylor, and Benjamin Chambers, as well as occasional guest contributors. All posts before October 2008 are by Emily Gordon.
The site was designed by House of Pretty with illustrations by Jesse R. Ewing.
Additional drawings are by Carolita Johnson and Pollux (author of our web comic, "The Wavy Rule"). The Emdashes pencil logo is by Jennifer Hadley, based on a 1943 Dorothy Gray ad.
Other writing by Emily Gordon
- Writing on theater: reviews (for Time Out Chicago; imperfect but workable search results)
- Profile: Valerie Casey, Designers Accord founder, is spearheading the design of sustainability (for SXSW World)
- Feature: Rea Irvin: visionary art director, bon vivant, New Yorker founding father (for Print)
- Slide show: the Coney Island Mermaid Parade (for NYCgo.com)
- Feature: Muslim immigration iconography in the Netherlands, and an interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali (for Print)
- Review: King's Gambit: A Son, a Father, and the World's Most Dangerous Game by Paul Hoffman (for Newsday)
- Homage: Celebrating lindy-hop legend Frankie Manning (for NYCgo.com)
- Inquiry: Does a New Republic redesign mean a change of tune? (for Print)
- Interview: James Surowiecki on what's next for the wisdom of crowds (for Assignment Zero)
- Interviews: four up-and-coming designers under 30 (for Print)
- Profile: novelist and dance critic Laura Jacobs (for Newsday)
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- Jonathan Taylor
- Carolita Johnson
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Comments
Wolfe’s a fraud! Well, that may be a little harsh. I saw him once on the street up near the Whitney Museum, with the trademark duds. I could tell by the look on his face that he was cooking up some way to botch a a beloved quotation.
From what I’ve read, I get the impression that Bobby was really simply compulsively offensive — possibly Tourette Syndrome? It’s all just too weird. Anyway, thanks for lending me The Queen’s Gambit!
Maybe Bobby should have read it. Do you think he did?
Does anyone know if Bobby Fischer was reading this book he may of received from Omni Christian Book Club of America? The book is by Dr. DeTucci of the Fordham University (I think?):
Communicatio in Sacris: The Roman Catholic Church against Intercommunion with non-Catholics
You can browse the book online.
Check,
Rosa
Since your comment looks like product placement to me, Rosa, I deleted the URL from your comment. Sorry about that.
I hope all chess prodigies and players read The Queen’s Gambit—but as you know, I want everyone to read it! It’s about chess, of course, but also about living with and without sedatives (cultural and otherwise) and expectations of femininity. And about a protagonist whose narrative arc’s end doesn’t include learning to be nicer to people or having a warmer heart, but about getting to the rook in the seventh rank, which, as the book will tell you, is a bone in the throat.