James Atlas

Below, in blue, is a link to an article by the biographer and writer James Atlas. I discovered one of his works, now a favorite of mine, when I was about 20. In particular, Atlas wrote, among his other books, the authoritative biography of Delmore Schwart entitled  Delmore Schwartz, Life of An American Poet.

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/personal-history/delmore-schwartz-and-the-biographers-obsession

But who was Delmore Schwartz? Not many people will recognize his name. For a while, there was much attention paid to the late poet, particularlyl after Saul Bellow fictionalized Schwartz in his book, which preceded Bellow's Nobel Prize, Humboldt's Gift. Delmore Schwartz peaked very early, had fame, and then dissolved into mental illness. 

The link is to an article by Atlas recollection of writing the biography. Appearing in 2017 in New Yorker, Atlas recounts how he came to write the biography of Delmore Schwartz.  Great writing on a great writer, as engaging as the subject itself. 

James Atlas was 25 when he wangled a contract to write the book and describes his frisson of first opening the box of Delmore Schwartz papers and letters. The biography became part of a vogue of Delmore Schwartz that existed in the late 1970s.

Atlas also describes a commonality he had with Schwartz--discovering in his sixties that he had, like Schwartz, a bipolar disorder.  His book is well worth the read and gives a wonderful overview of literary life in New York prior to WWII.