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Robert McAlmon

January 01, 1970

"McAlmon" redirects here. For the American Christian singer, songwriter and musician, see Terry MacAlmon.

Robert Menzies McAlmon (also used Robert M. McAlmon, as his signature name, March 9, 1895 – February 2, 1956) was an American writer, poet, and publisher.[1] In the 1920s, he founded in Paris the publishing house, Contact Editions, where he published writers such as Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, James Joyce and Ezra Pound.

McAlmon in 1923

Life edit

McAlmon was born in Clifton, Kansas, the youngest of 10 children of an itinerant Presbyterian minister. He died in Desert Hot Springs, California at age 60.

McAlmon studied for one semester as the University of Minnesota in 1916 before enlisting in the United States Army Air Corps in 1918. After World War I, he returned to university (1917–1920), this time at the University of Southern California. He attended classes intermittently until 1920, when he moved to Chicago and then New York City, where he worked as a nude model at an art school. Once in New York, he collaborated with William Carlos Williams on the Contact Review, which did not last for long, but published poetry by Ezra Pound, Wallace Stevens, Marianne Moore, H.D., Kay Boyle, and Marsden Hartley.

The next year, he moved to Paris after marrying the wealthy English writer Annie Winifred Ellerman, better known as Bryher. This was a marriage of convenience which allowed Ellerman, a lesbian, to continue her relationship with Hilda Doolittle, and guarded McAlmon after he publicly identified himself as bisexual, stating: "I'm bisexual myself, like Michelangelo, and I don't give a damn who knows it."[2] Ellerman divorced McAlmon in 1927.

McAlmon typed and edited the handwritten manuscript of Ulysses by James Joyce, with whom he had a friendship.

McAlmon became a prolific writer after the move, with many of his stories and poems based on his experiences as a youth in South Dakota.

Contact editions edit

Having published his book of short stories A Hasty Bunch with James Joyce's printer Maurice Darantière in Dijon in 1922, he founded the Contact Publishing Company in 1923 using his father-in-law's money. Lasting until 1929, Contact Editions brought out books by Bryher (Two Selves), H. D.'s Palimpsest, Mina Loy's Lunar Baedecker, Ernest Hemingway's first book Three Stories & Ten Poems (1923), poems by Marsden Hartley, William Carlos Williams (Spring and All, 1923), Emanuel Carnevali's only book during his lifetime (The Hurried Man), prose by Ford Madox Ford, Gertrude Stein (The Making of Americans, 1925), Mary Butts (Ashe of Rings), John Herrmann (What Happens), Edwin Lanham (Sailors Don't Care), Robert Coates (The Eater of Darkness), Texas schoolteacher Gertrude Beasley's My First Thirty Years and Saikaku Ihara's Quaint Tales of Samurais. McAlmon paid for the publication of The Ladies Almanack by Djuna Barnes.

One of McAlmon's most important and best-received works is Village: As It Happened Through a Fifteen Year Period (1924) which presents a bleak portrait of an American town. The book shows his love for Eugene Vidal (Eugene Collins in the book), Gore Vidal's father, with whom he grew up in Madison, South Dakota, which is documented in Gore Vidal's mid-90s memoir, Palimpsest.

Other works include the short story collection A Companion Volume (1923), the autobiographical novel Post-Adolescence (1923), Distinguished Air (Grim Fairy Tales) (1925), the poetry collections The Portrait of a Generation (1926), and Not Alone Lost (1937), the 1,200 line epic poem North America, Continent of Conjecture (1929), and his memoir Being Geniuses Together: An Autobiography (1938).

McAlmon returned to the United States in 1940, residing in El Paso, Texas, where he sought treatment for a pulmonary ailment. He died at Desert Hot Springs, California, almost unknown in his native country, sixteen years later.

In the 1990s, Edward Lorusso brought out three volumes of McAlmon's fiction (many were first American publications), Village (1924, 1990), Post-Adolescence (1923, 1991), and Miss Knight and Others (1992), all through University of New Mexico Press. Edward Lorusso also published Naked Truth: The Fiction of Robert McAlmon in 2020.

McAlmon is heavily featured in the book Memoirs of Montparnasse by John Glassco about the golden age of Paris in the 1920s when writers and artists flocked to the city.

His social circle and friendship with Ernest Hemingway are discussed in the novel The Paris Wife by Paula McLain.

In 2007, his fictionalized memoir The Nightinghouls of Paris was published, based on the experiences of Glassco and his friend Graeme Taylor with McAlmon in Paris. The previously unpublished book was based on a typescript held by Yale's archives.[3]

An epistolary novel about McAlmon's life in Greenwich Village, his expatriate adventures in Paris, and final years in California, Letters from Oblivion was published by Edward Lorusso in 2014.

Bibliography edit

Fiction edit

  • A Hasty Bunch. n.p., n.d. Printed by Maurice Darantière in Lyon in 1922. Short stories
  • A Companion Volume. Contact, Paris 1923. Short stories
  • Post-Adolescence. Contact, Paris 1923. Short stories
  • Village: As It Happened Through a Fifteen Year Period. Contact, Paris 1924. Novel
  • Distinguished Air: Grim Fairy Tales Contact, Paris 1925 [Photo-reprinted as There Was a Rustle of Black Silk Stockings. 1963]
  • The Infinite Huntress and Other Stories. Black Sun Press, Paris 1932 [4][5]
  • A Scarlett Pansy (under pseudonym Robert Scully), William Farro, Inc. (Roth), 1933
  • Robert E. Knoll: McAlmon and the Lost Generation. A Self Portrait. University of Nebraska, Lincoln 1962.
  • Miss Knight and Others. University of New Mexico Press, 1992
  • The Nightinghouls of Paris. University of Illinois Press, 2007
  • "La nuit pour adresse". Maud Simonnot (Paris: Editions Gallimard, 2017)

Memoirs edit

  • Being Geniuses Together. Secker & Warburg, London 1938. Memoir
  • Being Geniuses Together. Doubleday, New York 1968 (revised with supplementary chapters by Kay Boyle)

Poetry edit

  • Explorations. Egoist Press, London 1921.
  • The Portrait of a Generation. Contact, Paris 1925.
  • North America, Continent of Conjecture. Contact, Paris 1929.
  • Not Alone Lost. New Directions Publishing, Norfolk, CT, 1937.

Legacy edit

William Saroyan wrote a short story about McAlmon in his 1971 book, Letters from 74 rue Taitbout or Don't Go But If You Must Say Hello To Everybody.

Charles Demuth painted a watercolor based on McAlmon's Distinguished Air: Grim Fairy Tales titled Distinguished Air.[6]

Notes edit

  1. ^ Biography of McAlmon.
  2. ^ Mellow, James R. "Talent and All the Right Connections". New York Times. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  3. ^ Herlihy-Mera, Jeffrey; Koneru, Vamsi (2013), "The Nightinghouls of Paris: Robert McAlmon's Queer Paternalism and The Twilight of the Expatriate Movement by Chase Dimock", Paris in American Literatures On Distance as a Literary Resource, Rowman & Littlefield, ISBN 9781611476071
  4. ^ "ROBERT McALMON [aka ROBERT SCULLY] (1895 1956) A Scarlet Pan". Swann Auction Galleries. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  5. ^ Pearson, Neil. "A Scarlet Pansy: Robert McAlmon's Secret Book". Neil Peason Rare Books. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  6. ^ "Charles Demuth Paintings, Bio, Ideas". The Art Story. Retrieved February 22, 2024.

References edit

  • Robert McAlmon; Robert E. Knoll, ed. (1962). Robert McAlmon and The Lost Generation: A Self Portrait. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-803-20225-2. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Sanford J. Smoller (1975). Adrift Among Geniuses: Robert McAlmon, Writer and Publisher of the Twenties. Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN 978-0-271-01173-8. The only biography of the author.
  • Humphrey Carpenter (1987). Geniuses Together: American Writers in Paris in the 1920s. Unwin Hyman. ISBN 0-04-440331-3. Contains an insightful account of McAlmon's life.
  • Mellow, James R. (July 22, 1990). "Talent and All the Right Connections". New York Times. Retrieved August 30, 2012. Village: As It Happened Through a Fifteen Year Period. By Robert McAlmon. Edited by Edward N. S. Lorusso.

External links edit

  • Robert Menzie McAlmon at Find a Grave
  • Robert McAlmon Papers. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
  • Works by Robert McAlmon at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)  

January 01, 1970
robert, mcalmon, mcalmon, redirects, here, american, christian, singer, songwriter, musician, terry, macalmon, robert, menzies, mcalmon, also, used, robert, mcalmon, signature, name, march, 1895, february, 1956, american, writer, poet, publisher, 1920s, founde. McAlmon redirects here For the American Christian singer songwriter and musician see Terry MacAlmon Robert Menzies McAlmon also used Robert M McAlmon as his signature name March 9 1895 February 2 1956 was an American writer poet and publisher 1 In the 1920s he founded in Paris the publishing house Contact Editions where he published writers such as Ernest Hemingway Gertrude Stein James Joyce and Ezra Pound McAlmon in 1923 Contents 1 Life 2 Contact editions 3 Bibliography 3 1 Fiction 3 2 Memoirs 3 3 Poetry 4 Legacy 5 Notes 6 References 7 External linksLife editMcAlmon was born in Clifton Kansas the youngest of 10 children of an itinerant Presbyterian minister He died in Desert Hot Springs California at age 60 McAlmon studied for one semester as the University of Minnesota in 1916 before enlisting in the United States Army Air Corps in 1918 After World War I he returned to university 1917 1920 this time at the University of Southern California He attended classes intermittently until 1920 when he moved to Chicago and then New York City where he worked as a nude model at an art school Once in New York he collaborated with William Carlos Williams on the Contact Review which did not last for long but published poetry by Ezra Pound Wallace Stevens Marianne Moore H D Kay Boyle and Marsden Hartley The next year he moved to Paris after marrying the wealthy English writer Annie Winifred Ellerman better known as Bryher This was a marriage of convenience which allowed Ellerman a lesbian to continue her relationship with Hilda Doolittle and guarded McAlmon after he publicly identified himself as bisexual stating I m bisexual myself like Michelangelo and I don t give a damn who knows it 2 Ellerman divorced McAlmon in 1927 McAlmon typed and edited the handwritten manuscript of Ulysses by James Joyce with whom he had a friendship McAlmon became a prolific writer after the move with many of his stories and poems based on his experiences as a youth in South Dakota Contact editions editHaving published his book of short stories A Hasty Bunch with James Joyce s printer Maurice Darantiere in Dijon in 1922 he founded the Contact Publishing Company in 1923 using his father in law s money Lasting until 1929 Contact Editions brought out books by Bryher Two Selves H D s Palimpsest Mina Loy s Lunar Baedecker Ernest Hemingway s first book Three Stories amp Ten Poems 1923 poems by Marsden Hartley William Carlos Williams Spring and All 1923 Emanuel Carnevali s only book during his lifetime The Hurried Man prose by Ford Madox Ford Gertrude Stein The Making of Americans 1925 Mary Butts Ashe of Rings John Herrmann What Happens Edwin Lanham Sailors Don t Care Robert Coates The Eater of Darkness Texas schoolteacher Gertrude Beasley s My First Thirty Years and Saikaku Ihara s Quaint Tales of Samurais McAlmon paid for the publication of The Ladies Almanack by Djuna Barnes One of McAlmon s most important and best received works is Village As It Happened Through a Fifteen Year Period 1924 which presents a bleak portrait of an American town The book shows his love for Eugene Vidal Eugene Collins in the book Gore Vidal s father with whom he grew up in Madison South Dakota which is documented in Gore Vidal s mid 90s memoir Palimpsest Other works include the short story collection A Companion Volume 1923 the autobiographical novel Post Adolescence 1923 Distinguished Air Grim Fairy Tales 1925 the poetry collections The Portrait of a Generation 1926 and Not Alone Lost 1937 the 1 200 line epic poem North America Continent of Conjecture 1929 and his memoir Being Geniuses Together An Autobiography 1938 McAlmon returned to the United States in 1940 residing in El Paso Texas where he sought treatment for a pulmonary ailment He died at Desert Hot Springs California almost unknown in his native country sixteen years later In the 1990s Edward Lorusso brought out three volumes of McAlmon s fiction many were first American publications Village 1924 1990 Post Adolescence 1923 1991 and Miss Knight and Others 1992 all through University of New Mexico Press Edward Lorusso also published Naked Truth The Fiction of Robert McAlmon in 2020 McAlmon is heavily featured in the book Memoirs of Montparnasse by John Glassco about the golden age of Paris in the 1920s when writers and artists flocked to the city His social circle and friendship with Ernest Hemingway are discussed in the novel The Paris Wife by Paula McLain In 2007 his fictionalized memoir The Nightinghouls of Paris was published based on the experiences of Glassco and his friend Graeme Taylor with McAlmon in Paris The previously unpublished book was based on a typescript held by Yale s archives 3 An epistolary novel about McAlmon s life in Greenwich Village his expatriate adventures in Paris and final years in California Letters from Oblivion was published by Edward Lorusso in 2014 Bibliography editFiction edit A Hasty Bunch n p n d Printed by Maurice Darantiere in Lyon in 1922 Short stories A Companion Volume Contact Paris 1923 Short stories Post Adolescence Contact Paris 1923 Short stories Village As It Happened Through a Fifteen Year Period Contact Paris 1924 Novel Distinguished Air Grim Fairy Tales Contact Paris 1925 Photo reprinted as There Was a Rustle of Black Silk Stockings 1963 The Infinite Huntress and Other Stories Black Sun Press Paris 1932 4 5 A Scarlett Pansy under pseudonym Robert Scully William Farro Inc Roth 1933 Robert E Knoll McAlmon and the Lost Generation A Self Portrait University of Nebraska Lincoln 1962 Miss Knight and Others University of New Mexico Press 1992 The Nightinghouls of Paris University of Illinois Press 2007 La nuit pour adresse Maud Simonnot Paris Editions Gallimard 2017 Memoirs edit Being Geniuses Together Secker amp Warburg London 1938 Memoir Being Geniuses Together Doubleday New York 1968 revised with supplementary chapters by Kay Boyle Poetry edit Explorations Egoist Press London 1921 The Portrait of a Generation Contact Paris 1925 North America Continent of Conjecture Contact Paris 1929 Not Alone Lost New Directions Publishing Norfolk CT 1937 Legacy editWilliam Saroyan wrote a short story about McAlmon in his 1971 book Letters from 74 rue Taitbout or Don t Go But If You Must Say Hello To Everybody Charles Demuth painted a watercolor based on McAlmon s Distinguished Air Grim Fairy Tales titled Distinguished Air 6 Notes edit Biography of McAlmon Mellow James R Talent and All the Right Connections New York Times Retrieved February 8 2024 Herlihy Mera Jeffrey Koneru Vamsi 2013 The Nightinghouls of Paris Robert McAlmon s Queer Paternalism and The Twilight of the Expatriate Movement by Chase Dimock Paris in American Literatures On Distance as a Literary Resource Rowman amp Littlefield ISBN 9781611476071 ROBERT McALMON aka ROBERT SCULLY 1895 1956 A Scarlet Pan Swann Auction Galleries Retrieved May 22 2021 Pearson Neil A Scarlet Pansy Robert McAlmon s Secret Book Neil Peason Rare Books Retrieved May 22 2021 Charles Demuth Paintings Bio Ideas The Art Story Retrieved February 22 2024 References editRobert McAlmon Robert E Knoll ed 1962 Robert McAlmon and The Lost Generation A Self Portrait University of Nebraska Press ISBN 978 0 803 20225 2 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a author has generic name help CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Sanford J Smoller 1975 Adrift Among Geniuses Robert McAlmon Writer and Publisher of the Twenties Pennsylvania State University Press ISBN 978 0 271 01173 8 The only biography of the author Humphrey Carpenter 1987 Geniuses Together American Writers in Paris in the 1920s Unwin Hyman ISBN 0 04 440331 3 Contains an insightful account of McAlmon s life Mellow James R July 22 1990 Talent and All the Right Connections New York Times Retrieved August 30 2012 Village As It Happened Through a Fifteen Year Period By Robert McAlmon Edited by Edward N S Lorusso External links editRobert Menzie McAlmon at Find a Grave Robert McAlmon Papers Yale Collection of American Literature Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Works by Robert McAlmon at LibriVox public domain audiobooks nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Robert McAlmon amp oldid 1212366344, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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