Edward Comstock Mooney (October 19, 1951 – March 25, 2022) was an American novelist and short story writer. He published four novels: Easy Travel to Other Planets (1981), Traffic and Laughter (1990), Singing into the Piano (1998), and The Same River Twice (2010). Mooney also served as the senior editor of Art in America from 1977 to 2008 and taught at the Yale University Graduate School of Art.
Mooney was born on October 19, 1951, in Dallas, Texas.[1] He enrolled at Columbia University with the class of 1973 before transferring to Bennington College,[2] where he completed his bachelor's degree; he then returned to Manhattan.[1]
a haunting, lyrical novel [which] perfectly exemplifies the blend of the postmodern mainstream and SF to be found in the other two novels (i.e., DeLillo's White Noise and Gibson's Neuromancer) which best captured the vast, media-driven transformations at work in American life during the 80s.[5]
The novel also introduced the term "information sickness", which has since been used in various contexts as a symptom or result of overexposure to media.[6] In a 1991 article for Associated Press, Hillel Italie wrote:
Mooney's work reflects a struggle with information and disinformation, the fight to balance stories about real people against images transmitted through the media. There's an other-wordly quality to his books, a sense of life as if it took place on the moon, where people are merely bodies drifting in space, struggling to communicate.[7]
Booksedit
Easy Travel to Other Planets, with its startling and now-famous opening scene describing a woman having sex with a dolphin, received glowing reviews. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram titled its review "A dazzling debut, a bold novel to reckon with."[8] Writing in The Los Angeles Times, Carolyn See called Easy Travel "an absolutely remarkable book . . . absolutely original; it takes materials we have with us every day and puts them together to make a totally strange but utterly recognizable world."[9] In his review in The Cincinnati Enquirer, Jon Saari wrote:
Mooney's novel has both an immediacy and a distance that stuns the reader in the power of its lyric realism . . . the sleeper of the publishing season, a novel that is without compromise in its portrayal of complicated themes and characters.[10]
Traffic and Laughter, Mooney's second book, set in Los Angeles in the 1990s, received mostly good reviews. Writing in The Palm Beach Post, Peter Smith praised the novel, calling Mooney a lyrical writer, though one tempered by detachment:
That detachment is a major part of what gives Traffic and Laughter its strength; Mooney is a calm observer of his characters, examining their cultures with an anthropologist's eye. Even his most familiar scenes have a hallucinogenic edge of lucidity . . . With his first novel, Mooney's promise was unquestionable. With Traffic and Laughter, it is well on the way to fulfillment.[11]
Mooney's Singing into the Piano, published in 1998, has another startling opening, with an American couple's shocking erotic behavior during a fundraiser for a Mexican presidential candidate.[12] In the New York Times Book Review, Sarah Kerr wrote:
Singing Into the Piano often feels like a few novels fused into one. Sometimes it's a dry allegory, or a diverting game. Sometimes it's an earnest attack on selfishness. Luckily, it's an expert entertainment throughout, which once in a while glows with a rare tenderness.[13]
The Same River Twice, published in 2010, again featured an international cast of characters involved in mysterious intrigues. In his review in The Boston Globe, Carlo Wolff called the book:
a philosophical entertainment doubling as a riveting, unconventional thriller . . . Ted Mooney’s fourth novel explores issues of mutability against fixity, evolution against stasis, art against artifice, and the vexing allure of an affair against the security of marriage.[14]
^"Obituaries". Columbia College Today. September 15, 2022. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
^Barbato, Joseph (October 11, 1981). "'Easy Travel' easy trip to success?". The Orlando Sentinel. p. 5-G. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^Kline, Betsy (May 16, 1982). "Trying to reinvent the world". The Kansas City Star. p. 9J. Retrieved April 2, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^The 20th Century's Greatest Hits: 100 English Language Books of Fiction 2010-03-26 at the Wayback Machine, American Book Review, September/October 1999, Volume 20, Issue 6.
^Lyons, Gene (August 13, 2016). "The so-called 'Year of the Angry Voter'". The Daily Journal (Flat River, Missouri). p. A11. Retrieved April 2, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^Italie, Hillel (February 10, 1991). "Ted Mooney: Tuning in". The Post-Star (Glens Falls, New York). Associated Press. p. C5. Retrieved April 2, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^Green, Subie (September 27, 1981). "A dazzling debut, a bold novel to reckon with". The Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 7D. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^See, Carolyn (October 5, 1981). "A Girl, a Dolphin, a Book to Flip Over". The Los Angeles Times. p. V-10. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^Saari, Jon (December 27, 1981). "'Travel' Opens New Worlds". The Cincinnati Enquirer. p. J-16. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^Smith, Peter (December 30, 1990). "Modern world reinvented in audacious 'Traffic'". The Palm Beach Post. p. 4L. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^Cryer, Dan (March 16, 1998). "'Singing' Doesn't Explain Its Composing". New York Newsday. p. B13. Retrieved April 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^Kerr, Sarah (March 16, 1998). "Let's Make a Deal". The New York Times. p. 7:8. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
^Wolff, Carlo (June 1, 2010). "European intrigues executed by rich cast of characters". The Boston Globe. p. G9. Retrieved April 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^Vine, Richard (March 29, 2022). "Ted Mooney, Longtime "Art in America" Senior Editor and Acclaimed Novelist, Dies at 70". Art in America. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
Everything on the Verge of Becoming Something Else - an interview with Ted Mooney by Larry McCaffery and Sinda Gregory
October 29, 2023
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This biography needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this biography Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Ted Mooney news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Edward Comstock Mooney October 19 1951 March 25 2022 was an American novelist and short story writer He published four novels Easy Travel to Other Planets 1981 Traffic and Laughter 1990 Singing into the Piano 1998 and The Same River Twice 2010 Mooney also served as the senior editor of Art in America from 1977 to 2008 and taught at the Yale University Graduate School of Art Ted MooneyBorn 1951 10 19 October 19 1951Dallas Texas U S DiedMarch 25 2022 2022 03 25 aged 70 New York City U S Alma materBennington CollegeOccupationAuthorYears active1977 2022Known forEasy Travel to Other Planets Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Career 3 Books 4 Awards and honors 5 Personal life 6 References 7 External linksEarly life and education editMooney was born on October 19 1951 in Dallas Texas 1 He enrolled at Columbia University with the class of 1973 before transferring to Bennington College 2 where he completed his bachelor s degree he then returned to Manhattan 1 Career editHe worked for three years writing his first and most successful novel Easy Travel to Other Planets 3 which was awarded the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction by the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters and was also a finalist for best first novel in the 1982 American Book Awards 4 The novel was mentioned in Larry McCaffery s list of the 100 greatest books of the 20th century where it was described as a haunting lyrical novel which perfectly exemplifies the blend of the postmodern mainstream and SF to be found in the other two novels i e DeLillo s White Noise and Gibson s Neuromancer which best captured the vast media driven transformations at work in American life during the 80s 5 The novel also introduced the term information sickness which has since been used in various contexts as a symptom or result of overexposure to media 6 In a 1991 article for Associated Press Hillel Italie wrote Mooney s work reflects a struggle with information and disinformation the fight to balance stories about real people against images transmitted through the media There s an other wordly quality to his books a sense of life as if it took place on the moon where people are merely bodies drifting in space struggling to communicate 7 Books editEasy Travel to Other Planets with its startling and now famous opening scene describing a woman having sex with a dolphin received glowing reviews The Fort Worth Star Telegram titled its review A dazzling debut a bold novel to reckon with 8 Writing in The Los Angeles Times Carolyn See called Easy Travel an absolutely remarkable book absolutely original it takes materials we have with us every day and puts them together to make a totally strange but utterly recognizable world 9 In his review in The Cincinnati Enquirer Jon Saari wrote Mooney s novel has both an immediacy and a distance that stuns the reader in the power of its lyric realism the sleeper of the publishing season a novel that is without compromise in its portrayal of complicated themes and characters 10 Traffic and Laughter Mooney s second book set in Los Angeles in the 1990s received mostly good reviews Writing in The Palm Beach Post Peter Smith praised the novel calling Mooney a lyrical writer though one tempered by detachment That detachment is a major part of what gives Traffic and Laughter its strength Mooney is a calm observer of his characters examining their cultures with an anthropologist s eye Even his most familiar scenes have a hallucinogenic edge of lucidity With his first novel Mooney s promise was unquestionable With Traffic and Laughter it is well on the way to fulfillment 11 Mooney s Singing into the Piano published in 1998 has another startling opening with an American couple s shocking erotic behavior during a fundraiser for a Mexican presidential candidate 12 In the New York Times Book Review Sarah Kerr wrote Singing Into the Piano often feels like a few novels fused into one Sometimes it s a dry allegory or a diverting game Sometimes it s an earnest attack on selfishness Luckily it s an expert entertainment throughout which once in a while glows with a rare tenderness 13 The Same River Twice published in 2010 again featured an international cast of characters involved in mysterious intrigues In his review in The Boston Globe Carlo Wolff called the book a philosophical entertainment doubling as a riveting unconventional thriller Ted Mooney s fourth novel explores issues of mutability against fixity evolution against stasis art against artifice and the vexing allure of an affair against the security of marriage 14 Awards and honors editMooney received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1983 and was the recipient of two Ingram Merrill Foundation grants Personal life editMooney died from heart disease at his home in Manhattan on March 22 2022 at the age of 70 1 15 References edit a b c Genzlinger Neil April 1 2022 Ted Mooney Author of Inventive Novels Is Dead at 70 The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved April 1 2022 Obituaries Columbia College Today September 15 2022 Retrieved September 19 2022 Barbato Joseph October 11 1981 Easy Travel easy trip to success The Orlando Sentinel p 5 G Retrieved April 3 2022 via Newspapers com Kline Betsy May 16 1982 Trying to reinvent the world The Kansas City Star p 9J Retrieved April 2 2022 via Newspapers com The 20th Century s Greatest Hits 100 English Language Books of Fiction Archived 2010 03 26 at the Wayback Machine American Book Review September October 1999 Volume 20 Issue 6 Lyons Gene August 13 2016 The so called Year of the Angry Voter The Daily Journal Flat River Missouri p A11 Retrieved April 2 2022 via Newspapers com Italie Hillel February 10 1991 Ted Mooney Tuning in The Post Star Glens Falls New York Associated Press p C5 Retrieved April 2 2022 via Newspapers com Green Subie September 27 1981 A dazzling debut a bold novel to reckon with The Fort Worth Star Telegram p 7D Retrieved April 3 2022 via Newspapers com See Carolyn October 5 1981 A Girl a Dolphin a Book to Flip Over The Los Angeles Times p V 10 Retrieved April 3 2022 via Newspapers com Saari Jon December 27 1981 Travel Opens New Worlds The Cincinnati Enquirer p J 16 Retrieved April 3 2022 via Newspapers com Smith Peter December 30 1990 Modern world reinvented in audacious Traffic The Palm Beach Post p 4L Retrieved April 3 2022 via Newspapers com Cryer Dan March 16 1998 Singing Doesn t Explain Its Composing New York Newsday p B13 Retrieved April 4 2022 via Newspapers com Kerr Sarah March 16 1998 Let s Make a Deal The New York Times p 7 8 Retrieved April 4 2022 Wolff Carlo June 1 2010 European intrigues executed by rich cast of characters The Boston Globe p G9 Retrieved April 8 2022 via Newspapers com Vine Richard March 29 2022 Ted Mooney Longtime Art in America Senior Editor and Acclaimed Novelist Dies at 70 Art in America Retrieved March 29 2022 External links editTed Mooney at the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation website Everything on the Verge of Becoming Something Else an interview with Ted Mooney by Larry McCaffery and Sinda Gregory Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ted Mooney amp oldid 1168788099, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
