Profession: writer

Algren, interesting but half-forgotten, wrote two low-life novels that live on through the work of others. Wright, mainstay of a socialist writer’s circle Algren habituated, was a supportive influence and friend. Southern, who interviewed him, and Vonnegut, who taught with him and became a Long Island neighbour, were fast friends. De Beauvoir had a long unlikely-sounding affair with him, despite his assumption of female submissiveness; Sartre translated some of his work. Terkel, a Chicago buddy, took him to see Holiday in her dressing-room. De Lillo lent him his typewriter and talked about Hemingway. Preminger, autocratic, fired him after three days.

Sarraute is primarily known as one of the Nouveau Roman writers of the 1950’s-60’s. Sartre was a keen early supporter, and wrote a preface for her; she herself liked him, but found him physically repulsive. Robbe-Grillet, central to the Nouveau Roman grouping, knew her, and was on an official delegation to Leningrad with her, Sartre and de Beauvoir (whose jealous hatred of Sarraute complicated things). Barrault mounted a couple of her plays, while Butor and she helped found a writers’ union in 1968. Beckett, hiding from the Gestapo, annoyed her mother by carrying the contents of his chamberpot through the kitchen at lunchtime.

Richler, writing about his Montreal Jewish childhood neighbourhood, helped put Canadian literature on the world map, though his uncompromising views were controversial at home. As a young writer, he wangled an invitation to visit Forster in Cambridge, but hit his sherry as if it were whisky (despite not seeing eye-to-eye, Forster attended his first wedding). He rented a house in a Provençal hill-town where Southern came to write (and was dragged by Richler to the casino to play poker). Lessing, an old friend, wrote amusingly about how the anti-romantic Richler was moonstruck by the woman who became his second wife.

Tolstoy and Chekhov became friends early in Gorky’s career. He supported both Mayakovsky and Babel (who said he owed everything to Gorky); Ivanov was another protégé. Repin painted him, Stanislavski was an important colleague, and Shklovsky showed him Triolet’s letters from Tahiti. Gorky implored his friend Lenin to have Gumilyov (another friend) freed, unaware he’d already been shot; but his influence helped save Zamyatin’s skin. Twain sat beside him at a New York dinner, but disapproved strongly of his domestic arrangements. Sibelius met him when his political activities led him to hide away in Helsinki.

Frisch, with his long-time friend Dürenmatt, was one of the most notable Swiss writers of his era and among the most influential in the German language in the post-war years (his essays remain unknown in English). As a young man, meeting Brecht – the first great writer he knew – was a source of generous encouragement; Brecht suggested writing a play together, but Frisch worried about losing his identity. He played simultaneous chess with Calder and Beckett, had an intense relationship with Bachmann, visited Mekas (interested in their shared diaristic approach), and was challenged by his friend Johnson about his self-confessed laziness.