Sandy McIntosh's Blog

House on West 35th Street

I was trying to describe the artistry of Rex Stout, author of the Nero Wolfe detective series to a friend. This is what I came up with:

A woman I'd met had read the thirty-three novels and thirty-nine short stories about Nero Wolfe, the detective, more than once--in fact, again and again--as I had. More than the stories themselves, we agreed, it was their backdrop that drew us to them: the old brownstone on West 35th Street, the seven stone steps to the front door. The one-way glass allowing those ringing to be identified by those inside. Then, inside, the massive walnut coat rack, the rarely used front room. On the right, the dining room (lunch 1:15 pm; dinner 7:15 pm); the elevator, used by Wolfe to reach his orchids--10,000 of them!--on the top floor. (His orchid tending schedule: from 9:00 am to 11:00; 4:00 pm to 6:00). Further down, near the kitchen, the office with its leather-bound books, its wooden globe three feet in diameter. Then the kitchen, where Fritz prepares exquisite meals. Inside the refrigerator and larder, one knew one would find the most exquisite stuff. It is not the stories that we care about, but the house itself: its clocklike regularity that invites us out of our clinking, clock-screwy lives.
But I'm unsettled to discover a rival to that old place. Now when I'd enter the house and she'd be there; or I'd be alone, and she might appear and startle me. I begin to assess her--this trespasser of sacred space between eyes and printed page. And, looking at her, I see suspicion, too: her shifting eyes, her lips curling, about to snarl in Wolfe's lair.
(from A Hole in the Ocean: A Hampton's Apprenticeship

Phillip Lopate on becoming a poet

Marsh Hawk Press has launched a series of original essays by established poets. The title of the series is Chapter One: How I Became a Poet. An essay by the poet-essayist Phillip Lopate is up on the site today and has already generated enthusiastic responses. I first met Phillip in our Ph.D. program at Union Institute and University. We then taught for several years together at Hofstra University. In 2010 Marsh Hawk published Phillip's At the End of the Day: Selected Poems and an Introductory Essay. Please go over to the Marsh Hawk site to check this.

Denise Duhamal: How She Became a Poet

The Chapter One Project from my publisher, Marsh Hawk Press, features the memoirs of outstanding poets from diverse backgrounds, recalling the ways by which they found their start as writers. While creative writing programs seek to develop the talents of maturing writers, obscure but essential information about the development of the writing craft can be discovered in the early memoirs—the Chapter One’s—of established poets published in this series. Each month the press will post a new Chapter on its web site. The post for October is award-winning poet Denise Duhamel Denise Duhamel. To read Denise's memoir, “Mr. Rogers and Me,” and to watch and listen to her read an excerpt, visit the Marsh Hawk Press web site www.marshhawkpress.org.

Denise Duhamel|99725]Denise Duhamel on Chapter One

The Chapter One Project from my publisher, Marsh Hawk Press, features the memoirs of outstanding poets from diverse backgrounds, recalling the ways by which they found their start as writers. While creative writing programs seek to develop the talents of maturing writers, obscure but essential information about the development of the writing craft can be discovered in the early memoirs—the Chapter One’s—of established poets published in this series. Each month the press will post a new Chapter on its web site. The post for October is award-winning poet Denise Duhamel Denise Duhamel. To read Denise's memoir, “Mr. Rogers and Me,” and to watch and listen to her read an excerpt, visit the Marsh Hawk Press web site www.marshhawkpress.org.

[authorimage:Denise Duhamel]Denise Duhamel on Chapter One

The Chapter One Project from my publisher, Marsh Hawk Press, features the memoirs of outstanding poets from diverse backgrounds, recalling the ways by which they found their start as writers. While creative writing programs seek to develop the talents of maturing writers, obscure but essential information about the development of the writing craft can be discovered in the early memoirs—the Chapter One’s—of established poets published in this series. Each month the press will post a new Chapter on its web site. The post for October is award-winning poet Denise Duhamel Denise Duhamel. To read Denise's memoir, “Mr. Rogers and Me,” and to watch and listen to her read an excerpt, visit the Marsh Hawk Press web site www.marshhawkpress.org.

One of Many Random Encounters with Truman Capote

From A Hole In the Ocean: A Hamptons’ Apprenticeship

I'd stopped at Bobby Van's hoping to sell the owner an advertisement in the summer newspaper I worked for. Truman Capote was there at a corner table. He recognized me from previous chance meetings and lifted his arm laconically to wave me over. "You must try one of these cocktails," he said. "You see how lovely and pink mine is, like the Sargasso Sea? Sit down!"

I sat. "What's in it?"

"Grapefruit juice with just a little splash of vodka. I enjoy one of these--only one--each day." He waved to the waiter. "Bring this young man one of these."

"No thanks. I can't," I said. "I'm working today."

"Pity. Always working. Well," he said to the waiter. "You can bring me his. Can't let this young man’s drink waste away untasted."

Lesser Lights: More Tales From a Hamptons' Apprenticeship

Lesser Lights will be published in February 2019. It's the second volume in a memoir series that began with A Hole In the Ocean: A Hamptons' Apprenticeship published in 2016. These memoirs recall a time in the early 1970s I spent in New York's the Hamptons, among the poets, writers and painters who lived and worked there. Some of these included Willem de Kooning, David Ignatow, H. R. Hays, Truman Capote, Norman Mailer, and others. I was an informal apprentice to several.

Phillip LopatePhillip Lopate writes of A Hole In the Ocean: “These irresistibly amusing and engaging recollections of the author’s encounters with the great and near-great artists and poets who washed ashore in the Hamptons has a special charm, as our intrepid protagonist plays unofficial chauffeur, therapist, straight-man and witness, always with retrospective self-awareness, insight and bittersweet gratitude.”

I'm just now collecting advanced comments from writers on Lesser Lights: More Tales From a Hamptons' Apprenticeship. Here's one from R. L. Stine, author of Goosebumps and Fear Street:
"I love time travel stories--and this book offers a trip back to a time and place that seems almost like science-fiction today. Wonderful characters, great surprises, and a sly sense of humor that kept me eagerly turning the pages."