Ascending Peculiarity: Edward Gorey on Edward Gorey

by Edward Gorey, Karen Wilkin (Editor)

Culled from dozens of interviews, this unique autobiography of the famous artist showcases Gorey's ideas about French symbolist poetry, soap operas, George Balanchine, ballet, and Victorian snuff photography, among other topics. Reprint. 40,000 first printing.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Art, Biography Memoir, Memoir, Autobiography, Humor

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Born in Chicago, Gorey came from a colourful family; his parents, Helen Dunham Garvey and Edward Lee Gorey, divorced in 1936 when he was 11, then remarried in 1952 when he was 27. One of his step-mothers was Corinna Mura, a cabaret singer who had a brief role in the classic film Casablanca. His father was briefly a journalist. Gorey's maternal great-grandmother, Helen St. John Garvey, was a popular 19th century greeting card writer/artist, from whom he claimed to have inherited his talents. He attended a variety of local grade schools and then the Francis W. Parker School. He spent 1944–1946 in the Army at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, and then attended Harvard University from 1946 to 1950, where he studied French and roomed with future poet Frank O'Hara.

Although he would frequently state that his formal art training was "negligible", Gorey studied art for one semester at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago in 1943, eventually becoming a professional illustrator. From 1953 to 1960, he lived in New York City and worked for the Art Department of Doubleday Anchor, illustrating book covers and in some cases adding illustrations to the text. He has illustrated works as diverse as Dracula by Bram Stoker, The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells, and Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot. In later years he illustrated many children's books by John Bellairs, as well as books in several series begun by Bellairs and continued by other authors after his death.

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why in the holidays did I read a book about Edward Gorey, the ascendingly peculiar man whose works I have loved and found strange all my life? I don't exactly know. Goodreads recommendation algorithms, I guess. Then I knew he had these pieces, The Haunted Tea-Cosy and The Headless Bust, to be read during the holidays that were published in the late nineties in The New York Times Magazine and later collected in one of the Amphigorey collections. I found them in the library and then found this book of Gorey interviews and sat right down and read it through!

If you haven't read any Gorey you obviously wouldn't read this book about him, but here, let me say some of the stuff that interests ME about him: For decades, like almost everyone, I thought he was English, but he--in his seventy years on the planet, NEVER even traveled to England. He was born in Chicago, went to Harvard and roomed with the poet John O'Hara, lived for a few years with the poet John Ciardi, went to school with Donald Hall, Alison Lurie. Studied French and Creative Writing at Harvard, illustrated T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, and many many books, and was a lover of ballet--George Balanchine, in particular--and an amazing reader (I wish he was listing his books on Goodreads right now!), maybe mostly Victorian novels. He was asexual all of his life! Such an interesting man.

Most people thought Gorey was some Victorian artist, actually and he said he thought of his works (illustrated story books with strange or no plots at all), with pretty of murdered children scattered sardonically and playfully through his books (you never see any killing, really. In a way he's sort of minimalist of light horror; he leaves out more than he tells, to great effect. He mainly just gleefully tells you these terrible things with a wink. He's not a monster, he's just. . . peculiar, and often very funny): "I think of my work as Victorian novels, just all scrunched up."

He didn't like interviews, he didn't like talking about himself, but these are delightful interviews that belie the fact. He was delightful and if curmudgeonly, never really mean. I had fun reading. If you are a Gorey fan, take a look at this and you will be rewarded for your couple hours with it. Such an interesting man, yes!

[Danine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book with the exception of the redundancy of certain questions. Like many, I am a Gorey fan. I read this book to get to know the thinking behind the stories and ideas for his illustrations

My favorite interview was "Edward Gorey and the Tao of Nonesense". I must say that this interview summed up all of the other interviews quite nicely. The interview I liked least is the Dick Cavett interview. Dick is a Moron. The interview took place in 1997 on television and the questions were painfully immature and elementary for this intelligent author and illustrator.

I got a great list of horror films and books that inspired Gorey. One interesting fact I was surprised by was that Gorey hates Henry James with a fervor. Gorey has read everything by James and even illustrated for James' books. I had to laugh at that.

Not surprisingly Gorey admired Edward Lear, Lewis Carroll and Gustav Dore. I grew up reading Lear and Carroll and was elated to read that Gorey did too. No surprise really. Reading about his admiration for Gustav's engravings took me back to my youth when I endlessly flipped through Dore's illustrated books published by Dover. (Milton's "Paradise Lost" and Dante's "Divine Comedy")

If you don't mind the redundancy of questions this is a great book of interviews about an eccentric and talented man who loved his cats.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not too long ago I was on my way to work wearing a winter coat and sneakers and I caught a glimpse of myself in a reflective elevator door. My winter coat is an oversized woolly boucle type of winter coat, a bit mannish about the shoulders, and my legs sticking out from underneath looked like little pretzel sticks. The overall silhouette struck me as oddly familiar. I kept thinking, "Who do I look like right now? Who do I remind myself of?" After an hour or two of reviewing documents, I realized it was Edward Gorey. That's when the wheels started churning... cats, ballets by George Balanchine, oversized coats, chunky rings, hand-lettered illustration, a penchant for morosity (totally a word!)... hmm. This may be biased, considering we are evidently the same person, but I was totally charmed by Gorey in this collection of interviews. I really, really want to comment on Gorey's NYCB ballet dancer musings but I would like for my Goodreads friends to continue being my friends and I have already said too much.

[Willa Guadalupe Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edward Gorey was much weirder yet more ordinary in some ways than I would have thought. His drawings were always wonderful & how could you resist a guy who always went to every performance of the NY Ballet & owned full length mink coats in colors like bright yellow?

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Big surprise: Edward Gorey was reclusive, asexual, and liked cats and the ballet. And he sometimes dressed like his drawings. I love this man.

[Jaksen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really can't give this book any more than three stars, for a fair or C+ read.

I've read a lot which Edward Gorey has written, have my favorites and my not-so-favs. I've visited his home in Yarmouth, MA twice. (It's a fascinating place; anyone living or vacationing on the Cape who loves odd, unusual and wonderful places needs to visit!) He was a marvelous, interesting, eclectic, strange and talented human being who fully loved and invested in life, existence, his environment, his cats, his all. No question about it, one of those figures who are, to use a common trope: larger than life.

However, this book...

It's a series of interviews over forty-fifty years, times when he sits down and just talks, answers questions, muses on subjects and talks some more. As a result, it's wholly repetitious and becomes, because of that, a rather tedious read. Same questions, same answers: his love of cats, his love of ballet, his childhood, early adulthood, why he writes and draws, how he writes and draws and because various interviewers tend to ask the same questions over and over...

We get the same answers, repeatedly with perhaps a little added information in 1990 than we did in 1974. So after I read about one-quarter through, I skimmed ahead, looking for different topics, different angles: did he change as he aged? What about his work on the Broadway hit, Dracula? I'd like to have read more about that. What about friends, family, collaborators? Did he do something new, different in his later years and so on...

But no, a lot of same-old, same-old. Doesn't detract from his odd type of genius, his love of the strange and peculiar, but the book hardly does him justice. So three stars for what was there, two missing stars for what was not.

Three stars.

[Kaethe · Rating 4 out of 5]

One develops sympathy for interviewees always being asked the same questions. Gorey really didn't like talking about his books very much. Well, most of us don't enjoy talking about our jobs, do we?

It is interesting to see how his appearance receives less attention over the years, as his look becomes familiar, maybe? Or just that after a while everyone was wearing sneakers. Of course, then it switches over to being the appearance of his house.

Interviews during his New York years have a lot of ballet in them, while his Barnstable years have more cats and theater in them. I'm sorry he wasn't asked more about the puppet shows and the dolls.

I think the interviewers were disappointed by a man who cooks for his family every night during summers on the Cape with cousins. His persona is effective though, at creating a certain quality, which his decaying house did as well.

Wish the cats had always been named, it would be interesting to track them over time.

Library copy

[Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've procrastinated writing this review long enough. I don't have a reason, because I absolutely loved it. Having recently read Elephant House by Kevin McDermott (Edward Gorey's home on Cape Cod) and also attended Gorey Stories at the JobSite Theatre, this book of interviews added to my Gorey immersion. I particularly loved Dick Cavett's interview.

I came away with the feeling that I'd met Edward Gorey. I am bereft that really, I did not. In contrast to his morbidly funny art, I found him warm and friendly. Highly recommended read for Gorey fans.

Here is a link to Jobsite Theatre's rehearsal footage for Gorey Stories...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWpwVuABvpI

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really satisfying read. Gorey says some lines that make me chuckle that I just have to read them aloud to anyone nearby. He's so interestingly odd yet boring at the same time.

For example, he regularly wore large fur coats, gold earrings, numerous gold rings on his long fingers, and Keds sneakers. He was very tall and in later decades wore his white beard fairly long. Just a striking, eccentric vision. Reports from grade school friends said one time he painted his toenails green and walked along the Miracle Mile (growing up in Chicago). But at the same time, he was boring. He working during the day on writing or illustrations and spent evenings in NYC at the ballet, opera, or movies and evenings in Cape Cod with extended family and 3-6 cats.

I enjoyed his sense of humor, often witty. You can tell he cracks jokes for his own benefit, not others. He also came across very polite and humble. He was compulsively fascinated with ballet, movies, Surrealism, and books and says his personal interests are not all macabre as his work lets on.

From various things he said, it seems like what he wants to evoke in readers the most is an unexpected feeling of both cozy comfort and sinister unease. He also talked about how much he likes nonsense, things that don't have to have meaning to be entertaining. Liking when there is more to something than appears but at the same time nothing at all. Then not taking that contradiction too seriously.

He's also a fan of older Japanese work, where only a minimal amount of description is given, a less is more theory. And his stories do make various references to olden crime stories, other books, operas, older movies, etc. Works or events I've not heard of, which appears like nonsense to me in his work because I'm not getting the references.

After reading those things, his work made a lot more sense to me. The things I like most about Gorey's work are the macabre themes and utter nonsense. But the minimalism, Surrealism, ballet, etc... Those interests of his are clearly strong influences.

To say something of the lay-out of this book- chapters were organized by interview in chronological order. So you can jump in and out of it like a short story collection. Although Gorey doesn't change at all throughout the years (covering, roughly, the 1950s-1990s) so it doesn't really matter which interview you read in which order.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sort of mini-autobiography of artist/writer Edward Gorey (1925-2000), presented through the medium of interviews that took place over the years from 1973 to 1999. Edward Gorey has- and has had, for many years- a cult following for his slightly skewed, morbid but funny books. Working almost exclusively in pen and ink, his drawings most often present a late Victorian or Edwardian setting, frequently drawn with lush detail- particularly the backgrounds- where something is just off. Gardens contain plants that eat people; strange looking guests appear uninvited, people die off constantly. But Gorey was not just interesting for his work; he was a bona fide eccentric, dressing in sneakers, ankle length fur coats, and lots of chunky jewelry. And, of course, his cats. He loved his cats above all things, allowing them to do their will unimpeded, and left his estate to animal charities.

Telling a person’s life through interviews results in being able to see what Gorey thought about from various times in his life. A lot of things didn’t change; his voracious appetite for reading, his lack of need for human contact, his artistic style. Some things did; he moved away from New York City permanently because the one thing that held him there, the ballet, evolved into something he no longer cared for.

Because interviewers tend to ask the same questions as each other, there is a lot of repetition in the book. Throughout the years, he tends to answer them the same way every time. It would have been hard to edit all the repetitions out, and it’s easy enough to skim past those sections. But even with the repetitions, each interview reveals something just a little different about Gorey. The book has illustrations from his various works scattered throughout. It’s a fun, interesting book that’s fast to read.

[Josias · Rating 5 out of 5]

As much as I love Gorey's work (and boy oh boy do I love his work), his true genius was devoted to the creation of a persona for the ages.

John Waters? Psh, don't make me laugh!

Andy Warhol? Please, go back to Kindergarten!

This is one of the most entertaining biographical books that I have read, and I highly recommend it to anyone who has been compelled/fascinated/moved by Gorey's unique aesthetic. My one caveat is that this is not a biography in the conventional sense. Rather, it is a collection of interviews that keep revisiting the sane themes from different angles.

[Marquita Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting, though the interviews got a little repetitive. He definitely was quite the character.

[Rosalinda Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved hearing more about this illustrator/author! He has so many fun things to say and he has a wide range of interests from ballet to cats and then movies. Every interview was filled with bits of humor and curiosities.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Edward Gorey's extraordinary books are avidly sought and treasured thro9ughout the world, but until now little has been known about the man himself. While he was notoriously protective of his privacy, Gorey did grant dozens of interviews over the course of his life. And as the conversations collected here demonstrate, he proved to be unfailingly charming, gracious, and fascinating.

"Here is Gorey in his own words, ruminating on everything from French symbolist poetry to soap operas, from George Balanchine to yard sales. We meet the artist in his ramshackle, book-lined studio in Manhattan and his equally bizarre house on Cape Cod (now trnsformed into a Gorey museum), and listen as he describes his eclectic obsessions and tastes. Ascending Pecularity is a rare and wonderful entree into the inner workings of the mind of an artistic genius."
~~back cover

Well I guess this outs me as a Gorey fan, doesn't it? Yes, one year I even sent out Gorey Christmas cards (rather an oxymoron, that.) The man was fascinating, and I learned things I didn't know about him but which were all rather endearing. Not at all the person I expected him to be, and to try to illuminate his personality here would take up more room than is allowed.

If you like his work, you need to read this book.

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is said that true genius can relate things in a simple way. This collection of interviews with Edward Gorey proves that point. Interspersed with some of his drawings, he answers questions from interviewers in a simple way that reveals his complexity. For instance, he admits that he collects books, and he tosses in references to ideas that only the most well read would recognize. A very eclectic and, yes, a peculiar person!

[R.K. Cowles · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars

[S.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I hate Henry James more than anybody." - Edward Gorey

[H. Anne Stoj · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have adored Edward Gorey for years, since childhood no doubt when I first saw his work animated for the opening to PBS's Mystery! I couldn't say what the connection was then and I'm not always sure what the draw is now save for my own love of things Victorian, Edwardian and Gorey's pen and ink crosshatched images. Still, it's difficult to find fault with such marvelous little stories like The Gastlycrumb Tinies or the Doubtful Guest and others. Not to mention Dracula which I remember having a poster of for the longest time and now is sadly misplaced somewhere.

The "by Edward Gorey" here for Ascending Peculiarity is a little misleading as the book itself is a collection of interviews and articles about Gorey. It does, as things go when one spans decades, get a little redundant, rather the introduction shares parts of various articles which for some reason confused me when I actually got to the article or interview and wondered: Didn't I read this already? It wasn't overly bothersome, but it might have had more to do with my state of mind than anything else. (Or lack of state as the case may be.)

What it comes down to, for me at least, is a really wonderful look at one of my favorite writer/illustrators. His humor and remarks about various things (oh so much ballet, but that explained a good deal considering how so many of his figures are posed, but still a thing I know nearly nothing about) isn't hindered at all. It was so very easy to imagine sitting across from this man with his sneakers, heavy rings, and the odd fur coat and simply chatting. He comments about his work, while seeming reluctant, were insightful and some of the things I remember thinking before knowing more about him struck me as amusing. Mostly in regard to Gorey being British because I thought that for the longest time whether thanks to his drawings or his language, I'm not particularly sure. It might have been thanks to PBS for all I know now.

Definitely a worthwhile and fun read for anyone that enjoys him. Certainly worth the trouble of finding an out of print, I believe (maybe it's simply my edition), book.

[Patrick Nichols · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of interviews with Gorey from the early 70s up to the late 90s. Probably the best way to get a sense of the man behind the uncanny little books. As he's uncomfortable attempting a summary of his life, these little snapshots of him discussing his current obsessions give a sense of the sweep of his career. It's also possible to sense the limits of the constructed personality ("half a put-on," he repeatedly admits) and see the real Gorey peeking out, by seeing which stock answers he uses repeatedly over the decades, versus the questions which always make him fumble. Plus I got about a dozen good movie recommendations! He's a wonderfully eccentric figure, and reading this book over a couple of days really gives the sense of having this inimitable figure coming to visit you for and unforgettable weekend.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read a fair amount of Edward Gorey in my life and as a kid I appreciated the beginning of PBS' Mystery! more than I did the actual show. I've never wondered much about the writer though - probably because for years I thought he was from an older era and dead. He was American, attended every performance of the New York City Ballet for 23 seasons, lived with his cats, wore a fur coat with tennis shoes, and died in 2000. His work may make you think Edwardian but he was not of that time.

Mr. Gorey was not one for interviews but the few ones he did give are collected here and it was really interesting to get to know this wonderfully peculiar man.

[James Henry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This guy isn't as much of a creepy weirdo as i had hoped. The interviews get a tad redundant but here's the jist. He's never been to England, he owns a lot of cats, he dresses in sneakers and a big fur coat with lots of rings on his fingers and elaborate African necklaces, he compulsively goes to every ballet performance of the NY ballet (even if that means 20-50 performances of the Nutcracker), he compulsively watches bad TV sitcoms ( Golden Girls, Star Trek, Dallas), he's "asexual".

[Meg]

Gorey! I liked reading so many together. I liked that this one had illustrations spread throughout the interviews as well as pictures (Gosh but he looks like my old English teacher!) They should reprint his stuff in art book format vs the amphigorey collections.

[Mike Suter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of interviews with Edward Gorey spanning 1973-1999 (he died in 2000). These constitute an autobiography of sorts. Gorey is of course famed for his oddball illustrations which are immediately identifiable. Anyone with an appreciation for the surreal and mildly weird should enjoy Gorey's drawings -- Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear are cited influences. Part of the pleasure of this book is hearing Gorey speak freely about his opinions on his major interests: literature (he was a voracious reader), ballet, and cats. The book contains a sampling of his art, though to really enjoy his subtly humorous works it's necessary to read his complete books.
If this book has a weakness, it is that the questions and answers are predictably redundant between interviews. So, for instance, his early life is described perhaps a dozen times. Nonetheless, Gorey is so eccentric that when fresh questions are posed the reader is often rewarded with interesting and unexpected answers.

[Margaret Bessai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interviews with illustrator and artist Edward Gorey, edited and compiled by Karen Wilken, curator of the Gorey museum in Cape Cod and author of "The World of Edward Gorey" and the exhibition catalogue "Elegant Enigmas" (the art of Edward Gorey).
-A great selection of interviews with an artist who rarely granted them, giving us some insight into his interests. He gave his best discussions with people who were equally interesting, such as Annie Nocenti for Scenario magazine in 1998. Great discourse on silent and surrealistic film.
Makes me wish I was at a dinner with Gorey and Guillermo del Toro.
-Book review at Geist by Eve Corbel:
"Ascending Peculiarity overflows with such deluxe surprises, arranged so that the portrait-story gathers momentum and meaning, but so that Gorey—a shy and reclusive man—is never overscrutinized. Vanity Fair: “What is your motto?” Gorey: “O the of it all.”

https://www.geist.com/fact/reviews/as...

[False · Rating 4 out of 5]

Editing articles, interviews, remembrances, etc. published a year after Gorey's death. There is a lot of repetition in his interviews--Thanksgivings at the movie theatre with breaks at Howard Johnson's, his passion for decades with George Balanchine and the ballet. But you pick up other interesting tidbits including what he likes to read, the paper and pen nibs he uses (Strathmore Matte Flat #2 and Hunt #204 nibs. Higgins India Ink. Pictures never seen of Gorey as a young man and one taken later in life in what has to be Cobb's Hill Cemetery on Cape Cod. (If I had been editing this volume I would have given more information on the photographs.) I'm going to try and track down some of the more obscure silent films he discusses. My favorite quote? "When in doubt, twirl."

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Put this on my memoir shelf though it is a series of interviews with Gorey about his books, drawings and plays. Published in 2001, the year after he died. He grew up in Chicago, went to Harvard after the Army. Lived in New York, then Massachusetts. A museum in Yarmouth Port, MA has an envelope art contest, this year’s theme is “The Evil Garden” that is currently a drawing inspiration for me.

Read it cover to cover sitting on my porch this most beautiful day of summer.

[William John Wither · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to be this man. I love this man. He is endlessly fascinating, this, the perfect accoutrement to his work. Here is a gateway, one that illuminates his mind and processes, his beliefs and sources of inspiration; his obsessions, obscurities, curiosities.

Honestly, this can be read without even knowing the work of Gorey. It is rich, velveteen, lush, necessary.

[Celeste · Rating 4 out of 5]

I particularly enjoyed this book because I felt like I really got to know Edward Gorey. The only downside was some of the interviews were a bit repetitive and I found my self skipping through them. Overall it was very interesting.

[LeeAnn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I absolutely adore Gorey. However, either this is a poorly edited collection of interviews, or Gorey had only one set of interview responses that he repeated ad nauseum. I think I'll lay the blame on the editor, because, Gorey...........

[Noah · Rating 4 out of 5]

You'd think a book of interviews would be pretty boring, but Ed is pretty thrilling. Or maybe I'm boring. Anyhow — now I'm thinking of getting some of his books because of how surprisingly fun with words he is.