Review of the Day: Delmore Schwartz by James Atlas

I finished James Atlas' biography of Delmore Schwartz which was published in 1977. Delmore Schwartz is a largely forgotten name now, but he was an important name in poetry and American letters in the late 1930s and 1940s. One of his admirers was John Berryman:

One of his Dream Songs affords a glimpse of him in 1942. 

You said ‘My head’s on fire’ 

meaning inspired O 

meeting on the walk down to Warren House 

so long ago we were almost anonymous 

waiting for fame to descend 

with a scarlet mantle & tell us who we were (p. 269).

Or consider this description in Saul Bellow’s Pulitzer and Nobel prize winning novel Humboldt's Gift:

[In Dreams Begin Responsibilities] published by [Delmore Schwartz] in the Thirties was an immediate hit. [Schwartz] was just what everyone had been waiting for. Out in the Midwest I had certainly been waiting eagerly, I can tell you that. An avant-garde writer, the first of a new generation, he was handsome, fair, large, serious, witty, he was learned. The guy had it all. All the papers reviewed his book. His picture appeared in Time without insult and in Newsweek with praise. I read Harlequin Ballads enthusiastically. I was a student at the University of Wisconsin and thought about nothing but literature day and night. Humboldt revealed to me new ways of doing things. I was ecstatic. I envied his luck, his talent, and his fame (p. 1).

Unfortunately, mental health issues, as well as trouble finding and keeping a job took a toll. His difficulties were compounded by minor drug use, alcohol, smoking, and affairs with WAY TOO MANY coeds. By the end of his life, Schwartz had lost touch with his friends in the literary community and his legacy is now one more of early promise that never quite materialized. Nevertheless, I found the book fascinating.

Kindle and Audible audiobook. 532 pgs. 26 July 2025.