Two weeks ago, Philip Roth took Wikipedia to task in an open letter on the New Yorker’s website for not letting him correct an error in a entry about one of his novels. The alleged error was about the inspiration for The Human Stain, which Roth claims—contrary to Wikipedia—was not based on editor Anatole Broyard. But in another open letter posted on Facebook, Broyard’s daughter responded to Roth, noting that “there was a legitimate reason that many reviewers of the book and movie drew the comparison to my dad’s life.” She added, “I don’t think it’s reasonable that Roth gets to dictate what conclusions other people draw about his characters, which is effectively what he was trying to do with his objection to Wikipedia’s description of the book as ‘allegedly’ having been inspired by my dad.”
Monica Lewinsky has reportedly landed a $12 million deal for her forthcoming tell-all about her affair with Bill Clinton. The book is supposed to contain three things that an earlier book about the scandal didn’t: “more salacious details about Lewinsky and Clinton, ostensible complaints by Clinton about his wife,” and previously unpublished love letters from Lewinsky to Clinton. As if all that weren’t gross enough, Slate points out that Lewinsky is getting only $3 million less than Bill Clinton was paid for his memoir.
New York Times Book Review editor, Bookforum contributor, and critic extraordinaire Parul Seghal reflects on her life in reading.
Neil Young has quit drugs and alcohol to finish his forthcoming memoir, Waging Heavy Peace.
Meanwhile, at Tablet, Bookforum contributor Daphne Merkin remember how high holidays and Manishewitz wine first taught her how to drink.
“Today I visited the cenotaph to Baudelaire, who sleeps at the center of Paris—in the shade of maples, ash, laurels, and conifers—at the Montparnasse Cemetery. I think I would like to be more Baudelairean, which is to say unafraid of the grim.” Poet Henri Cole keeps a diary for the New Yorker.
