BROADWAY BOOGIE WOOGIE

Transcription

1 BROADWAY BOOGIE WOOGIE DAMON RUNYON AND THE MAKING OF NEW YORK CITY CULTURE DANIEL R. SCHWARZ

2 For my wife, Marcia Jacobson, my sons, Dave and Jeff Schwarz, and my parents, Joseph and Florence Schwarz BROADWAY BOOGIE WOOGIE: DAMON RUNYON AND THE MAKING OF NEW YORK CITY CULTURE Copyright Daniel R. Schwarz, Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. First published 2003 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y and Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England RG21 6XS. Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the PALGRAVE MACMILLAN division of St. Martin s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN ISBN (ebook) DOI / Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Schwarz, Daniel R. Broadway boogie woogie : Damon Runyon and the making of New York City culture / by Daniel R. Schwarz. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Runyon, Damon, criticism and interpretation. 2. Runyon, Damon, contributions in journalism. 3. Broadway (New York, N.Y.) In literature. 4. New York (N.Y.) In literature. 5. New York (N.Y.) History. 6. Criminals in literature. 7. Crime in literature. I. Title. PS3535.U52 Z '.52 dc Design by Letra Libre, Inc. First edition: April

3 Contents Acknowledgements Abbreviations for Runyon References v vi Introduction: Who Was Damon Runyon? 1 1. Runyon s New York: Historical Contexts and Fictional Universe The Eyes and Ears of the City: Runyon s Collected Journalism Runyon s Trial Reporting and the Spectator Culture The Art and Artistry of Runyon s Fiction The Genres of Runyon s Fiction: Noir and Sentiment in a Male-Dominated World The Genres of Runyon s Fiction : Gangsters, Gamblers, and Boxers The Genres of Runyon s Later Fiction: Nicely-Nicely, Political Satire, Ambrose Hammer, Miami Noir, and Wartime Stories The Turps: Domesticity in Brooklyn 285 Conclusion 317 Notes 323 Works Cited and Discussed 335 Index 341

4 ALSO BY DANIEL R. SCHWARZ Rereading Conrad (2001) Imagining the Holocaust (1999) Reconfiguring Modernism: Explorations in the Relationship between Modern Art and Modern Literature (1997) Narrative and Representation in the Poetry of Wallace Stevens (1993) The Case for a Humanistic Poetics (1991) The Transformation of the English Novel, (1989, revised ed. 1995) Reading Joyce s Ulysses (1987) The Humanistic Heritage: Critical Theories of the English Novel from James to Hillis Miller (1986) Conrad: The Later Fiction (1982) Conrad: Allmayer s Folly through Under Western Eyes (1980) Disraeli s Fiction (1979) EDITOR The Secret Sharer (Bedford Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism) (1997) The Dead (Bedford Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism) (1994) Narrative and Culture (1994)

5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS M y work benefits from my wonderful Cornell students whom I have had the pleasure of teaching these past thirty-five years and to whom I owe a collective debt of gratitude. I wish especially to thank Laurie Brown and Sheila Marikar for helping with indexing and proofreading. I wish also to express my gratitude to Gillian Klempner, Diana Lind, Amy Stutius, and Gregory Halfond who made important contributions at various crucial stages of this project. Over the years Robin Doxtater and Vickey Brevetti have been immeasurable aids in my professional life. So, too, has Marie Powers of the Cornell Olin Library. I have enjoyed once again working with St. Martin s/palgrave s splendid editors and staff including my insightful and nurturing editor Kristi Long, Meredith Howard, Paige Casey, Roee Raz, and the most able production editor Alan Bradshaw all orchestrated by Garrett Kiely. My greatest debt is to Marcia Jacobson my perceptive, supportive, generous, and loving wife who is my best friend and my best reader.

6 Abbreviations for Runyon References DRO IOT MGAD MOM MWE PFM RFTL RFAL ROB ST TT Damon Runyon Omnibus In Our Town More Guys and Dolls My Old Man My Wife Ethel Poems for Men Runyon from First to Last (1954 edition published by Constable in England). Runyon First and Last (1945 version with forward by Clark Kinnaird) Runyon on Broadway Short Takes Trials and Other Tribulations