Gratitude for Michael DennenysVision To the Editor: Michael Dennenys G&LRobituary [JulyAugust 2023 issue] was the first Id seen, prompting me to find others, including a livestream of his author appearance at Politics and Prose Bookstore in Washington, D.C., just weeks before he died. In 1986, my literary agent Frances Goldin started submitting my project for a biography of composer Marc Blitzstein, and no publisher seemed interested. Until, at her request, I also included three finished chapters to show my quality as a writer. Immediately she heard back from Michael Denneny of St. Martins Press. Later, from Michael, I learned that he hadnt known about Blitzstein, but he called his friend, the up-andcoming conductor Bruce Ferden, who knew of Blitzstein and told him, yes, such a biography would make an important contribution. Michael also okayed a heftier advance than originally floated, without which I would not have been able to give it my full time. From the Upper West Side, I would bicycle down to the Flatiron Building to meet with Michael, hand over finished chapters, and discuss my progress. I never knew he lived just blocks from me. He was modest, professional, and discreet. Aside from our literary connection, we did not pursue a personal friendship. Early on, I asked him: How long a book do you want? He answered: Theres never going to be another book about Marc Blitzstein, so yours will always be the standard reference. Include what you believe readers will want to know. The biography topped out at just over 600 pages. He shared some advice about trimming a manuscript: Cut three lines fromevery page! He did not mean this literally, but he did mean theres fat on every page that you can always eliminate. I continue to look for excess verbiage everywhere, both as a writer and as an editor myself. Michael assigned my manuscript to an in-house copy editor, who said shed never encountered a draft that needed virtually no editing. Pleased as I was to hear that, it meant that Michael and I spent little time together working out kinks in the book. Mark the Music: The Life and Work of Marc Blitzsteinwas published in 1989. (Michael was wrong about this being the only Blitzstein biography. In 2012, Oxford published Howard Pollacks also 600+ page Marc Blitzstein: His Life, His Work, HisWorld.) After my book was published, we gradually lost contact. In 1990, I moved to Los Angeles, and my life started flowing in other directions. I cherish my brief association with Michael and am grateful that he trusted me with this project which, among other things, added to the worlds understanding of a significant gay American life. Eric A. Gordon, Los Angeles In Defense of Samuel Barber To the Editor: I found the review of Howard Pollacks Samuel Barber: His Life and Legacy appallingly dismissive of a major American composer. His list of works is not as long as one might wish, but the quality of what we have is superior. Mr. Berrong focused on Barbers vocal and orchestral work and made no mention of his piano works or many of his briefer orchestral scores. His Piano Sonata(1949) is among the halfCorrespondence SeptemberOctober 2023 5 PRAISE FOR MA R is a eaching Ninety ARTIN DUB wonderful account... BERMANS .. of q 2023 M 3 A h VA AILABLE March ..brilliantly chart[s] m ...the wis ...a fascinating an nothing less th queer history Reaching Nin sdomof more than seventy yea nd rollicking read. an admirable. ety ars 9781641608800 | Cloth | $30.00 illuminates our q y . g r world today y
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