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Delmore’s Gift

JL;DR SUMMARY Delmore Schwartz, a literary prodigy immortalized as Von Humboldt Fleisher in Saul Bellow's "Humboldt's Gift," is remembered more for his tragic life and potential unfulfilled than for his substantial contributions to modernist poetry. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish IdentitySaul BellowGenesisModernismConfessional PoetryDelmore SchwartzPartisan ReviewLiterary LegacyAllen TateHumboldt's Gift

Places mentioned

New York City, New York, United States
"when he wasnt teaching at Syracuse or committed to the sanatorium near the university, Schwartz was living in New York City and giving alcohol-fueled readings at the White Horse Tavern in Greenwich Village."
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Retrieved 2025-04-07 05:30:36 UTC
Curated 2025-04-07 08:30:42 UTC