Cheever Biography

There's a biography of John Cheever scheduled to be published in 2009 by Knopf and excerpts are beginning to appear in various magazines. I've read two in the last few weeks. The first in the current issue of The Believer and the second in a free publication (distributed in several countries) called Vice. Judging from the excerpts this is "car wreck publishing" - the kind of stuff you know you should look away from but just can't tear your eyes off of.

It's no secret John Cheever was an alcoholic and the excerpts I read were filled with one sad anecdote after another detailing his out of control drinking. I come from a family of Olympian-class alcoholics myself and even I, who have witnessed every kind of binge, heard every pathetic excuse for having a drink, seen real car wrecks, and stood by hospital beds watching family members detox, was impressed/appalled by Cheever's drinking.

This biography, simply titled "Cheever" by Blake Bailey, appears well-written but I worry every time this kind of thing comes out that the life of the artist will begin to overshadow the work. Which would be a shame in this case because Cheever was truly a wonderful writer. I plan over the next few weeks to reread some of his stories, dip into his novels, maybe even reread some. I want to fix his prose in my memory again, want to replace gossip with art.

First line for The Wapshot Chronicle by John Cheever: "St. Botolphs was an old place, an old river town."