Nelson Algren

This book addresses critical gaps in existing biographies of Nelson Algren, providing new perspectives on his writing style, literary contributions, professional colleagues, and personal life—especially his relationship with Simone de Beauvoir. Although Beauvoir maintained a simultaneous relationship with philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, the correspondence exchanged between Beauvoir, Algren, and Sartre, as this book discusses, sheds new light on her “transatlantic love affair” with Algren.
Moreover, this work challenges the assertion that Algren’s writing aligns seamlessly with the “New Journalism” style popularized by Tom Wolfe. It investigates how Algren’s literary legacy might have diverged had he embraced more of the principles associated with New Journalism.

Richard F. Bales is semi-retired after working more than 40 years in the real estate title insurance profession. He lives in Aurora, Illinois.

Richard F. Bales
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 324
Bibliographic Info: 46 photos, notes, appendix, index
Copyright Date: 2024
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9490-0
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5471-3
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments ix

Foreword by Sue Rutsen 1

Introduction 3

Part One: Nelson Algren’s Life

Nelson Algren, the Cold War and the Red Scare 15

A Study in Contrasts: Simone de Beauvoir’s Letters to

Nelson Algren and Her Letters to ­Jean-Paul Sartre 39

Nelson Algren and Creative Writers’ Workshops 75

Nelson Algren, New Journalism and the Four Missed Opportunities to Rewrite His Legacy 83

Nelson Algren and the Canon of ­Twentieth-Century American Literature 128

Part Two: Nelson Algren’s Work

A Letter to Joe Haas 163

The “Thundermug” Saga: The Censorship of Nelson Algren 169

Who Wrote the Galena Guide? 180

Nelson Algren and the Writing of America Eats: A Look at His Past and a Glimpse into His Future 195

Joan Baez and the Dedication of Chicago: City on the Make 208

The Story of Nelson Algren’s Own Book of Lonesome Monsters 216

The Books That Got Away 226

Part Three: Nelson Algren’s Colleagues

Nelson Algren, Jack Conroy and the New Anvil 237

A Life in a Newspaper Column: Mike Royko and Nelson Algren 270

Respect and Admiration: Nelson Algren and Hunter S. Thompson 282

Chicago Friends: Nelson Algren, Herman Kogan and Marilew Kogan 291

Afterword 298

Appendix: Bibliography for Captions to Illustrations 301

Index 307

• “Nelson Algren: His Life, Work and Colleagues is not standard biography in the usual sense. The common milestones in the life and times of Chicago’s literary troubadour of the gritty streets, back alleys and its gin-soaked saloon literati are familiar. Dick Bales’ remarkable new volume of critical essays, however, has given to us something totally new and powerful to ponder. Mr. Bales’ deepest meditations paint a vivid and moody portrait of the ‘Bucktown’ poet and novelist. The topics are wide ranging and all encompassing: Algren and McCarthyism; Algren and the fight against censorship; Algren’s tumultuous love affair with French existentialist Simone de Beauvoir; and Algren and Mike Royko, two world-weary Chicago cynics sharing a barstool, beers and sad reflections.”—Richard C. Lindberg, author of Tales of Forgotten Chicago

• “Richard Bales’ new book on Algren is a researcher’s delight. His comparison of Beauvoir’s letters to Sartre when she was with Algren is illuminating, as is his work on the New Journalism and Algren’s inability to ‘soldier on’ with fiction that he felt was not wanted. A fine addition to the scholarship on Algren.”—Bettina Drew, author of Nelson Algren: A Life on the Wild Side