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i thought it was a good movie in its own right. There's so much missing though.

How does "Regards at Home" function as a hub story for the rest of Richard Yates's work?

I just finished taking an undergraduate course on Richard Yates at Knox College and thought this was a pretty interesting question. It was on our final exam. It was interesting exploring when this story was written in relation to the autobiographical content that was involved. Also along with "Builders" and the beginning and end of A Good School the only times i can think of Yates using first person that I've read.

Anyways it was a really good class, we read about everything save the screenplay, Young Hearts Crying, and the uncollected. Lots of good classes and many more drunkass nights afterward talking with the homies about Yates, the books, and the conversations we had.

My home boy just got a copy of Open City in the mail. It's a picture of this dude with a basketball head and a few chapters of Uncertain Times in it. I'm stoked, I should get a chance to read it soon.

I will have to again look for that tape.  When I find it, I'll transfer it to MP3 and DVD.

[Josh]

Josh - We e-mailed a bit when you were starting the site and you mentioned planning on going to BU to check out the Uncertain Times manuscript. I'm currently rereading Yates again and it's rekindled my interest in making a trip over there. What did you say when you called up to make the appointment? Did you call the library directly? Did you get to see much more than the manuscript and that copy of Open City?

[Marty]

Very much enjoyed reading about your experience, Marty. Did you ever find that audio tape? We're neighbors by the way: I'm nearby in Allston!

Was happy to see this short video biography of Yates on YouTube. It was professionally produced by a company called Fast Focus TV and features short commentary from Blake Bailey as well as several of Yates' friends and family members. Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmiRx_WdpZg

Didn't see this before.  I have a hard time imaging how people would enjoy the movie without having read the book!  My cousin and I both read it first and then went to the film together and were both disappointed.  Again, I'm hoping the 2nd time around I will enjoy it better.  It comes out on DVD soon, I think.

I hope you like Young Hearts Crying better the second time around.  It definitely has problems, but the first section is really fine. 

As for DTP, I thought the parts that dealt with the actual "descents into madness" were some of the more interesting.  Did you?  I found the surrounding stuff just wrong.  All the stuff about making the movie at the college and going out to Hollywood just seemed excuses to include his personal experiences (his actual breakdown at the college and some about his time in Hollywood, which I thought was handled much better in Liars in Love, which I just finished reading).  I think that's what I meant about issues with it not seeming authentic.  His best writing to me seems effortless (which is interesting since he really labored over his writing), the story flows with truth.  The Easter Parade is a great example.  That book just floors me with how it just rolls along, covering so much, but just feels so simple and, well, effortless.  I'm probably doing a lousy job of explaining it. 

I have read Uncertain Times and would definitely love to read the rest.  Is it really that simple?  You just show up at the collection in Boston and they let you read it?  Seems too easy to me.  Maybe because Yates is not so overwhelmingly studied and popular as other authors it IS possible.  For example, I can't imagine you'd be able to read an unpublished manuscript by Fitzgerald or Hemingway. 

Received the books and will probably tell you more offline. 

Yes, I found the transitions a bit awkward, too, but apart from that, it was great. Usually I get bored quickly with war stories so it says a lot for his writing that I wasn't.

It's time I re-read Young Hearts Crying. It was my least favourite, I think, first time round. I found some of the later stuff, from the wife's point of view, unconvincing... can't quite remember what, something to do with her child, I think. Or was it children? Definitely time I re-read it! 

I felt as though Disturbing the Peace had vital bits missing, making me wonder if some of it was edited out. I read it when I was writing about a character with bipolar illness, so I was particularly interested in how Yates tackled this, especially as, I believe, it was closely based on his own experience. Disappointing. Can't help wondering if the nature of the condition makes it very difficult to write about, at least in fiction.

Have you read the excerpt from Uncertain Times, his unfinished novel, in Open City? I am so sad he never finished this, though I understand the ms is available in the Boston Archive. One day, maybe, I will visit Boston to see it.