THE JOURNALS OF SPALDING GRAY
WHO:
Spalding Gray
WHAT:
His journals,
edited by Nell Casey
WHEN:
Published by Knopf October 19, 2011
WHERE:
Editor tour: Los Angeles and New York
WHY:
“Tenacious, scintillating, and sorrowfultestament to a uniquely artistic life.
“Spalding Gray began performing his mesmerizing, confessional monologues onstage in 1979, then leapt to film in Swimming to Cambodia. His renown intensified with each subsequent movie and book as this tightrope artist of relentless self-awareness, this teller of hard truths and celebrator of beauty, this wily storyteller assiduously transmuted his life into art.
“His scrupulously edited journals contain the volatile raw material for Gray’s artful monologues, revealing just how much he concealed. Gray began keeping journals in 1967 when he was 25 and in shock over his mother’s suicide. He explicitly dissects his overlapping relationships with the three primary women in his life and his ‘homosexual side.’ Obsessed with death and sex, afflicted with depression and breakdowns, buoyed by fatherhood, he calls himself a ‘PUBLIC NEUROTIC’ and worries about maintaining his creative edge.
“A car crash in Ireland in 2001 left him with brain damage. In January 2004, he crafted his final act and drowned himself.”
–Donna Seaman, BOOKLIST
“Engrossing.
A fascinating look at the actor, writer, and
pioneer of the autobiographical monologue,
through the lens of his own journals.”
—Mark Manivong, LIBRARY JOURNAL
Media Resources:
About the book | Author bio | Download the jacket
Publicity:
Gabrielle Brooks | 212-572-2152 | gbrooks@randomhouse.com