Windsor Star Books Columnist Favorably Reviews Richard Grayson's I Brake for Delmore Schwartz

Today, Saturday, May 21, 1983, The Windsor Star's Books columnist Marty Gervais published a column, "My Lovely Enemy is a real stinker," reviewing several books, including Richard Grayson's I Brake for Delmore Schwartz, of which he said, "This slim, nicely designed book, written with unique wit, humor and stylized innocence, was an utter relief after those other two books."

In Toronto last week, I popped into This Ain't The Rosedale Library bookstore (one of the very best bookstores in North America for avant-garde, small press and underground literature) and picked up I Brake For Delmore Schwartz (Zephyr Press, 95 pages, $6.50), a book of stories by Richard Grayson. This slim, nicely designed book, written with unique wit, humor and stylized innocence, was an 1 utter relief after those other two books.

For one thing, it was interesting, and each of the 15 stories sustained my interest. The other thing is that although the writing is straightforward and simple, it is experimental, drawing upon different approaches and forms.

FOR EXAMPLE, in "Only Time Will Tell", Grayson employs the interview form to profile a fictional character and, curiously enough, one gleans a lot more of the frustration and truth of a character's life.

And another, "Different Places", uses a series of short vignettes. Grayson introduces us to his own America in a unique way. He headlines each segment by the name of a different community, and by including the U.S. postal code, somehow your focus is narrowed to the neighborhood level and you feel privy to the private lives and feelings of new characters. In essence, Grayson is showing us how he can rewrite Sinclair Lewis's vision of America.

IN ANOTHER, "Nice Weather, Aren't We?" - one of my favorites - Grayson uses word play and deliberately befuddles the reader. Midstream into the story, he starts introducing new characters or details that seem almost contradictory. It makes you suspect the typesetter or printer juggled the pages. But then Grayson saves the day, interjecting a comment like, "Come on, admit it, how many of you really thought the last part was true?"*

In this story, Grayson may actually say something about his whole approach to literature when he writes, "All I do really is manipulate reality."

Most novelists would agree with that, I'm sure. But the trick is to do it successfully and to find new ways of saying things.

In I Brake For Delmore Schwartz, Grayson achieves that. He not only makes you laugh but he makes you appreciate good writing.