Library Journal reviews Richard Grayson's I BRAKE FOR DELMORE SCHWARTZ: "Highly Recommended"

Library Journal reviews Richard Grayson's I Brake for Delmore Schwartz on page 839 in its April 15, 1983 issue:


Grayson, Richard. I Brake for Delmore Schwartz
Zephyr Pr., 13 Robinson St., Somerville, Ma 02145
Apr. 1983. c. 94p. LC 82-63067. ISBN 0-939010-04-6.
$9.95; pap. ISBN 0-939010-03-8. $4.95 F

Forget the title. Forget the introduction. Both are far too cute. But Grayson is a fabulous storyteller and stand-up talker. His stories are short and anecdotal and rely upon captivating the reader immediately; then they sort of swim along, like a heavy bedtime story. Yet, Grayson can make us believe we are listening to something as outrageous as the voice of a dead United States President's cold. It works. We become a party to a benign assassination as we hear the cold alternately brag and confess. Grayson can be harsh and, at times, self-indulgent and completely without taste. Yet, his intelligence and imagination are fine. Highly recommended.
—Page Edwards, formerly with MIT Libs.

Publishers Weekly reviews Richard Grayon's I BRAKE FOR DELMORE SCHWARTZ

Publishers Weekly reviews Richard Grayson's I Brake for Delmore Schwartz in its March 4, 1983 issue:

I BRAKE FOR DELMORE SCHWARTZ
Richard Grayson. Zephyr Press (13
Robinson St., Somerville, Mass.
02145), $4.95 ISBN 0-939010-03-8;
hardcover $9.95 ISBN 0-939010-04-6


Most of the 15 stories here fall into three broad categories. Grayson is at his best in his most straightforward, traditional narratives, among them "That's Saul, Folks" and "Slightly Higher in Canada." Also pleasant are the author's obviously autobiographical stories, which are built of fragments of memories; he recalls his great-grandmother in "Reluctance," and an uncle dying of cancer in "Hold Me." Least successful are Grayson's more experimental pieces, many of which directly or indirectly deal with his perspectives on writing: "Y/Me" is a short diatribe on the letter "y." "Only Time Will Tell" presents an inconsequential self-interview. And in "Is This Useful? Is This Boring?" the author repeats these queries (asserting that it doesn't matter anyway), until the reader, alas, must answer both questions truthfully.
[April]

Aspect Magazine features Susan Lloyd McGarry's "Twenty-Seven Statements I Could Make About Richard Grayson"

The latest issue (#72/73, 1978) of Aspect magazine features Susan Lloyd McGarry's "Twenty-Seven Statements I Could Make About Richard Grayson" on pages 88-91.