TRIBUTES TO WILLIAM PHILLIPS
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There are few of us left who can remember the cast of characters that
appeared in the photograph in William's excellent
New York Times
obituary: left to right, Fred Dupee, George
L.
K. Morris, Philip Rahv,
Dwight Macdonald. When I saw it, I felt like a dinosaur and have had
reveries of William ever since.
William was a generous person, never treating me like a young whip–
persnapper but instead like a thoughtful, serious, young artist. I think
he never realized that when I was introduced to Saul Bellow, Delmore
Schwartz, Sonia Orwell, Diana and Lionel Trilling, and the whole
crowd, what a high it gave me (and sometimes the insecure "shakes").
New York was bursting with activity, experiment, and energy in all
directions. Literature, painting, sculpture, architecture, theatre. At the
same time, everyone around me seemed to be arguing and drinking.
(Good God! The drinking!)
When Clem and I had our frequent dinners at the Phillips' (usually a
good pot roast with all the trimmings), I sat under a mesmerizing
1940S
painting by Jackson Pollock. Jackson had loaned the picture to the
Phillipses, since people weren't tripping over each other to buy it.
Between bites, I would stare up and study that Pollock .
In
the recent obituary there is mention of William's hypochondria
that came from his mother. Yes! Whether we ate at home or in a reliable
restaurant, he always seemed to doubt the quality of the food before
him. Should he chew and swallow? Therefore, there seemed to be a
pointless and interruptive drama between his plate and the conversa–
tion. Those conversations were far more gripping and usually had to do
with
PR,
the problems with Rahv and others, the side taking, the
McCarthy hearings, baseball, love affairs. Actually, William
chewed
over a lot of things that way.
He never missed an opening of mine. He was constant, wry, open,
and encouraging, with a cynical humor. He was also capable of show–
ing his displeasure in many situations.
Recently, a friend of mine said to me, "William really liked you." I'm
proud of that. I really liked him.
Along with many others, I will miss him and all he stood for.
EUGENE GOODHEART
I was chairman of the Department of English when William brought
Partisan Review
to Boston University in the late seventies. I remember
Eugene Goodheart's most recent book is
Confessions of a Secular Jew.
