The Paris Review, at the beginning, and now

For years I've been reluctant to wade in and address some tendentious and shoddy commentary about the beginnings of The Paris Review, a magazine where I worked for many years.  All of it fairly silly stuff.

For now I'll just say I wish the magazine, or someone at Wikipedia, would address the TPR wiki entry.  It rather absurdly repeats the unsupported allegation from the "Underground Literary Alliance," made in 2004, that the magazine was "exercising influence" over the London Review of Books.  Where to begin?  Well, the ULA when they made that claim seemed to mean me.  It is true I live in London, and that my brain waves are very strong, but I hadn't been in touch with the London Review of Books since I arranged, from New York, an exchange of ads in the late 1990s, and that's extent of my engagement with the LRB... though come to think of it I wouldn't mind writing for it. 

I'd asked people at TPR to address this, but so far no soap.  Are they enjoying the prank aspect of all this, or is making such a change too difficult to do?

In any case they're doing a great job putting out the mag... or the paper as they've taken to calling it.

ULA, Karl Wenclas, a.k.a. King Wenclas, Richard Cummings, Steve Kostecke & co.

Some links added to post HERE, re: the theories of Karl Wenclas, Richard Cummings, Steve Kostecke, Pat Simonelli, and ULA.

A "Nontroversy" - Karl Wenclas

Blogger Karl Wenclas and his band at the ULA (Underground Literary Alliance), including Steve Kostecke and Pat Simonelli, persist with their conspiracy theories about The Paris Review, this even in the aftermath of the NYT Book Review's well-reported essay "The Paranoiac and The Paris Review" by Rachel Donadio (can be found HERE).

Really, there's no satisfying anyone.

Update: I've asked Richard Cummings yet once again to acknowledge, despite his misleading citations, that he has never interviewed me, ever. Over the years I've informed the ULA of the same, but no joy, not even an acknowledgment. Stranger, however, is his suggestion that I'd endorsed a book he'd written, a book in fact I've never read, let alone endorsed.

Wenclas of course is the one who years ago continually propounded a theory that Big Eighties brat-pack novelist Tama Janowitz was a transsexual who'd been born a man, one "Tom A. Janowitz." That one he's still not let go of either, as he recently wrote: "How does anyone know. It was never denied!"

Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.

Update, December 2016: It's worth summing up here that over the years I have stated clearly that Richard Cummings never, as he has claimed, interviewed me, nor did I make statements he has attributed to me in his articles.  I've made this point to Karl Wenclas, editors at the ULA, the then-Editor of The American Conservative, to the editor of The Lobster, and to author Hugh Wilford who has cited Cummings "interviews" in a book.  So far, no acknowledgement of this in print or on-line from any of them.

ULA

sent on March 2, 2007, to
Steve Kostecke, Editor-in-Chief, ULA
cc: Karl Wenclas, Publicity Director, ULA
cc: Pat Simonelli, Editor, ULA

Dear Mr. Kostecke,

At the prompting of Karl Wenclas, I responded to you one month ago, Feburary 2, regarding the "monday reports" Richard Cummings wrote for the Underground Literary Alliance's website. To date, you've still not posted my response (below), nor publicly acknowledged it on your site. Neither, so far as I can see, has the ULA site publicly acknowledged my earlier response to his writing, sent to Wenclas some years ago. I should think it'd be appropriate to note these responses on the webpage where Cummings's writings appear.

Sincerely,

James Linville

Sent to ULA, 2 February 2007:

To:Skostecke, and Pat Simonelli, Underground Literary Alliance!

Dear Skostecke and Pat,

It’s unfortunate that Mr. Cummings has declined my invitation for a recorded conference call to clarify discrepancies and interpretations reflected in his writings about The Paris Review, where I used to be employed. I'm sure that conversation would have been illuminating about any number of matters, including the elevator Mr. Cummings discovered while visiting George Plimpton's townhouse.

As I stated before, I don’t believe he’s a fully competent journalist, or historian.

Sincerely,

James Linville

The Paris Review

To:Skostecke, and Pat, Underground Literary Alliance!

Dear Skostecke and Pat,

It’s unfortunate that Mr. Cummings has declined my invitation for a recorded conference call to clarify discrepancies and interpretations reflected in his writings about The Paris Review, where I used to be employed. I'm sure that conversation would have been illuminating about any number of matters, including the elevator Mr. Cummings discovered while visiting George Plimpton's townhouse.

As I stated before, I don’t believe he’s a fully competent journalist, or historian.

Sincerely,

James Linville