John Berendt
John Berendt | |
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Born | Syracuse, New York,US | 5 December 1939
Occupation | Author |
Alma mater | Harvard University |
Period | 1961–present |
Genre |
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John Berendt(born December 5, 1939) is an American author, known for writing the best-selling non-fiction bookMidnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,which was a finalist for the 1995Pulitzer Prizein General Nonfiction.
Early life
[edit]Berendt grew up inSyracuse, New York,where both of his parents were writers.[1]As an English major atHarvard University,he worked on the staff of theHarvard Lampoon.He graduated in 1961 and moved to New York City to pursue a journalism career.[2]
Career
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a3/Eliza_Ann_Jewett_%28Estate_of%29_Property.jpg/220px-Eliza_Ann_Jewett_%28Estate_of%29_Property.jpg)
Berendt was an associate editor ofEsquirefrom 1961 to 1969, editor ofNew Yorkmagazine from 1977 to 1979, and a columnist forEsquirefrom 1982 to 1994.[2]Despite interviewingJim Williams,the central character inMidnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,in 1982, it was not until 1985 that Berendt moved toSavannah, Georgia,[3][4]to begin researching a new book, which was seven years in the making.[5](The killing ofDanny Hansford,which is the book's central story, happened the year preceding Berendt's first visit, while Williams had been convicted of murder for a second time at the point of his return.)[6]His initial plan was to spend three weeks at a time in Savannah, then return to New York City to write, but he changed his mind. "Things would happen if I was simply there," he said in 1997. "It made sense to stay, so I got a full-time apartment in Savannah." He lived, briefly, in acarriage houseon East Charlton Lane,[5][7]behind 22East Jones Street.[8]
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He publishedMidnight in the Garden of Good and Evilin 1994, and it became an overnight success. The book spent a record-breaking 216 weeks on theNew York Timesbestseller list[9]— still, to this day, the longest-standing best seller of theTimes.
The story, unsettling and real, broke down the idea of the quintessential phenomenon of a true American city—only to reveal its quirks: its man walking an invisible dog; its voice of the drag queen; a high-society man in its elite community—all that somehow, unravels a murder mystery. Virtually seeming like a novel and reading like a tale, the non-fictional story is about the real-life events surrounding the murder trial of Jim Williams.[10]Berendt acknowledged that he fabricated some scenes and changed the sequence of some events.[11]The book was adapted into a1997 filmdirected byClint Eastwood.John Cusackplays John Kelso, a character loosely based on Berendt.
Berendt's second book,The City of Falling Angels,was published in September 2005.[12]It chronicles interwoven lives inVenicein the aftermath of the fire that destroyed theLa Feniceopera house. According toKirkus Reviews,"Berendt does great justice to an exalted city that has rightly fascinated the likes ofHenry James,Robert Browning,and many filmmakers throughout the world. "[13]
In 2024, aged 84, he returned to Savannah, for his first speaking engagement in sixteen years, to sign copies of a 30th-anniversary edition ofMidnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.[14]
References
[edit]- ^LLC, New York Media (January 17, 1994).New York Magazine.New York Media, LLC. p. 20.
- ^ab"Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: About the Author, January 20, 2009".Randomhouse.com.RetrievedDecember 5,2013.
- ^"Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil".New Georgia Encyclopedia.RetrievedMarch 28,2024.
- ^LLP, Bouhan Falligant (April 4, 2014)."Sonny with a Chance of Midnight".Bouhan Falligant.RetrievedJune 1,2024.
- ^ab"User Clip: John Berendt's stay in Savannah | C-SPAN.org".www.c-span.org.RetrievedMarch 28,2024.
- ^"'Midnight' at 30: My look at The Book from the time and place it was written ".The Savannahian.January 22, 2024.RetrievedMarch 28,2024.
- ^Media, Milkyway (May 4, 2022).Summary of John Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.Milkyway Media.
- ^"Article clipped from The Atlanta Constitution".The Atlanta Constitution.October 26, 1994. p. 41.RetrievedMarch 28,2024.
- ^"Barnes & Noble,Meet the Writers,"John Berendt - Biography"".Barnesandnoble.com. May 23, 2014. Archived fromthe originalon May 31, 2014.RetrievedJune 29,2014.
- ^Tolstoy, Leo (February 28, 1994)."Reading Group Center: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, January 20, 2009".Randomhouse.com.RetrievedDecember 5,2013.
- ^JULIA RAMEY, For the Chronicle (October 9, 2005)."Author John Berendt tells the truth this time - Houston Chronicle".Chron.com.RetrievedDecember 5,2013.
- ^Penguin Reading Guides, The City of Falling Angels.ArchivedMarch 2, 2009, at theWayback Machine
- ^"THE CITY OF FALLING ANGELS".Kirkus Reviews.May 20, 2010 [Aug. 1, 2005].RetrievedFebruary 21,2023.
- ^"John Berendt returns to Hostess City for Savannah Book Festival".WSAV-TV.February 19, 2024.RetrievedMarch 28,2024.
Further reading
[edit]Archival resources
[edit]- Esquire, Inc. Records 1933–1977(26 linear feet) are housed at the Bentley Library at theUniversity of Michigan.Contains correspondence with John Berendt.
- Larry McMurtry Collection, 1960–1976(2.52 linear feet) is housed at theHarry Ransom Humanities Research Centerof theUniversity of Texas at Austin.Contains correspondence with John Berendt.
External links
[edit]- 1939 births
- Living people
- American columnists
- American non-fiction crime writers
- American magazine editors
- Nottingham High School (New York) alumni
- Harvard College alumni
- Writers from Syracuse, New York
- The Harvard Lampoon alumni
- American gay writers
- Lambda Literary Award winners
- Journalists from New York (state)