When I was a very young man who lived in a carrel in the Carneige Library and read far too much for my own good, I dwelled on the idea of a literary life and I was able to actually catch glimpses of them every now and then, particularly on the Dick Cavett show. There was Norman Mailer. Here was Gore Vidal. Over there was Tennessee Williams and then, there was Truman Capote and he gave me a particular kind of hope. I figured that, if the such an obviously eccentric individual might be able to make a living in the word business, I might too ... if I achieved a certain level of skill and already possessed a modicum of talent. --That did and did not happen.
Given this remove from from that time when Capote was a regular fixtured on television, some of you might remember and many others of you might be at a loss unless you caught two movies about Capote released a few years back which did a Pretty Good Job of capturing the style and mood.
Recently I came across this audio file that the 92nd Street Y so generously posted to its site: a portion from an appearance by Capote. The portion is his rendition of a few paragraphs from Breakfast at Tiffany's. Here's the file:
92Y_Truman_Capote_19630407
Friends, I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.
