Tag Archives: mitchell

Put simply, I love Joe Gould’s Secret by Joseph Mitchell. It’s easy to see, now, why it is held in such high regard. However, I couldn’t help but think the entire time, ‘Lucky for Mitchell, he was profiling a writer.’

Mitchell obtained great quotes and colorful banter out of Gould not only because of his eccentric nature, but also because Gould was also a writer and a master (arguably) of words and journalism himself. No wonder all of the quotes are so playful and fit for a great profile. I would have loved to see the actual interactions between the two men. How can you so accurately profile a man or woman who is a master of the same field? Is there such truth in interviewing and profiling a character who knows exactly what you’re trying to get at, ultimately?

On the subject of dating himself, Mitchell dabbles in the kind of text that we are not accustomed to reading every day in 2013, but cannot be dubbed as “old fashioned” or “out of date” by any means.

On page 9, Mitchell writes, “…once a madam and once a dealer in narcotics…” The reader can understand that a “madam” is a prostitute, and a “dealer in narcotics” is a drug dealer in our lexicon, but he doesn’t use such outlandish words that we are left confused.

On page 27, Mitchell writes, “…enrolled a score or so of dues-paying members…” about Gould’s Friends of Albanian Independence. “Score,” meaning 20, is something that can be attributed to the text originally published in 1942 and not 2013.

Other words and phrases that Mitchell might use to date the text include, “A.B.” when referring to Gould’s degree from Harvard, “per cent” when referring to inaccurate numbers Gould spoke of, and “bareheaded” to describe Gould’s eccentric look when Mitchell first met him.

I liked, in particular, one great phrase.

Page 29, Gould describing the Oral History and what it means to him, “…my wound and the salt on it, my whiskey and my aspirin, and my rock and my salvation.”