Donald Anderson
"History accretes, but only Poetry unifies."
--Aristotle
Andre Dubus: Tributes, edited by Donald
Anderson, is a eulogy for the late master of
the short story. . . . Anderson has found
thirty-eight distinct contributors who offer
insights into Dubus’ life and work. We hear
from his son, Andre Dubus III; his agent,
Philip G. Spitzer; fellow writer, Frederick
Busch; his first publisher, David R. Godine; his
sister, Kathryn Dubus; friend, Tobias Wolff;
first cousin, James Lee Burke, and those who
knew him only through his writing: Marilyn
Abildskov, Darrell Spencer, and James Hughes
Meredith. . . . This collection remembers
Dubus in all facets of his life, from childhood to
the Marines to Iowa and through three
marriages, three divorces, and a life altering
hit-and-run accident. The collection isn’t just
about remembering the man. Tributes offers
lessons on craft, discipline, generosity, faith,
and perseverance. But above all it is a tribute
to the master.
—Albry Montalbano, Literary Review
A few years back, Andre wrote to me about a
story of mine he’d chanced upon. To my great
pleasure, he made a point to praise its
economy. “I so much admire distillation,” he
said, writing in pencil on paper torn from a Big
Chief tablet, the kind of tablet he would have
known we’d both remember from school. True
or not, I see Andre writing his stories
longhand—first in pencil on paper—the least
technological connection from his hand to his
heart to the page. I see him thus armed and
scribbling the large and small trespasses we
all commit in the name of hope and love and
fear and despair and longing.
—from “Into the Silence,” by Donald Anderson
Anderson, is a eulogy for the late master of
the short story. . . . Anderson has found
thirty-eight distinct contributors who offer
insights into Dubus’ life and work. We hear
from his son, Andre Dubus III; his agent,
Philip G. Spitzer; fellow writer, Frederick
Busch; his first publisher, David R. Godine; his
sister, Kathryn Dubus; friend, Tobias Wolff;
first cousin, James Lee Burke, and those who
knew him only through his writing: Marilyn
Abildskov, Darrell Spencer, and James Hughes
Meredith. . . . This collection remembers
Dubus in all facets of his life, from childhood to
the Marines to Iowa and through three
marriages, three divorces, and a life altering
hit-and-run accident. The collection isn’t just
about remembering the man. Tributes offers
lessons on craft, discipline, generosity, faith,
and perseverance. But above all it is a tribute
to the master.
—Albry Montalbano, Literary Review
A few years back, Andre wrote to me about a
story of mine he’d chanced upon. To my great
pleasure, he made a point to praise its
economy. “I so much admire distillation,” he
said, writing in pencil on paper torn from a Big
Chief tablet, the kind of tablet he would have
known we’d both remember from school. True
or not, I see Andre writing his stories
longhand—first in pencil on paper—the least
technological connection from his hand to his
heart to the page. I see him thus armed and
scribbling the large and small trespasses we
all commit in the name of hope and love and
fear and despair and longing.
—from “Into the Silence,” by Donald Anderson
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