“Such Friends”: You Didn’t Get What You Really Wanted for Christmas?!

Oh no! All those bookish friends of yours couldn’t figure out that what you were really hankering for was “Such Friends”:  The Literary 1920s, Volumes I through III covering 1920 through 1922!

“Such Friends”:  The Literary 1920s—Volume I, 1920

Easily available in print or e-book format on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. However, if you prefer signed copies, wander on over to Riverstone Books on Forbes Avenue in Squirrel Hill. Or contact me directly at kaydee@gypsyteacher.com.

The reason you are so keen to get your hands on all three volumes of “Such Friends” is clear from what you’ve heard people saying about it:

My wife and I were reading your Such Friends…out loud to each other and laughing a lot.”

–Cliff, Osher Lifelong Learning friend

Everyone is reading “Such Friends”:

Donnelly’s clever day-by-day organization allows her to range widely among many artists while her use of the present tense creates a sense of immediacy—’you are there.’ This book will provide great pleasure to anyone interested in figures of Modernism and of Twenties popular culture:  Eliot, Joyce, Pound, Woolf, Yeats, Stein, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Parker, Benchley, et al.”

—another Kathleen, Facebook friend

Here’s an example of my clever organization:

Sample pages from “Such Friends”:  The Literary 1920s

Your lovely book arrived yesterday and I’ve already devoured most of it. It’s a very clever way of dealing with so many literary giants in…their most important years. Although ideal for a popular audience there is much that I did not know (and was delighted to learn) even though I spent a wasted youth and much of my dotage studying most of them.”

—Joseph, Australian friend

And my previous offer still stands:  If you are anywhere near a Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus route, I will hand-deliver your signed copies. Get in touch! kaydee@gypsyteacher.com.

Next month I will be talking about The Literary 1920s in Paris and New York City at the Osher program at Carnegie-Mellon University.

Manager as Muse, about Scribner’s editor Maxwell Perkins’ relationships with F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and Thomas Wolfe, is also available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk in both print and e-book versions.

If you want to walk with me through Bloomsbury, you can download my audio walking tour, “Such Friends”:  Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group.

“Such Friends”: This Year!

Regular readers of this blog are already tired of me going on about the benefits of “Such Friends”:  The Literary 1920s, Volumes I through III, covering 1920 to 1922 [conveniently available at Riverstone Books in Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh, PA, and from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk in both print and e-book formats].

“Such Friends” volumes I through III

So I thought I’d turn this #shamelessselfpromotion posting over to the fans:

Such Friends: The Literary 1920s presents colourful, diary-like snippets, skillfully woven together, from the daily lives of writers, poets and artists of the Irish Literary Renaissance, the Bloomsbury Group, the Americans in Paris, and the Algonquin Round Table in New York.”

—Dr. Ann Kennedy Smith, “My Books of the Year,”

Cambridge Ladies’ Dining Society, 1890-1914;

It’s a lot of fun skipping around to different dates and events to see what was going on at particular times during the year.”

                                                              —Jim, Irish theatre fan

Interior of Volume III

What a treasure-trove this work is. You make it seem alive. The gossip is fresh! These little stories humanize the great geniuses. Thanks for doing this work.”

                                                  —Janie B., Pittsburgh-New York fan

The people are fascinating, of course, and I love the way you’ve woven what else is happening around them into their stories. Love what you do! You find such fascinating goodies to share with the rest of us.”

                                                  —Anne, fellow Pittsburgh writer fan

I look forward to the gossip and insights you have curated about what was going on a century ago.”

                                                  —Hedda, Bloomsbury fan

Love your stuff. I inhale it like…wildflower smells!”

                                                 —Marie, Semester at Sea fan

You have such a nice way of making history feel closer to us—letting us know and care about these people.”

                                                 —Dr. Barry, Ohio academic fan

Such fun! This is eavesdropping across the past century.”

                                                 —Don, James Joyce fan

Thank you, fans! And my previous offer still holds. If you live on any Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus line, I will hand deliver your signed copies to you. Email me at kaydee@gypsyteacher.com.

Happy holidays!

Fans reading “Such Friends,” Volume II

Early next year I will be talking about the centenary of the publication of T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Pittsburgh, and about The Literary 1920s in Paris and New York City at the Osher program at Carnegie-Mellon University.

Manager as Muse, about Scribner’s editor Maxwell Perkins’ relationships with F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and Thomas Wolfe, is also available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk in both print and e-book versions.

If you want to walk with me through Bloomsbury, you can download my audio walking tour, “Such Friends”:  Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group.

“Such Friends” Wishes You All a Happy Thanksgiving and a Happy Small Business Saturday

Taking a Thanksgiving break from posting what was happening in the literary world 100 years ago, today we would like to wish all our “Such Friends” a Happy Thanksgiving!

In the U. S.—and for some reason, also in the U. K. (Why?!)—tomorrow is known as Black Friday.

Forget it. Stay home and watch the USA beat the England team in the first round of the World Cup (2 pm EST on Fox).

USA v England, World Cup 2022

Instead, go out Saturday to your local shops and celebrate Small Business Saturday.

If you are lucky enough to live anywhere near the wonderful neighborhood of Squirrel Hill in Pittsburgh, PA, stop by the new location of Riverstone Books on Forbes Avenue and pick up your signed copy of “Such Friends”:  The Literary 1920s. Volumes I through III, covering 1920 to 1922, are all there.

“Such Friends”:  The Literary 1920s, Volume III—1922

What? You asked at your local bookstore and they didn’t have them?! Well, you march right back in there and tell them to email me (kaydee@gypsyteacher.com) and I will be happy to deliver. No supply chain issues here.

Everybody is reading “Such Friends”:  The Literary 1920s

So you want to make your holiday purchases at a small business, but you’re stumped as to what to get for those bookish friends of yours? You know who their favorite authors are, but you don’t know which books they’ve already read.

They haven’t read this! “Such Friends”:  The Literary 1920s makes the perfect present for friends and family with a literary inclination. The dip-in-and-out format, designed by Lisa Thomson, makes it easy to digest the year in small bursts, or read straight through from January through December.

Sample page layout from Volume III

My original offer still holds—if you live anywhere on a Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus line, I will personally deliver your signed copy.

We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season, and we are looking forward to 1923…Ooops! 2023…

Early next year I will be talking about the centenary of the publication of T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land in the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Pittsburgh, and the literary 1920s in Paris and New York City in the Osher program at Carnegie-Mellon University.

Manager as Muse, about Scribner’s editor Maxwell Perkins’ relationships with F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and Thomas Wolfe, is available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk in both print and e-book versions. I would be happy to supply this book to your local bookstore as well.

If you want to walk with me through Bloomsbury, you can download my audio walking tour, “Such Friends”:  Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group.

The Second Annual “Such Friends” Holiday Gift Giving Guide

Yes, it’s OCTOBER.

The next thing you know, it will be NOVEMBER.

And you know what that means.

Time to start thinking about the annual task that dare not speak its name—[Whisper] holiday gift giving!

Let’s say that you have some friends and/or family on your list who you know are book readers. Real books. Not just online listicles.

But which books have they read? Which authors’ biographies have they sought out? You don’t know.

I guarantee you they haven’t yet read “Such Friends”:  The Literary 1920s, Volumes I (1920), II (1921) and certainly not the newly available Volume III (1922).

“Such Friends”:  The Literary 1920s, Volume III—1922

Even your non-bookish friends will be enticed by the informal layout of “Such Friends,” designed by Lisa Thomson (LisaT2@comcast.net). You can dip in and out or settle in to read through the whole 12 months.

Sample interior of “Such Friends”

Now you can give them the gift of gossip about their favorite early 20^th century writers and artists in either print or e-book formats from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk, or in the form of signed copies from Riverstone Books in Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh, PA.

What’s that you say? Amazon has such long delivery times, you’re afraid your well-planned gifts will be sitting in a truck until January?

We can get you copies of any or all volumes of “Such Friends”:  The Literary 1920s—signed copies, at our direct sale discount—in just a few days. We’ve got plenty of inventory and a handy post office.

And if you live on any Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus route, I will personally deliver your signed copies to you.

So email me at kaydee@gypsyteacher.com and check a few friends or relations off that gift list now!

Early in the new year I will be talking about The Centenary of T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land in the Osher Lifelong Learning program at the University of Pittsburgh, and The Literary 1920s in Paris and New York at the Osher program at Carnegie-Mellon University.

Another gift for your bookish friends, Manager as Muse, about Scribner’s editor Maxwell Perkins’ relationships with F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Thomas Wolfe, is also available on Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk in both print and e-book versions.

If you want to walk with me through Bloomsbury, you can download my audio walking tour, “Such Friends”:  Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group.

Oh no!

Your favorite online retailer says there’s no way that your pressies will arrive before the holidays?!

Fear not—“Such Friends” is here to help.

We can get you copies of Volumes I and II of “Such Friends”:  The Literary 1920s—signed copies—in just a few days. We’ve got plenty of inventory and a handy post office. And if you live on any Allegheny County Port Authority bus route—I will personally hand deliver them.

Cover design by Lisa Thomson

Or support your local independent bookstore where you can walk in with an idea and walk out with books. For example, if you live anywhere near the Squirrel Hill neighborhood in Pittsburgh, PA—lucky you! There are signed copies of “Such Friends” available at Riverstone Books, near the intersection of Forbes and Murray Avenues.

“Such Friends” is the perfect gift for the literature lovers on your list. You have a good idea which books they like—but you really don’t know which ones they have or haven’t read.

They haven’t read this one!

By giving them “Such Friends”:  The Literary 1920s you are giving them the gift of gossip about their favorite early 20^th century novelists, short story writers, poets, and journalists.

So go through that list again and see which of your “such friends” would love a copy of these books. And then email me at kaydee@gypsyteacher.com with their names and addresses.

And have a happy and healthy holiday.

Everyone is reading “Such Friends”

On February 3^rd, 2022, I will be talking about Pittsburgh’s own Gertrude Stein and the Literary 1920s at 7 pm at Riverstone Books. It’s Stein’s 148^th birthday and the event is free and open to the public. You can register at the Riverstone website so we know you’re coming. If you can’t show up in person that night, sign up on the website to tune in on Zoom.

Early in the new year I will be talking about the centenary of the publication of James Joyce’s Ulysses at the Osher Lifelong Learning programs at Carnegie-Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh.

Manager as Muse, about Scribner’s editor Maxwell Perkins’ relationships with F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and Thomas Wolfe, is available on Amazon in both print and e-book versions.

If you want to walk with me through Bloomsbury, you can download my audio walking tour, “Such Friends”:  Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group.

“Such Friends” Supports Small Business Saturday

We interrupt our ongoing chronicle of what was happening 100 years ago in the literary world, to give another push to local independent bookstores. Forget what day today is and remember tomorrow, Saturday, November 27^th, Small Business Saturday.

As an incentive, here is my recent blog about the fabulous holiday presents awaiting you at Riverstone Books in Squirrel Hill—signed copies of “Such Friends”—The Literary 1920s, Volumes I and II!

PS To my fellow yinzers, the City of Pittsburgh is offering free parking in their lots and metered spaces all weekend!

“Such Friends” Supports Local Independent Bookstores

It’s that time of year again—time to get out and spend your money at local small businesses!

And don’t forget your local independent bookstore. Where you just may find “Such Friends”:  The Literary 1920s, Volumes I and II, including all the blogs posted here about what was happening 100 years ago in 1920 and 1921. If they don’t have it—tell them to order now! Everybody’s reading it.

Everybody reading “Such Friends”!

For example, if you live anywhere near the Squirrel Hill neighborhood in Pittsburgh, PA—lucky you! There are signed copies of “Such Friends” available at Riverstone Books, near the intersection of Forbes and Murray Avenues.

Maybe you’ve finished your holiday shopping but would still like to find out more about what was happening in the literary world in the 1920s. On February 3^rd, 2022, I will be talking about Pittsburgh’s Gertrude Stein and the Literary 1920s at 7 pm at Riverstone Books. For Stein’s 148^th birthday we think she deserves a party—and a book signing! The event is free and open to the public, but you can register at the Riverstone website so we know you’re coming.

If you can’t come in person that night, sign up on the website to tune in on Zoom.

And if you’re not lucky enough to live in Pittsburgh, you will just have to order your copies, print or ebook, from Amazon. Or contact me to arrange for signed copies:  kaydee@gypsyteacher.com

Happy holidays to all of our “such friends”!

At the end of February I will be talking about the Publication of James Joyce’s Ulysses at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Carnegie-Mellon University.

Manager as Muse, about Scribner’s editor Maxwell Perkins’ relationships with F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and Thomas Wolfe, is also available on Amazon in both print and e-book versions.

If you want to walk with me through Bloomsbury, you can download my audio walking tour, “Such Friends”:  Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group.

“Such Friends” Supports Local Independent Bookstores

It’s that time of year again—time to get out and spend your money at local small businesses!

And don’t forget your local independent bookstore. Where you just may find “Such Friends”:  The Literary 1920s, Volumes I and II, including all the blogs posted here about what was happening 100 years ago in 1920 and 1921. If they don’t have it—tell them to order now! Everybody’s reading it.

Everybody reading “Such Friends”!

For example, if you live anywhere near the Squirrel Hill neighborhood in Pittsburgh, PA—lucky you! There are signed copies of “Such Friends” available at Riverstone Books, near the intersection of Forbes and Murray Avenues.

Maybe you’ve finished your holiday shopping but would still like to find out more about what was happening in the literary world in the 1920s. On February 3^rd, 2022, I will be talking about Pittsburgh’s Gertrude Stein and the Literary 1920s at 7 pm at Riverstone Books. For Stein’s 148^th birthday we think she deserves a party—and a book signing! The event is free and open to the public, but you can register at the Riverstone website so we know you’re coming.

If you can’t come in person that night, sign up on the website to tune in on Zoom!

And if you’re not lucky enough to live in Pittsburgh, you will just have to order your copies, print or ebook, from Amazon. Or contact me to arrange for signed copies:  kaydee@gypsyteacher.com

Happy holidays to all of our “such friends”!

Manager as Muse, about Scribner’s editor Maxwell Perkins’ relationships with Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and Thomas Wolfe, is also available on Amazon in both print and e-book versions.

Early next year I will be talking about the Centenary of the Publication of James Joyce’s Ulysses.

If you want to walk with me through Bloomsbury, you can download my audio walking tour, “Such Friends”:  Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group.

The “Such Friends” Holiday Gift Giving Guide

We interrupt our usual chronicling of what was happening in the literary 1920s for this year’s ever-helpful “Such Friends” Holiday Gift Giving Guide.

So there are friends on your gift list who are, let’s just say, bookish. Maybe your book club? Or teenagers who just discovered a favorite author? Or someone you argue with over the relative merits of classic novels?

You have a good idea which books they like—but you really don’t know which ones they have or haven’t read.

They haven’t read this one!

Cover design by Lisa Thomson

By giving them either volume—1920 or 1921, both available on Amazon—of “Such Friends”:  The Literary 1920s you are giving them the gift of gossip about their favorite early 20^th century novelists, short story writers, poets, and journalists.

What could be better, you ask?

How about—a signed copy of Such Friends”:  The Literary 1920s?! It can be arranged. Just email me at kaydee@gypsyteacher.com. And if you are near any convenient city of Pittsburgh bus route, I will be happy to hand deliver your copy.

But wait. “Teenagers”?, you are asking. Teenagers don’t want to slog through some print doorstop all about the past. Ha! Then give them the e-book, also readily available from Amazon. And look at this beautiful interior design by Lisa Thomson from Volume II—1921. All the vignettes are laid out in easy-to digest pages. You can dip in and out or read all the way through.

Sample interior of “Such Friends”

The perfect book to keep handy in your bathroom.

Any questions, just contact me at kaydee@gypsyteacher.com.

Happy holidays!

Another gift for your bookish friends, Manager as Muse, about Scribner’s editor Maxwell Perkins’ relationships with F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Thomas Wolfe, is also available on Amazon in both print and e-book versions.

At the end of this month I will be talking about Writers’ Salons in Dublin and London Before the Great War in the Osher Lifelong Learning program at Carnegie-Mellon University.

If you want to walk with me through Bloomsbury, you can download my audio walking tour, “Such Friends”:  Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group.

“Such Friends”: The Literary 1920s, Volume II—1921 is now available!

Would you like to find out now how 1921 ends?

You can!

Cover design by Lisa Thomson

You don’t have to wait for this blog to work its way through the year.

Just order “Such Friends”:  The Literary 1920s, Volume II—1921, the second in the series collecting these blog postings about this amazing decade. The print version is available now on Amazon; the e-book will be available in a few weeks.

You’ve certainly put a lot of work into this. It is a panorama of the period…Look forward to reading your future work”—Richard, Hemingway fan

Following less than eight months after the publication of Volume I, this collection of more than 100 vignettes has the same easy to dip in and out of layout. Or you can read straight through from January 1^st to the upcoming December 31^st.

Interior pages of “Such Friends”

Spoiler alert:  It’s got a great ending [and two recipes]!

I have really been enjoying your book…Because of the way it’s set up with episodes corresponding to dates of the year, it’s a great one for reading a bit from on a daily basis.”—Emily, British writer fan

And what about your book-loving friends? You may know which early 20^th century writers they love, but are you sure which works they have read or not read at gift-giving time? The series “Such Friends”:  The Literary 1920s is the perfect present because they sure haven’t read this! Give them the gift of great gossip about their favorite creative people.

The series “Such Friends”:  The Literary 1920s is based in part on my research for my Ph.D. in Communications from Dublin City University in Ireland. which focused on the legendary writers and artists who socialized in salons in the early years of the 20^th century—William Butler Yeats and the Irish Literary Renaissance, Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group, Gertrude Stein and the Americans in Paris, and Dorothy Parker and the Algonquin Round Table. For the blogs and books I have expanded the cast of characters to also include those who orbited around them such as T. S. Eliot, E. M. Forster, James Joyce, D. H. Lawrence, Edna St. Vincent Millay and others.

My investigations into creative writers in the early 20^th century began with Manager as Muse, a case study of Scribner’s editor Maxwell Perkins’ work with F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and Thomas Wolfe, the topic of my MBA thesis at Duquesne University in my hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This is also available on Amazon in print and e-book formats.

The “Such Friends” book series has been beautifully designed by Lisa Thomson [LisaT2@comcast.net] and produced on Amazon by Loral and Seth Pepoon of Selah Press [loralpepoon@gmail.com].

The cover art on Volume II is a painting by Virginia Woolf’s sister, painter Vanessa Bell, A Conversation.

A Conversation by Vanessa Bell, 1913-1916

If you are in Pittsburgh, and easily accessible by bus, I will hand deliver your personally signed copy!

Everyone is reading “Such Friends”!

I read it in chronological order and found the vignettes most interesting. A sort of behind the scenes look into the thoughts, character, and personalities of the writers and artists affiliated with the individual salons in the beginning of the decade. I do believe the 20s sparked a Renaissance of thought and ideas in the literary and artistic world. I must admit that there were a few of their associates that I was not familiar with which may merit further study.”—Robert, Wisconsin fan

For complimentary review copies of both volumes of “Such Friends”:  The Literary 1920s, email me at kaydee@gypsyteacher.com.

This fall I will be talking about Writers’ Salons in Dublin and Ireland Before the Great War in the Osher Lifelong Learning program at Carnegie-Mellon University.

If you want to walk with me through Bloomsbury, download my audio walking tour, “Such Friends”:  Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group.

“Such Friends”: The Reviews Are In!

We interrupt our usual chronicling of what was happening in the literary 1920s to report on the early response to the first book of these blogs, “Such Friends”:  The Literary 1920s, Volume I—1920, by your blog host, Kathleen Dixon Donnelly, published three months ago today.

I love it…Your voice carried over a number of pages sequentially is very effective and idiosyncratic. When they are read together they have a presence…You’ve invented a new genre—vignettes with verve!…I continue to pick up “Such Friends“ regularly and just start reading…I read a few and then think “Well, time to do something else.” And then I want to turn the pages and read a few more. You have invented a new sort of page turner. Collectively, they are also giving me a feel for the time.”—New York Academic Fan

Thanks to all of you who have passed on to me your positive thoughts about “Such Friends.”

Cover design by Lisa Thomson

I really like the format. The small vignettes are great for a quick read and even sharing with friends and students. I also love Lady Gregory’s famous beech tree on the cover!”—Ohio Academic Fan

You’ve made some excellent suggestions [and corrections—Oops!] which will be incorporated into the upcoming volumes.

A chronological journey through the most extraordinary of years…Fun to pick up on any page and travel back in time.”—Connecticut The Great Gatsby fan

If you’re following this “Such Friends” blog you’ve been reading the postings that will become Volume II—1921, hopefully available before the end of this year.

The book looks great and although I planned to read a couple of pages to get the flavor of the text, I ended up reading page after page after page—delightful, fascinating, lively anecdotes, information and graphics!”—Bloomsbury Group Fan

“Such Friends” can be an ideal gift for any of your literary “such friends.” You know they like to read, but how can you avoid buying them a book they’ve already read?! With “Such Friends” you are giving them the gift of great gossip about their favorite early 20^th century writers.

Kind of fun and light. It’s a reminder that geniuses are still just people…These are highly revered writers we don’t get to meet personally. We also get a good sense that politically and socially nothing is new under the sun.”—Former College Roomie Fan

So get your copies now! Both print and e-book formats are available on Amazon.

It’s like meeting them in person. I studied them in school so reading your book brings them back, but with a personal feel…It put us in the room with them. You brought them to life.”—South Florida Writer Fan

And if you are in Pittsburgh, and easily accessible by bus, I will hand deliver your personally signed copy!

I am still enjoying dipping into “Such Friends,” rationing it like a box of chocolates…I tend to read a page or two before I sleep—I think it enhances the quality of my dreams.—Irish in London Playwright Fan

Any questions, just email me at kaydee@gypsyteacher.com.

I’m trying to resist reading your individual “Such Friends” blog pieces in order to read them all in the 1921 book at the end of the year, I enjoyed the most recent one so much.”—Galway Playwright Fan

This summer I will be talking about The Literary 1920s in the Osher Lifelong Learning programs at Carnegie-Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh.

Manager as Muse, about Scribner’s editor Maxwell Perkins’ relationships with Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Thomas Wolfe, is also available on Amazon in both print and e-book versions.

If you want to walk with me through Bloomsbury, download my audio walking tour, “Such Friends”:  Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group.