Broadway Boogie Woogie

While analyzing Damon Runyon’s work in terms of historical contexts, popular culture, and of the changing function of the media, Schwarz argues that Runyon was an indispensible figure in creating enduring images of New York City culture, which spurred an interest in the demi-monde and underworld exposed in The Godfather films and The Sopranos. In lively and exuberant chapters that include a panoramic view of New York City between the World Wars--and its colorful nightlife--Schwarz examines virtually every facet of Runyon’s career from sports writer, daily columnist, trial reporter, and Hollywood figure to the author of the still widely read short stories that were the source of the Broadway hit Guys and Dolls. As part of his discussion of Runyon’s art and artistry of Runyon’s fiction, he skillfully examines the special language of the Broadway stories known as “Runyonese” and explains how “Runyonese” has become an adjective describing flamboyant behavior.

Daniel R. Schwarz is Professor of English and Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow at Cornell University, where he has taught since 1968. He has received Cornell's College of Arts and Sciences Russell award for distinguished teaching. His prior previous books include Imagining the Holocaust (1999), Reconfiguring Modernism: Exploring the Relationship Between Modern Art and Modern Literature (1997). He has directed nine NEH seminars, and has lectured widely in the United States and abroad. He lives in Ithaca, New York.