Review: In Dreams Begin Responsibilities and Other Stories

In Dreams Begin Responsibilities and Other Stories by Delmore Schwartz
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I really want to like this collection of short stories because I like Schwartz's poetry and so does Lou Reed. Even Reed's intro is about the man's poems and tragic biography, not really the stories. (By the way, Lou, it is the "Heavy Bear...", not the "Honey Bear..."). Another intro and afterword try to point away from the misspent life (Maybe a Schwartz biography including some of this best poems would be best) and argue how impactful these stories were in the '30s. I will put this on the shelf, maybe I am not yet of the right vintage and patience to appreciate the subtle values here.

The only one I really liked was the final, short "SCREENO" which I was intrigued by when seeing in the Table of Contents. Some forgotten pop culture trend celebrated with John Waters-esque damaged characters. It was almost that good.

THere are some lines I really like:

From "The World is a Wedding": "I like animals. They are interesting, spontaneous, and sincere."

and,

"In my late adolescence, ... life seemed to me to be Shakespearean. But now as I get older I see that life really resembles the stories of Fyodor Dostoyevsky."

and from "New Year's Eve" on inviting people to parties:

"Since both of them were intellectuals, both resorted to theories about the nature of a party and about each other's characters. A party at which too many of the guests are strangers is likely to fall flat, Arthur argued.
'There is enough alienation in modern life,' he said roundly, 'without installing it in the living room.'"

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