Frank Conroy

Stephen G. Bloom, author of Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America, wrote a nice tribute to Frank Conroy in yesterday's Chicago Tribune.

Frank distrusted most academics, a healthy instinct for any writer. Many are long-winded and imprecise with language (a cardinal sin for Frank); they study memorable writing but seldom create writing that's memorable.

(The Trib published Bloom's piece in the Perspective section, not in Books. Apparently the latter section was already booked up with the moss-backed formality of the annual baseball special to include a sendoff to this fine writer and mentor. Bellow did get a fitting elegy in Books, but that's probably due to his Chicago roots more than anything else.)