Customer Reviews

The Man in the Mirror: William Marion Reedy and His Magazine

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i am a grand, grand nephew of mr. reedy's! i have known of his lore and have long possessed the book reviewed here. it was written as a college thesis, i believe, by mr. putzel during his studies at washington u. here in st. louis.

i've long been amused by reedy's wit and daring, for st. louis was a very catholic, conservative town in the teens and twenties when his work flourished. fortunately for me, and unlike many irish families in town today, my entire family tree from its roots in clonmel, ireland to my grandparents here in st. louis have been carefully chronicled by the author.

as for reedy's contributions, carl sandburg and vachel lindsay (among others) apparently owed much of their introductory successes to reedy's "mirror", which was a literary journal of the day.

the security building in downtown st. louis continues to house businesses and professionals in its walls. at one time, my great, great uncle published his 20,000 subscriber journal for readers throughout the world. and what a life he lived outside of his office.

hope you enjoy!

It's hard to believe that a man who had such tremendous influence on American letters was all but forgotten before Max Putzel brought him back to life in this extraordinary biography. William Marion Reedy discovered and/or published many of the most important writers of his day, including Edgar Lee Masters, Vachel Lindsay, Carl Sandburg, Amy Lowell, Sara Teasdale, Theodore Dreiser and Zoe Akins. At the same time, he led a rough-and-tumble life in his native St. Louis, once even waking up after a night of hard drinking to discover he had married a local prostitute! Putzel's portrayal of Reedy in all his brilliance and decadence is one of those rare works of excellent scholarship that is also just plain fun to read. I recommend it with gusto!