GLR November-December 2024

Correspondence

spected by literary scholars in several coun tries. Continental Europe had little interest in the other English Romantic poets, but Byron was admired by both Goethe and Pushkin, whose Eugene Onegin would not have been written with out the example of Don Juan , from whose general import Pushkin de parts, a natural thing for a different genius. In an era when a sex-posi tive stance and nonbinary sexuality are both widely accepted, Byron qualifies as an unsaintly patron saint and deserves our irreverent veneration as both a major author and a bold challenger to conven tional mores. Alfred Corn, Providence, RI Be tt e Midler: Accept No Subs ti tutes To the Editor: I love TheG&LR andwas thrilled to see that my new book On Bette Midler: An Opin ionated Guide (Oxford) was re viewed in the September-October issue. I’ll skip over the fact that Robert Allen Papinchak’s Brief

isn’t really a review but instead a laundry list of Midler career highlights. But the ac companying photo credited as “Bette Mi dler in her ‘Hell in a Handbag’ show, Continental Baths” is not

Lord Byron: S ti ll Beloved To the Editor: While of course he always writes well, I found myself puzzled by Andrew Holleran’s review-essay about Lord Byron in the Sep tember-October issue (“The Broken Dandy”). Puzzling, because he seemed to imply that Byron is an unimportant figure, a mere literary and sexual curiosity. He writes: “Byron is probably not read today in the way he was in the early 1800s.” No, but no popular author of that period is: the read ership today is smaller but better qualified. In my lifetime, I’ve known a very large number of poets and prose writers, and all have expressed admiration for and delight in his work—which, apart from the poetry, includes a wonderful journal and many bril liant letters. This past April, 100 or more people at tended a centenary celebration for the great Romantic at Westminster Abbey, a gather ing of scholars, writers, and readers, all de voted to the author of Don Juan . It’s unfair to expect Holleran to be aware of TheByron Journal , an international publication brought out by Liverpool University and re

even that of the book’s well-known and highly identifiable subject. Midler never did a show called “Hell in a Handbag” at the Continental or any where else. In fact, the photo is performer Caitlin Jackson playing Midler in a Chicago-area tribute show called “Bette: Live at the Continental Baths” pro duced by Hell in a Hand bag productions back in 2015-16. I know Midler is now considered a legacy artist and may not be so familiar to younger staff members, but it’s hard to believe someone at The G&LR didn’t catch this goof! Kevin Winkler, New York, NY

The real Bette at the Baths.

TheG & LR

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