Episode 599 – Mirana Comstock

Virtual Memories Show

Virtual Memories Show 599:
Mirana Comstock

“This is the first book in 70 years that can conjure up that era, and there will never ben another book that can, because everyone connected with that era is gone.”

This one’s all about legacies: familial, literary, cultural & institutional! Mirana Comstock joins the show to celebrate the publication of The Algonquin Round Table: 25 Years with the Legends Who Lunch (Excelsior Editions/SUNY Press), by her grandfather, the late literary lion Konrad Bercovici. We get into how Mirana discovered this manuscript, what it meant to edit it & write the intro, what it was like to help bring the Algonquin scene & Konrad’s writing to life for a new generation of readers, and the experience of growing up in a multigenerational household of compulsive artists & writers. We talk about why her grandfather’s immense literary stature diminished, the nature of charisma and The Aura, the scandal of Chaplin stealing Konrad’s script for The Great Dictator, how the Algonquin habitués were the influencers of their time (only with something to say), how the Algonquin scene was like Vienna café society transposed into New York & American capitalism, Mirana’s discoveries as she researched the figures in the book, and why there’ll never be another book like this one. We also discuss the New-York Historical Society’s acquisition of Konrad’s papers, her New York and how it’s changed, her idea for transforming her family’s writing into a meta-stage production, and a lot more. Give it a listen! And go read The Algonquin Round Table: 25 Years with the Legends Who Lunch !

“I’m not a book writer. I’m a published poet, I write lyrics, I’m a singer-songwriter, I’m an advertising writer, I’m screenwriter; I’ve written everything but books. It’s like I left that for the family to do.”

“These people at the Round Table were more alive when they were around each other.”

Enjoy the conversation! Then check out the archives for more great episodes!

Lots of ways to follow The Virtual Memories Show! iTunes, Spotify, BlueSky, Instagram, YouTube, Tumblr, and good ol’ RSS!

About our Guest

Konrad Bercovici was a celebrated author and journalist, and friend of many leading 20th century figures, including John Reed, Charlie Chaplin, Ernest Hemingway, and Paul Robeson. His granddaughter Mirana Comstock is a screenwriter, poet, and musician who has recorded and performed in New York and the Boston area, where she now resides. She is currently adapting one of her grandfather’s books as a miniseries.

Credits: This episode’s music is Fella by Hal Mayforth, used with permission from the artist. The conversation was recorded at Mirana’s home on a pair of Blue enCORE 200 microphones feeding into a Zoom PodTrak P4 digital recorder & interface. I recorded the intro and outro on a Heil PR-40 Dynamic Studio Recording Microphone feeding into a Zoom PodTrak P4. All processing and editing done in Adobe Audition CC. Photo of Mirana in banner by someone else; other photos by me. It’s on my instagram.