Joyce Elbert

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Joyce Elbert
Born(1930-02-26)26 February 1930
Bronx, New York, USA
Died8 May 2009(2009-05-08) (aged 79)
Volusia, Florida, USA
OccupationWriter
Alma materHunter College
Years active1963–1984
Notable worksThe The Crazy Ladies (1969), The Goddess Hangup (1970)

Joyce Elbert (February 26, 1930 - May 8, 2009) was an American writer. She was the author of ten published novels and a collection of memoirs.

Life and career[edit]

Elbert was born in the Bronx, New York City, on February 26, 1930, the only child of Melba and Charles Krimmer,[1] an Austrian immigrant whose once-thriving dress manufacturing company went bankrupt during the Great Depression.[2] She attended New York City's Christopher Columbus High School (Bronx)[3] and Hunter College, from which she received a bachelor of arts degree in Journalism in 1952.[4]

In 1958, Elbert was one of the founding editors of the Provincetown Review,[5] a literary magazine for which author Norman Mailer served as advisor. Her first novel, the semi-autobiographical Getting Rid of Richard, was completed in 1959[6] although it didn't see publication until 1972. Her 1969 novel, The Crazy Ladies, was dubbed "the first really great dirty book" by Cosmopolitan magazine.[7] By 1980, more than 5,000,000 copies of her books were in print worldwide,[8] including translations into Spanish, French, and German.

Elbert's last published novel, The Return of the Crazy Ladies, was released in 1984. She died on May 8, 2009, in Volusia, Florida,[9] of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease), leaving behind at least seven unpublished novels, as well as several short stories and autobiographical essays.

Works[edit]

Novels

  • A Martini on the Other Table (1963) Signet
  • The Crazy Ladies (1969) New American Library
  • The Goddess Hangup (1970) World Publishing Group
  • Getting Rid of Richard (1972) Arbor House
  • Drunk in Madrid (1972) Arbor House
  • The Three of Us (1973) Arbor House
  • The Crazy Lovers (1976) Rawson, Wade
  • A Very Cagey Lady (1980) Signet
  • Red Eye Blues (1981) Signet
  • The Return of the Crazy Ladies (1984) Signet

Memoirs

  • A Tale of Five Cities & Other Memoirs (2022) Tough Poets Press

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ "Joyce Krimmer", United States census, 1930; Bronx, New York, United States; roll 1468, page 2A, line 50, enumeration district 160, Family History film 2341203, National Archives film number T626. Retrieved on June 6, 2022.
  2. ^ Elbert, Joyce (2022). A Tale of Five Cities & Other Memoirs. Arlington, MA: Tough Poets Press. p. 5.
  3. ^ Weisman, John (May 1969). "Book review: The Crazy Ladies". FM & Fine Arts. Beverly Hills, CA: Macro/Comm Corporation. p. 41.
  4. ^ "Hunter College of the City of New York 101st Commencement Exercises" (PDF). Hunter College Libraries. February 5, 1952. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  5. ^ Busa, Christopher (1996). "Crying at the Lock: the Journals of John Hultberg" (PDF). Provincetown Arts. Provincetown, MA: Provincetown Arts Press, Inc. p. 55. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  6. ^ Elbert, Joyce (2022). A Tale of Five Cities & Other Memoirs. Arlington, MA: Tough Poets Press. p. 100.
  7. ^ Curtis, Gregory (March 1974). "Chariots in the Bedroom". Texas Monthly. Austin, TX: Texas Monthly LLC. p. 16.
  8. ^ Elbert, Joyce (1980). A Very Cagey Lady. New York City, NY: Signet Books. p. Cover.
  9. ^ "United States Social Security Death Index". Family Search. 2009. Retrieved June 6, 2022.