Marvin Cohen (American writer)

Marvin Cohen
Marvin Cohen
Born	July 6, 1931 (age 93); Brooklyn, New York, USA
Occupation	Essayist, novelist, playwright, poet, and humorist
Language	English
Years active	1960–present
Notable works	The Self-Devoted Friend (1967), The Monday Rhetoric of the Love Club and Other Parables (1973), Baseball the Beautiful: Decoding the Diamond (1974), Others, Including Morstive Sternbump (1976)
Website
	marvincohen.net

Marvin Cohen (born July 6, 1931) is an American essayist, novelist, playwright, poet, humorist, and surrealist. He is the author of nine published books, two of which were published by New Directions Publishing, and several plays. His shorter writings — stories, parables, allegories, and essays — have appeared in more than 80 publications, including The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Village Voice, The Nation, Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, Fiction, The Hudson Review, Quarterly Review of Literature, Transatlantic Review and New Directions annuals.^[1] His 1980 play The Don Juan and the Non-Don Juan was first performed at the New York Shakespeare Festival as part of the Poets at the Public Series. Staged readings of the play have featured actors Richard Dreyfuss, Keith Carradine, Wallace Shawn, Jill Eikenberry, Larry Pine, and Mimi Kennedy.^[2]

Life and career

Cohen was born in Brooklyn, New York City. He has described himself as one who has "risen from lower-class background to lower-class foreground." He studied art at Cooper Union but left college to focus on writing. He supported himself with a series of odd jobs including mink farmer and merchant seaman.^[3] Although not typically associated with the Beat Generation, his first published piece appeared in The Beat Scene (Corinth Books, 1960) along with works by Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Cohen also taught creative writing at The New School, the City College of New York, C.W. Post of Long Island University, and Adelphi University. He is married and currently lives with his wife in New York City.

Books

The Self-Devoted Friend (1967) New Directions Publishing
Dialogues (1967) Turret Books
The Monday Rhetoric of the Love Club and Other Parables (1973) New Directions Publishing
Baseball the Beautiful: Decoding the Diamond (1974) Links Books
Fables at Life's Expense (1975) Serendipity Books
Others, Including Morstive Sternbump (1976) Bobbs-Merrill Company
The Inconvenience of Living (1977) Urizen Books
How the Snake Emerged from the Bamboo Pole but Man Emerged from Both (1978) Oasis Books / Earthgrip Press
Aesthetics in Life and Art (1982) Gull Books
How to Outthink a Wall: An Anthology (2016) Verbivoracious Press
Others, Including Morstive Sternbump: 40th Anniversary Edition (2016) Tough Poets Press

Plays

^ "Marvin Cohen Joins Carriage House Series". Record-News. Westfield, NJ. April 20, 2007.
^ Papp, Joseph, ed. (1986). Plays from the New York Shakespeare Festival. New York, NY: Broadway Play Publishing. p. 2.
^ De Lacy, Justine (September 6–7, 1980). "Marvin Cohen's Surrealist Humor". International Herald Tribune. Paris.

marvincohen.net
New Directions Publishing Company - Marvin Cohen
Reader's Almanac, December 24, 1976 Marvin Cohen discusses his sixth book and first novel, Others, Including Morstive Sternbump. Interview with Walter James Miller, WNYC-FM, New York Public Radio.
Reader's Almanac, February 6, 1978 Marvin Cohen talks about his book The Inconvenience of Living. Interview with Walter James Miller, WNYC-FM, New York Public Radio.
Village Voice, November 23, 2016 Surreal Genius: Why Onetime Literary Hotshot Marvin Cohen Deserves Another Look