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Dalkey Days
Literary critic Steven Moore was an editor at Dalkey Archive Press during its early years (1988-1996) when it grew from a one-man operation to one of the most respected small presses in America. In part 1 of this brief memoir, he recounts how he joined the press, what he accomplished there, and why he left. This is followed by an annotated list of all the books Moore acquired, enlivened by behind-the-scene anecdotes, and concludes with short essays on certain particular authors. Dalkey Days is profusely illustrated with book covers, author photos, and rare Dalkey memorabilia. "Steven Moore has been at the vanguard of criticism and publication of outliers and explorers whose artistic visions reinvigorate the capacious form of the novel and the short story, and we are in his debt." —Jeff Bursey, Numéro Cinq
120 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2023
85 people want to read
About the author
Steven Moore
126 books176 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Steven Moore is a literary critic. He received his Ph.D. from Rutgers University in 1988.
While Moore has been a teacher, bookstore owner, book reviewer, and columnist, he is most well known for his work as an editor and author of literary criticism. Moore is the foremost authority on William Gaddis, having written a book on this author, supervised the collection of several critical essays, and assisted in the translation of Gaddis' work into Chinese.
The wikipedia entry.
Steven Moore is a literary critic. He received his Ph.D. from Rutgers University in 1988.
While Moore has been a teacher, bookstore owner, book reviewer, and columnist, he is most well known for his work as an editor and author of literary criticism. Moore is the foremost authority on William Gaddis, having written a book on this author, supervised the collection of several critical essays, and assisted in the translation of Gaddis' work into Chinese.
The wikipedia entry.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 15, 2023
The third in my Steven Moore trilogy – after the hilarious Alexander Theroux : A Fan’s Notes I had to get this slender memoir about his unhappy eight years (1988-96) at the Dalkey Archive, hardcore publishers of avantgarde and translated fiction since 1984.
This tiny publisher was run by a certain John O’Brien, who died in 2020, so I guess Steven now feels he can at last give vent to his bottled-up feelings about the whole thing. On the second page of this memoir Steven tells us that John named The Dalkey Archive after Flann O’Brien’s last novel.
That was his first mistake…few people recognised the allusion or knew what it meant, plus it was hard to remember and often mispronounced – Donkey Archive being my favourite.
It turns out that John was… well, let Steven tell you :
He was a horrible example of a human being: arrogant, egotistic, vindictive, dishonest, condescending, hypocritical, captious, obstinate, maddeningly inconsistent and contradictory, hard-nosed but sometimes naively optimistic, insulting, thin-skinned and quick to take the offence when unintended, nepotistic, neurotic…and given to mindless exaggerations.
As regards the dishonesty :
One of the first things that turned me off was his habit of lying : he’s one of those people who feel lying is a normal part of social intercourse whereas I consider it one of the worst things you can do
But on the other hand, it was kind of a dream job – Steven got to publish lots of his favourite authors who everyone else had ignored, he then got to meet and even occasionally befriend the said authors, he was proud of the books he thinks of as “his” books, the ones he chose and piloted through the often painful publishing process. But on the other other hand, he hated doing the publicity, schmoozing stores and forcing smiles at annual trade shows, “visiting bored book review editors, giving them every reason I could conjure up to review our books, usually with no results”.
This O’Brien guy was a curious character – he sounds like a nasty piece of work but of course he was being nasty on behalf of publishing and keeping in print worthwhile but totally obscure authors who otherwise no one would ever have heard of. He was a one man rescue mission for the far out and the daring and the weird and, poignantly
O’Brien remained convinced, perhaps until his dying day, that there was a magic key to unlocking hordes of new customers for our rather esoteric books if only we worked hard enough to find it.
I also enjoyed Steven’s short essay included here “Remembering Marguerite Young” where he gets to meet her and quickly flounders :
Every question of mine was answered by a flight of fancy that was entertaining but not always informative.
Readers – I should say dispirited readers – of Miss Macintosh My Darling will say well, dear, what did you expect.
This tiny publisher was run by a certain John O’Brien, who died in 2020, so I guess Steven now feels he can at last give vent to his bottled-up feelings about the whole thing. On the second page of this memoir Steven tells us that John named The Dalkey Archive after Flann O’Brien’s last novel.
That was his first mistake…few people recognised the allusion or knew what it meant, plus it was hard to remember and often mispronounced – Donkey Archive being my favourite.
It turns out that John was… well, let Steven tell you :
He was a horrible example of a human being: arrogant, egotistic, vindictive, dishonest, condescending, hypocritical, captious, obstinate, maddeningly inconsistent and contradictory, hard-nosed but sometimes naively optimistic, insulting, thin-skinned and quick to take the offence when unintended, nepotistic, neurotic…and given to mindless exaggerations.
As regards the dishonesty :
One of the first things that turned me off was his habit of lying : he’s one of those people who feel lying is a normal part of social intercourse whereas I consider it one of the worst things you can do
But on the other hand, it was kind of a dream job – Steven got to publish lots of his favourite authors who everyone else had ignored, he then got to meet and even occasionally befriend the said authors, he was proud of the books he thinks of as “his” books, the ones he chose and piloted through the often painful publishing process. But on the other other hand, he hated doing the publicity, schmoozing stores and forcing smiles at annual trade shows, “visiting bored book review editors, giving them every reason I could conjure up to review our books, usually with no results”.
This O’Brien guy was a curious character – he sounds like a nasty piece of work but of course he was being nasty on behalf of publishing and keeping in print worthwhile but totally obscure authors who otherwise no one would ever have heard of. He was a one man rescue mission for the far out and the daring and the weird and, poignantly
O’Brien remained convinced, perhaps until his dying day, that there was a magic key to unlocking hordes of new customers for our rather esoteric books if only we worked hard enough to find it.
I also enjoyed Steven’s short essay included here “Remembering Marguerite Young” where he gets to meet her and quickly flounders :
Every question of mine was answered by a flight of fancy that was entertaining but not always informative.
Readers – I should say dispirited readers – of Miss Macintosh My Darling will say well, dear, what did you expect.
May 30, 2025
Dispatches from the early days of Dalkey Archive Press (1988-1996), where Steven Moore steered the direction of the legendary publisher towards destination greatness in spite of the ministrations of difficult owner John O’Brien. Moore is unabashedly candid in this caustic memoir, refusing to play down the impact O’Brien’s arrogance, egocentrism, and bullish tendencies had on the more level-headed and starry-eyed Moore, without whose devotion the press would have soon folded. Once the entertaining venom is over, Moore rhapsodises on the titles and authors he ushered into print, among the luminaries Jacques Roubaud, Rikki Ducornet, Paul West, and David Markson—an absolute treasure trove for certifiable Dalkeyheads. Surviving on the patronage of cultural institutions across Europe, DA continued to thrive for two decades post-Moore, falling into a state of chaos in O’Brien’s later years, where many books were released with sloppy typesetting, no notable proofreading, and poor quality control. Dalkey was rescued by the incorrigible Chad Post at Open Letter Books and Will Evans at Deep Vellum who are now mainly committed to keeping their “essential” titles in print.
April 25, 2023
Always enjoy reading Moore. This is a summary of his largely unhappy time with John O'Brien, a publisher-employer who eventually, in Moore's telling, became a tyrant. Yet despite that dictatorial nature, and Moore's own professed unsocial nature and prolonged depression, the two of them (and one other, in the beginning) brought to the eyes of readers several authors who might not have been published anywhere else.
Dalkey Days is in three parts -- My Dalkey Days (the longest narrative part); My Dalkey Books (notes on books Moore worked on); My Dalkey Authors (5 essays on the authors Alfau, Young, Ducornet, Schmidt, and Gordon) -- followed by Acknowledgements and an Index. It's a quick read, and indispensable for understanding Moore and the history of Dalkey from his perspective.
Dalkey Days is in three parts -- My Dalkey Days (the longest narrative part); My Dalkey Books (notes on books Moore worked on); My Dalkey Authors (5 essays on the authors Alfau, Young, Ducornet, Schmidt, and Gordon) -- followed by Acknowledgements and an Index. It's a quick read, and indispensable for understanding Moore and the history of Dalkey from his perspective.
July 27, 2023
A bitter, self aggrandising vitriolic shambolic nothingness.
January 14, 2023
Dalkey Days is Steven Moore’s second book revolving around a turbulent literary relationship. In Alexander Theroux: A Fan’s Notes Moore wrote both charitably and critically of his admired author. Unfortunately for Moore and occasionally for his reader, he was no fan of Dalkey Bossman John O’Brien. Avid Dalkey devotees unfamiliar with the personalities behind the enterprise might be taken aback at first by Moore’s bitterness, apparent from page one, but will quickly enough find themselves on his side, especially if they’ve ever had a terrible boss, as most of us have (that said, I did feel personally attacked when Moore resorted to comparing his neat and organized desk to O’Brien’s disaster - I’ve always failed to keep my own uncluttered).
The real reward of Dalkey Days lies in the publication history of the various books Moore oversaw during his time working first with then for O’Brien. The Novel: An Alternative History is more than enough to ensure his place in the literary pantheon, but here he also illustrates that the Dalkey Archive we know and love would be effectively nil without him. Some of your biggest baddest pomo books would not have been otherwise rescued from o.p. status: Women and Men, Letters, and Miss MacIntosh, My Darling among them. Moore advocated for and/or edited authors such as Felipe Alfau, Arno Schmidt, Rikki Ducornet, Vollmann, DFW, Gaddis, Gass, and Markson.
Coupled with his book on Theroux, Dalkey Days paints the portrait of a man who has contributed indispensably to the world of literature, more often than not under ambivalent circumstances. I’m told that it was while he was preparing a new edition of Gaddis’s letters for publication that Moore succumbed to the wave of nostalgia for his days at Dalkey Archive. Though it might be surprising Moore would submit to a sentimental mood over such a “tense and grim” time, we should be grateful he did. Dalkey Days reminds us that the greatest beauty often emerges from the drudgery of imperfect people; the transcendent from the most mundane and burdensome grind. Authors and publishers are all too human, but literature is so much Moore.
The real reward of Dalkey Days lies in the publication history of the various books Moore oversaw during his time working first with then for O’Brien. The Novel: An Alternative History is more than enough to ensure his place in the literary pantheon, but here he also illustrates that the Dalkey Archive we know and love would be effectively nil without him. Some of your biggest baddest pomo books would not have been otherwise rescued from o.p. status: Women and Men, Letters, and Miss MacIntosh, My Darling among them. Moore advocated for and/or edited authors such as Felipe Alfau, Arno Schmidt, Rikki Ducornet, Vollmann, DFW, Gaddis, Gass, and Markson.
Coupled with his book on Theroux, Dalkey Days paints the portrait of a man who has contributed indispensably to the world of literature, more often than not under ambivalent circumstances. I’m told that it was while he was preparing a new edition of Gaddis’s letters for publication that Moore succumbed to the wave of nostalgia for his days at Dalkey Archive. Though it might be surprising Moore would submit to a sentimental mood over such a “tense and grim” time, we should be grateful he did. Dalkey Days reminds us that the greatest beauty often emerges from the drudgery of imperfect people; the transcendent from the most mundane and burdensome grind. Authors and publishers are all too human, but literature is so much Moore.
March 16, 2025
disclosure: i was given this book by the author, but that had nothing to do with my reaction/review, though i probably wouldn't have known about it otherwise.
are you aware of Dalkey Archive Press (part of Deep Vellum of Dallas since a 2020 giveaway)? i wouldn't have been able to name it before reading this, despite owning several of their volumes, and that's a shame. founded in 1984 by John O'Brien (of the Review of Contemporary Fiction), it has been responsible for bringing out much of the avant-garde, "difficult" material worth reading since that time (along with Grove Press (now part of Grove/Atlantic) and New Directions, NYRB of course, and surely other houses of which I'm ignorant), with a focus on novels and (especially later) works in translation. that 6kg hardbound copy of Schmidt's Bottom's Dream? better believe it was Dalkey. they did the Lord's work, made pretty much no money (it was a non-profit house), and employed one of the great heroes of our era, Steven Moore (author of The Novel: An Alternative History: Beginnings to 1600 and The Novel: An Alternative History, 1600-1800--and Reader, if you consider yourself any kind of Serious Reader, you need to get these two massive tomes now, if only to discover just how Unserious you really are). Books I have from DAP (some of them reissues) include (this might be incomplete, because their web site is an eldritch horror of brokenness):
* The Sot-Weed Factor
* Wittgenstein's Mistress
* Chimera
* Point Counter Point and Crome Yellow, though both in other editions
* AVA
* Awakening to the Great Sleep War
* Catastrophe Practice
* Voices of Chernobyl
* Chromos
* Collected Stories by Arno Schmidt
* Dispatches from the District Committee (translated by the peerless Max Lawton--everything he translates is worth reading)
* Fire the Bastards!, though i think i've lost this one
ok, i'm tired of copying titles over from their collection, but you can see where I'm going: they published Books Worth Publishing and Reading, books that other houses probably wouldn't have touched. for this we are in their debt. check out Chad Post's substack, Mining the Dalkey Archive, if you want to lose a few enjoyable hours. DAP and especially the RCF essentially covered academic topics from a reader's (as opposed to academic's) perspective, the vast majority of academic writing being suitable for little more than being torn up in Leopold Bloom's toilet IMHO.
anyway, Dr. Moore was brought onboard in 1988 (while completing his PhD, which don't let that fool you; the man is a Reader), and served as something of the heart of this press-on-a-mission until his departure in 1996. this book of recollections serves three purposes:
* provides insight into how a small non-academic press operates/flounders
* introduces a few dozen works you probably haven't heard of, and will now want to purchase
* excoriation of the aforementioned founder, of whom Moore is no fan
it's short enough to be easily read in one sitting, or a few walks around Midtown Atlanta with the book held out in front of you, dodging cars and scooters. it's packed with the awe-inspiring erudition, deep humanitarianism, and delightful bitchiness that is Moore's hallmark (and also the fun fact that he once apparently worked at a Borders, which is incredibly amusing to think about, especially having worked at a bookstore myself in my teens. a fantastic short story could probably be written about this setup).
are you aware of Dalkey Archive Press (part of Deep Vellum of Dallas since a 2020 giveaway)? i wouldn't have been able to name it before reading this, despite owning several of their volumes, and that's a shame. founded in 1984 by John O'Brien (of the Review of Contemporary Fiction), it has been responsible for bringing out much of the avant-garde, "difficult" material worth reading since that time (along with Grove Press (now part of Grove/Atlantic) and New Directions, NYRB of course, and surely other houses of which I'm ignorant), with a focus on novels and (especially later) works in translation. that 6kg hardbound copy of Schmidt's Bottom's Dream? better believe it was Dalkey. they did the Lord's work, made pretty much no money (it was a non-profit house), and employed one of the great heroes of our era, Steven Moore (author of The Novel: An Alternative History: Beginnings to 1600 and The Novel: An Alternative History, 1600-1800--and Reader, if you consider yourself any kind of Serious Reader, you need to get these two massive tomes now, if only to discover just how Unserious you really are). Books I have from DAP (some of them reissues) include (this might be incomplete, because their web site is an eldritch horror of brokenness):
* The Sot-Weed Factor
* Wittgenstein's Mistress
* Chimera
* Point Counter Point and Crome Yellow, though both in other editions
* AVA
* Awakening to the Great Sleep War
* Catastrophe Practice
* Voices of Chernobyl
* Chromos
* Collected Stories by Arno Schmidt
* Dispatches from the District Committee (translated by the peerless Max Lawton--everything he translates is worth reading)
* Fire the Bastards!, though i think i've lost this one
ok, i'm tired of copying titles over from their collection, but you can see where I'm going: they published Books Worth Publishing and Reading, books that other houses probably wouldn't have touched. for this we are in their debt. check out Chad Post's substack, Mining the Dalkey Archive, if you want to lose a few enjoyable hours. DAP and especially the RCF essentially covered academic topics from a reader's (as opposed to academic's) perspective, the vast majority of academic writing being suitable for little more than being torn up in Leopold Bloom's toilet IMHO.
anyway, Dr. Moore was brought onboard in 1988 (while completing his PhD, which don't let that fool you; the man is a Reader), and served as something of the heart of this press-on-a-mission until his departure in 1996. this book of recollections serves three purposes:
* provides insight into how a small non-academic press operates/flounders
* introduces a few dozen works you probably haven't heard of, and will now want to purchase
* excoriation of the aforementioned founder, of whom Moore is no fan
it's short enough to be easily read in one sitting, or a few walks around Midtown Atlanta with the book held out in front of you, dodging cars and scooters. it's packed with the awe-inspiring erudition, deep humanitarianism, and delightful bitchiness that is Moore's hallmark (and also the fun fact that he once apparently worked at a Borders, which is incredibly amusing to think about, especially having worked at a bookstore myself in my teens. a fantastic short story could probably be written about this setup).
April 25, 2023
Steven Moore reflecting on the late 80s/early 90s Dalkey Archive catalogue in his signature, off-the-cuff style as if browsing the Criterion closet. Like a box of chocolates for Moore fans and a great introduction to the bibliomaniac for the lay person, which makes it double as a great memoir. Like My Back Pages or The Novel: an alternative history, vol i & ii, it is impossible to read this book without finding new books you didn’t know about that you might care to read, or at least for me it sent me straight to online used bookstores. A surprising, travel-sized book from one of my heroes, who I thought had famously retired from writing books.
February 19, 2025
"A Disgraceful Excuse for a Book"
Steve Moore's 2023 publication, which I won't dignify with a title, is nothing short of a tawdry smear campaign masquerading as a memoir. Having known John O'Brien, the subject of Moore's vitriol, personally, I can attest that this book bears little resemblance to the man I knew and loved. My father, John O'Brien, passed away in 2020, and I was fortunate enough to be with him in his final moments. The compassionate, brilliant man I knew is unrecognizable in Moore's distorted portrayal.
This isn't a book; it's a denunciation. Frankly, I kept expecting to stumble upon celebrity gossip or outlandish conspiracy theories - the kind of content this book would be more at home alongside. Instead, I found myself wading through decades-old grievances, fueled by what can only be described as bitterness and jealousy.
Moore's account of his departure from Dalkey is particularly galling. The truth, well-know to those close to the situation, is that Steve Moore was an alcoholic. My father, a man of immense compassion, gave Moore numerous opportunities to address his issues. Sadly, Moore failed to do so, at least not during his time working for my father.
My own memories of Moore are unsettling. As a teenager, I occasionally helped out in my father's office, a task that sometimes included fetching lunch for the staff. I dreaded having to go into Moore's office to take his lunch order. The ever-present smell of alcohol and his tendency to get "a little too close" made me deeply uncomfortable. I was a young teenager at the time, and Moore was a man in his forties, I believe. I never told my father about these incidents, but I have no doubt that had I done so, Moore's employment would have ended much sooner.
It's beyond comprehension that Moore has clung to this resentment for so many years. To publish such a malicious and inaccurate account, especially after my father's passing, is reprehensible. John O'Brien is no longer here to defend himself, and Moore's attempt to tarnish his name is an act of cowardice. He should be ashamed of himself. This book is not a memoir; it's a disgrace.
Steve Moore's 2023 publication, which I won't dignify with a title, is nothing short of a tawdry smear campaign masquerading as a memoir. Having known John O'Brien, the subject of Moore's vitriol, personally, I can attest that this book bears little resemblance to the man I knew and loved. My father, John O'Brien, passed away in 2020, and I was fortunate enough to be with him in his final moments. The compassionate, brilliant man I knew is unrecognizable in Moore's distorted portrayal.
This isn't a book; it's a denunciation. Frankly, I kept expecting to stumble upon celebrity gossip or outlandish conspiracy theories - the kind of content this book would be more at home alongside. Instead, I found myself wading through decades-old grievances, fueled by what can only be described as bitterness and jealousy.
Moore's account of his departure from Dalkey is particularly galling. The truth, well-know to those close to the situation, is that Steve Moore was an alcoholic. My father, a man of immense compassion, gave Moore numerous opportunities to address his issues. Sadly, Moore failed to do so, at least not during his time working for my father.
My own memories of Moore are unsettling. As a teenager, I occasionally helped out in my father's office, a task that sometimes included fetching lunch for the staff. I dreaded having to go into Moore's office to take his lunch order. The ever-present smell of alcohol and his tendency to get "a little too close" made me deeply uncomfortable. I was a young teenager at the time, and Moore was a man in his forties, I believe. I never told my father about these incidents, but I have no doubt that had I done so, Moore's employment would have ended much sooner.
It's beyond comprehension that Moore has clung to this resentment for so many years. To publish such a malicious and inaccurate account, especially after my father's passing, is reprehensible. John O'Brien is no longer here to defend himself, and Moore's attempt to tarnish his name is an act of cowardice. He should be ashamed of himself. This book is not a memoir; it's a disgrace.
December 14, 2024
HORRIBLE QUALITY. IMMENSE GRAMMATICAL ERRORS THROUGHOUT
I really appreciate Moore's work as a critic and historian although his antics as the earnest shlub make his writing hard to stomach. Interludes from a 70 year old about love as a 9 year old debasing ones entire life, screeds against ones boss that are less enjoyable when you realize it's also done to pad the character of the author (which seems churlish and unnecessary to me as a framing for these events as his snideness today undercuts his notion of his own modesty). I like Moore and I love what he's done for literature but this was a quick buck. This book is also RIDDLED with really horrible errors that I can't imagine were looked over by an editor at any point. Shameful practice from zerogram press. These guys get much praise for their author founder but I will refuse them business as long as I live now
I really appreciate Moore's work as a critic and historian although his antics as the earnest shlub make his writing hard to stomach. Interludes from a 70 year old about love as a 9 year old debasing ones entire life, screeds against ones boss that are less enjoyable when you realize it's also done to pad the character of the author (which seems churlish and unnecessary to me as a framing for these events as his snideness today undercuts his notion of his own modesty). I like Moore and I love what he's done for literature but this was a quick buck. This book is also RIDDLED with really horrible errors that I can't imagine were looked over by an editor at any point. Shameful practice from zerogram press. These guys get much praise for their author founder but I will refuse them business as long as I live now
May 13, 2025
So, here's the thing -- the book is exactly what I wanted in terms of info on my favorite press (yes, it's possible to have a favorite publisher). And, clearly, Mr Moore was the one responsible for most of their golden years. There's great info on the authors and books published by Dalkey here, but it is constantly undermined by Mr Moore's vilification of the senior editor. Hey, I like dirt as much as the next guy, but this was more like a repetitive rant. So, two stars for the writing (unbelievable, as Mr Moore's reviews and other books are written so wonderfully), five stars for the content (the photos, the info about publishing the books, the authors), and one star for the copy-editing. It was tough to read the diatribe against O'Brien's insistence on clean copy while sifting through literally dozens of typos.
April 10, 2024
We all know O'Brien was a jagoff, he still published some amazing books.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews