Did you hear the one about the time Richard Ford spit in Colson Whitehead’s face at a party?
by Ernie on 03/12/07 at 10:46 am
I know this happened at least two years ago, but, strangely, I only just hear about it. Still, it’s worth revisiting:
Richard Ford and Colson Whitehead have joined the ranks of feuding literary stars (cf. Norman Mailer vs. Gore Vidal). Apparently, Ford was less than thrilled with Whitehead’s Times review in March 2002 of Ford’s collection of short stories, A Multitude of Sins (Knopf). Perhaps it was Whitehead’s claim that “the characters are nearly indistinguishable.” In any event, at a March 2 party in New York for magazine, Whitehead says, Ford approached him and said, “I’ve waited two years for this! You spat on my book.” “Then he spat on me,” says Whitehead. “We had a few heated words—he said, ‘You’re a kid, you should grow up,’ which coming from him was a bit funny—and then he stalked off. This wasn’t the first time some old coot had drooled on me, and it probably won’t be the last. But I would like to warn the many other people who panned the book that they might want to get a rain poncho, in case of inclement Ford.” Ford was in New Zealand and unavailable for comment.
Source: http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/people/columns/intelligencer/n_10070/
