Joe Gould (Bohemian)
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Joseph Ferdinand Gould (1889-1957) was an eccentric U.S. writer, also known as Professor Seagull. Often homeless, he pretended to be the author of the longest book ever written, an Oral History of the Contemporary World (or Oral History of Our Time), of which only tentative fragments are known. He inspired the book Joe Gould's Secret (1965) and its film adaptation (2000).
[edit] Biography
Gould was born in a small suburb outside Boston. In 1911, he graduated from Harvard with a bachelor’s degree in Literature, even though his family wanted him to become a physician. He traveled to Canada, exploring its landscape, and then came back to Boston. In 1915, he did field work for the Eugenics Record Office in Spring Harbor. He then went to North Dakota to study the Chippewa’s and Mandan’s culture. He gained respect for their culture and he also learned how to ride horses, dance, and sing.
In 1917, Gould went to New York City and worked as a reporter for the New York Evening Mail. During his time at the newspaper, he had his epiphany for the longest book ever written. He would title this book An Oral History of Our Time. The book was supposedly based on a word for word account of people’s lives, which Gould had listened to. In reality, the book never existed.
Gould stood a mere five foot four inches and weighed no more than 100 pounds, but he said that he hoped his work would make a larger impression. His energy and his obsession with his work inspired such men as E.E. Cummings, Don Freeman, William Saroyan, and Joseph Mitchell, who in 1965 wrote a book about Gould called Joe Gould's Secret.
Ian Holm portrayed Gould in the 2000 film Joe Gould's Secret.
