Philip Roth David Remnick - Salmagundi Magazine

Philip Roth’s 70th birthday in 2003 marked his transformation from literary rebel to revered icon, prompting planned celebrations and tributes. Generally interview-shy, Roth welcomed a BBC camera crew into his wood-paneled studio to answer questions from The New Yorker’s David Remnick, a longtime admirer who had read Portnoy’s Complaint roughly 20 times and rarely traveled without a Roth novel. The rapport between the two men was subtle but strong, with Remnick’s customary poise masking intense devotion to a writer he called his “favorite living writer” and to whom he had extended an open invitation to the magazine. Remnick’s concern for Roth’s prestige later surfaced when biographer Blake Bailey faced sexual assault accusations, telling Cynthia Ozick it would be “a shame” if Roth’s standing declined. The pairing matters as a window into how literary reputations are tended by powerful editors, and watchers should note how the Bailey controversy ultimately affects Roth’s posthumous standing.