Lary Bloom
Writer, Editor, Teacher
The Bloom Blog
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Sunday, February 19, 2006
Dominick Dunne's "Tempestuous Situation"
When the January issue of Vanity Fair arrived, I did what I always do. I spent several minutes hunting for the table of contents (never easy to find in that magazine because it's buried among ads) for Dominick Dunne's column. There was no mention of it, which seemed odd. He'd been writing as Vanity Fair's diarist for many years. As such, he has offered a window into the world of high society and crime.Dominick loves to dish, and, at the same time, is passionate about the criminal justice system. He is furious about the way certain people get away with murder (O.J. is a prime example) while others are wrongly accused. The interest stems from a case that broke his heart -- when his daughter Dominique, an actress, was strangled in 1982 by her former lover, and the killer went to prison for six years on the wrist-slapping charge of voluntary manslaughter.
His passion for justice is what makes his writing resonate, and such an enticing part of Vanity Fair, which my taste is otherwise too heavily reliant on Hollywood profiles. So when his column was not to be found, I wrote him an email. (He lives not far away, across the Connecticut River, and I see him on occasion at local restaurants or at a farmer's market in Lyme.)
He wrote back and said, "a tempestuous situation occurred between writer and editor. I held my own." He offered no details the dispute, except to say he'd be back in the March issue. I'm pleased to see that he is. This time he's writing primarily about three women he admires -- all of them married to financial barons who got themselves indicted for high crimes. It's good, once again, to have Dominick Dunne sitting at the wrong, but delicious, dinner tables.
Posted by:Lary Bloom at 2:06 PM
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