David R Slavitt

Who is David R Slavitt?

David Rytman Slavitt is a writer, poet, and translator, who has authored more than 100 books.

In addition to serious novels and numerous Greek and Latin translations, Slavitt wrote a number of popular novels under the pseudonym Henry Sutton starting in the late 1960s. The Exhibitionist was a bestseller and sold over 4 million copies. He has also published books under the names of David Benjamin, Henry Lazarus, and Lynn Meyer.

His first work, a book of poems titled Suits for the Dead was released in 1961. He also worked as a writer and film critic for Newsweek in from 1958 to 1965.

Slavitt was born in White Plains, New York in 1935. He received an undergraduate degree from Yale University and a masters in English from Columbia University in 1957, before going to Newsweek. He currently lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

In 2004, Slavitt unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, losing to longtime incumbent Timothy J. Toomey, Jr.. The race was the subject of his 2006 book Blue State Blues: How a Cranky Conservative Launched a Campaign and Found Himself the Liberal Candidate.