James Frey

So-called transgressive author Dennis Cooper will be reading from his forthcoming story collection, Ugly Man, at Bryant Park on May 27. Organizers apparently wanted someone famous to introduce Cooper, and they chose A Million Little Pieces “memoirist” and Oprah whipping-boy James Frey. On his blog, Cooper called the pairing “amusing” and “odd.” We don’t think he was being mean, but we agree: Frey’s stories of self-destruction are all surface, whereas Cooper’s writing, even when its ostensibly about sex and drugs and violence, is some of the most multilayered fiction being produced today.

Anyway, Frey apparently read Cooper’s comments, and is now refusing to participate. On his blog, Cooper promises to be more sensitive when the next famous introducer is selected: “I’ll make sure to emphasize how marvelous and what an honor it is in no uncertain terms, which I guess I should have done re: Frey.”