non-fiction
Managua's only French restaurant
Houston City magazine july 1979
First Congress of the Poor
Nation Magazine, Feb 7 1966
The Poorhouse State: The American Way of Life on Public Assistance
In 1965, Elman worked as a research associate for the School of Social Work Research Center at Columbia University. His book, The Poorhouse State: The American Way of Life On Public Assistance evolved from those experiences where he spent two years interviewing people on relief in New York’s Lower East Side.
Manny Gelder, Slumlord is a chapter from the book.
Downtown at Uptown
Downtown at the Uptown, The Lower East Side Show, appeared in Congress bi-Weekly, Nov. 7 1966.
Namedropping (1997)
Before Elman died, he read the galley-proofs of his memoir, Namedropping: Mostly Literary Memoirs. What sets this work apart from other recent memoirs is that Elman (Tar Beach) is finally less revealing of himself than of his cultural milieu. Through brief essays, Elman records his encounters with a range of important and interesting public figures, mostly other writers but also musicians, actors and politicians.