Having lived in Mississippi all of my life (I was born and raised in
Vicksburg) and having graduated from a univerisity that seems to
epitomize all things--both good and shameful things--Southern, I'm
interested in "Southern literature," in general, and in Percy and
Faulkner in particular.
Lancelot was the novel I read for that class at Ole Miss, and I can
think of few novels that have affected me more than that one. In
fact, Lancelot was the focus of some research I did for a bibliography
and research class I was required to take at Miss. State.
I did an annotated bibliography of secondary works on Lancelot, and
as a result, I became sort of sick of hearing all the literary
and philosophical jargon that's usually associated with Percy.
I guess I've recovered, though, and come out of my sickness
appreciating Percy on a new, more simple level than
ever before.
I like Percy primarily because he knows what it is to be a Southerner--
that is, he knows what it means to have an identity stripped
away--albeit, one that needed to be stripped--with nothing much left to
put there but the shame and guilt of having had that identity. Or
maybe not; I haven't read any of Percy's stuff in quite some time.
I guess that's enough for now--and maybe forever, I'm sure some of
you are thinking.
Oh, I forgot to tell you what I do now: I'm the technical editor/
communications coordinator at a National Science Foundation engineering
research center at Mississippi State. Believe me; it's not as
fun as it sounds.
Jennifer