From New Orleans Magazine, January, 1997

The webgoer
walker percy on the net

by Faith Dawson

Writer and former Northshore resident Walker Percy is the subject of an extensive Web site and interactive-education project.

The Walker Percy Project (http://sunsite.unc.edu/wpercy) is the project of Henry P. Mills of Austin, Texas. Mills, who attended Louisiana State University, says he is devoted to engendering "appreciation for the contributions to modern thought and fiction that Walker Percy has left as a formidable, compelling legacy to humanity." A lofty goal, no doubt, but the site has already been recognized by Texas Monthly magazine, which in August named it one of the state„s 100 best Web sites.

Percy, an Alabama native, lived in Covington from 1950 until his death in 1990. His characters often reflected life in Louisiana and particularly in New Orleans. One of the most philosophical, if not prolific, Southern writers, he authored only six novels. But his novels and essays attract scholars from many disciplines, who have written about such themes as Percy and female characters, Percy and religion, and Percy and the South.

The project is a joint venture between Mills and Percy„s alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, whose library archives the author„s papers. It provides resources such as bibliographies, critical essays, personal remembrances and photographs of the author, as well as information on upcoming lectures, conferences, and publications.

"What [William] Faulkner is to Mississippi, Percy is to Louisiana," Mills says. "I„m very excited that all levels of people with interest in Percy, and there are many devoted followers of his work, [can] participate in this information community, all to the greater good of contributing to our appreciation and understanding of this man and of his work."

Mills estimates the Web site has been accessed over 20,000 times in only two years.


Copyright New Orleans Magazine, January, 1997