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philosophical novelist comedic satirist cautionary moralist diagnostician prophetic essayist post-modern thinker "existentialist" Southern gentleman ex-suicide wayfarer-pilgrim Martian castaway Homo symbolificus triadic scientist Cenophythagorean semiotician apocalyptic cultural critic Christian apologist Kierkegaardian Roman Catholic None of the above/ all of the above |
Walker Percy is chiefly known as a "philosophical novelist," but his contributions to human thought go well beyond the novels he wrote to include a rather substantial body of literary and scholastic commentary as well. Indeed, Percy's non-fiction writings might be said to reveal the elaborate, refined context in which the novelist generated his ideas for his fiction. Winner of the 1962 National Book Award for his first novel, The Moviegoer, Dr. Percy went on to distinguish himself before his death in 1990 with the publication of five further novels in addition to three non-fiction works dedicated to exploring the peculiar situation that is the human condition. A more formal, philosophical fascination with the nature of language and its relationship to our humanity characterizes the latter writings. Originally trained as a medical doctor, Percy is perhaps most readily comparable in his breadth of thought and creativity to that of the celebrated 19th-century thinker Ralph Waldo Emerson, though differences certainly abound between the two. Nevertheless, Percy no doubt will only continue to receive recognition as the world-class thinker and artist that he is to his own time, the late 20th-century. The complex matrix he weaves between his novels and his philosophical writings almost certainly assures that a careful inspection of his work is worth the effort, whatever direction one approaches it from. The following Internet resource, at the least, aims to support this contention by providing the reader with an introduction to and overview of both Percy's fiction and philosophy, including, in particular, a detailed analysis of his philosophy of language (or semiotics), as well as by offering ample reference and pointers to the already abundant scholastic resources available on him. If anything, this latter alone gives testimony to the Percy's achievements as a novelist, philosopher, and literary figure. |
Go to Walker Percy: A Brief Biography
Go to Complete Works of Walker Percy
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Image credit: Design by Herb Yellin, Lord John Press, from "Diagnosing the Modern Malaise" (Faust Publishing, 1985); original photo courtesy of Rhoda K. Faust.