[percy-l] FW: percy's southernness
Hebrunson at aol.com
Hebrunson at aol.com
Thu Oct 22 06:42:37 EDT 2009
Often in this thread, I've heard Percy referred to as Catholic.
At what point is his writing did he leave the Episcopal Church to become a
Catholic? Did his writing change after this?
HB
In a message dated 10/21/2009 8:25:14 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
karey1 at charter.net writes:
There is the “southern gothic” meaning this species of southern writing
contains the characteristics of the gothic; i.e.: dark and violent.
Faulkner and O’Conner have been said to be “southern gothic,” but I don’t see
Percy there.
I am taking a Southern Literature course next semester – what does it
mean? Well,what Nikki says, you are southern, and you are a writer – does that
distinguish you in any way from the rest of the country? How is it
different? One question to ask is, how does Updike (as in, the Rabbit series,
same era) differ from Percy? Percy is Southern, aristocratic, Catholic;
Updike, Northern, lower middle class, Protestant. How are protagonists, themes,
etc. different?
I have been told that “soul” arises from pain. The South – of all
regions of the country – went through pain after the Civil War – and I would say
unjust pain, after being defeated and subsequently taken advantage of.
There is a soul to southern writing that manifests in the early to mid 20th
century.
Catholic – Percy is obviously and consciously (and subconsciously)
Catholic.
Whether Percy saw a difference between himself and other authors from
other regions is probably unimportant. It’s hard to see ourselves. Percy was
especially blind to himself in lots of ways.
Karey
From: percy-l-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:percy-l-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of rizwana banu
Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 8:41 PM
To: percy-l at lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: Re: [percy-l] FW: percy's southernness
That is beautiful. The spirit of southern writing springs not from being
similar but being diverse and celebrating all that pertains to the south, be
it the history( it is one history for the white man and another for the
black and sometimes a shared history), religion, or gender. However, critics
want to exaggerate the differences to the extent of convoluting the very
joy and essence of being southern. This makes it hard to substantiate one's
southernness with a necessity to take a stand on either this or that side.
____________________________________
From: nikkibar at aol.com
To: percy-l at lists.ibiblio.org
Date: Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:03:18 -0500
Subject: Re: [percy-l] FW: percy's southernness
The characteristics of being a Southern writer are 1. You should be from
the Southern United States and 2 You should write. Walker hated being
referred to that way and always would rather be read as simply a writer. That he
was Southern was for him incidental and not of great importance. Nor is his
Catholicism of any characteristic importance. Eudora Welty wasn't, nor was
Faulkner. Nor am I, although nobody much reads my work the way they do
with Percy, Welty, or Faulkner. And yet by all right I am a Southern writer
and I'll fight the man what says it isn't so. Or at least smile in sardonic
amusement.
Nikki Barranger
On Oct 21, 2009, at 4:40 AM, rizwana banu wrote:
What exactly are the characteristics of being a southern writer? Is it
difficult or necessary to prove being a white catholic southern writer? How
is it different from being a protestant writer and a white anyway?
____________________________________
From: _nikkibar at aol.com_ (mailto:nikkibar at aol.com)
To: _percy-l at lists.ibiblio.org_ (mailto:percy-l at lists.ibiblio.org)
Date: Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:41:03 -0500
Subject: Re: [percy-l] FW: percy's southernness
Dear Rizwana,
It is doubtful whether Uncle Will would have been thought of by his
contemporaries as bigoted. Walker certainly wasn't. It would also be a mistake
to assume that Southern implies bigotedness. There are lots of folks
hereabouts who are not, although sometimes we have to struggle against it. If you
want to understand Uncle Will's influence on Walker, reread The Moviegoer.
There is therein a beneficent aunt who is a kind of alter ego of uncle Will,
someone who stands for the things of the generation before to which we are
loyal without surrendering our inner most selves. You might get some
further insight into the matter by reading Walker Percy Remembered. I have some
trouble figuring what you mean by alienated in your last question. You
might read Eudora Welty (particularly her piece about the death of Medgar
Evers) and although it may be hard to follow the ironies within the works (many
Americans can't) look at Flannery O'Connor, particularly A Good Man Is
Hard To Find. It would be difficult to describe Miss Welty as being alienated
but if I catch the drift of your question she may fit with what you mean.
I hope this doesn't confuse the issue further for you.
Nikki Barranger
On Oct 20, 2009, at 5:14 AM, rizwana banu wrote:
____________________________________
From: _riz_banu at hotmail.com_ (mailto:riz_banu at hotmail.com)
To: _percy-l at lists.ibiblio.org_ (mailto:percy-l at lists.ibiblio.org)
Subject: percy's southernness
Date: Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:43:38 +0530
I have been trying to understand Percy's southernness in terms of his
biography, as regards the influence of "Uncle Will" on him. I find that
inspite of his upbringing in a upper class southern background he had a mind of
his own which went beyond mere class distinctions and vested interests in
retaining class distinctions. Percy was able to see clearly the two sides of
the coin as regards the civil war, not as a defeat of the South but as one
of a particular class of society. Percy with his southern roots of
aristocracy was yet not bigoted. He seems to be a minority within his own circle.
Who are the other southern novelists during the period from 1960s to 1990s
or even contemporary novelists who seem to be alienated/unique in their
understanding within their own group?
____________________________________
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