From hpmills3 at austin.rr.com Fri Jul 2 21:11:30 2010 From: hpmills3 at austin.rr.com (Henry Mills) Date: Fri, 02 Jul 2010 20:11:30 -0500 Subject: [percy-l] A Confederacy of Dunces Stage Performance/Theatrical Outfit, Atlanta ( August 11-Sept. 5, 2010) In-Reply-To: <4C29E510.6080705@embarqmail.com> Message-ID: Percy-L members, This PSA may be of interest to some of you. A few years ago Theatrical Outfit did a rendition of Lost in the Cosmos, information about which is contained in the Percy-L archives. Best, Henry Mills __________ June 28, 2010 For Immediate Release Media Contact: Ruthie Ervin ruthieervin at embarqmail.com 919.630.0103 THEATRICAL OUTFIT PRESENTS AUGUST 2010 WORLD PREMIERE OF A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES BY JOHN KENNEDY TOOLE, ADAPTED FOR THE STAGE BY TOM KEY (Atlanta, GA) From August 11-Sept. 5, 2010, Theatrical Outfit will present a world premiere of Tom Key's stage adaptation of A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. Ever since becoming a 1980 publishing phenomenon and winner of the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, Toole's grand farce, set in 1960s New Orleans, has enticed playwrights and filmmakers alike, but securing the rights to adapt the work has been a rare, much-coveted occurrence. In the fall of 2008, Atlantan Tom Key received an unexpected phone call from the book's agent, who offered him the rights for a limited time. No stranger to adapting literary works to the stage, Key has enjoyed a successful string of adaptations, including Walker Percy's Lost in the Cosmos: The Last Self-Help Seminar and The Moviegoer, John Bunyan's classic allegory Pilgrim's Progress, a Reader's Theater extraction of C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, and Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory. Of the initial conversation Key recalls, "I was ecstatic. My antennae are always up for rich dialogue, which is the best soil for translating a piece to the stage, and A Confederacy of Dunces is so full of truth and brilliance and hilarity?there's almost a comic button at the end of every scene." Taking its title from a work by Irish satirist Jonathan Swift ("When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."), A Confederacy of Dunces chronicles the extravagantly colorful, eccentric world of one Ignatius J. Reilly, perhaps one of literature's most enduringly rendered anti-heroes. A lumbering, loutish mountain of a man, Ignatius carries a volcanic vitriol for the modern era and is ever at the eruption point; with abandon, he spouts and spews his disdain of the social, racial, economic and religious states of contemporary America. Clad in his trademark green hunting cap with earflaps, voluminous pleated tweed trousers, plaid flannel shirt and muffler (which to Ignatius' mind suggests "a rich, inner life") he spends the bulk of his time in his long-suffering mother's house, feverishly scribbling his lengthy indictment of the last four centuries in Big Chief notebooks. When Ignatius does venture past Constantinople Street, he is forced to function in a culture he loathes, much like his oft-quoted idol, Roman philosopher Boethius. The story, in both the novel and Key's stage adaptation, opens at the foot of Canal Street, under the famed D. H. Holmes Department Store clock, with the sun visibly setting on the Mississippi River. From the get-go, Ignatius is embroiled in a madcap misadventure that involves a lute string, a near-riot, and a rickety but lucky escape from the cops. Soon the seductive, seedy side of New Orleans itself joins a carnival cast of characters ranging from hapless Keystonian police officer Mancuso and cool-jive street-smart Jones to porno-peddling barkeep Lana Lee and muscatel-swilling, bowling addict Santa Battaglia. When his tipsy mother Irene must anti-up for wrecking a French Quarter fa?ade with her car, Ignatius, "soldier of ideas," must risk "crumbling his psyche" by entering the working man's world to help pay the damages. The ensuing string of jobs and outlandish events create a masterful portrait of a modern-day prophet bellowing in the wilderness. While the work is marked by inspired humor and biting satire, it also contains a pathos and profundity that keep its characters from becoming caricatures. Of Ignatius, Tom Key says, "He is genius with his verbiage, but he's also disconnected from reality. Ignatius is presented in such a way that he's almost impossible to like, but he so exposes the chronic hypocrisy that exists in the country that we have to pull for him?We want our geniuses to be corporate and well-adapted, so if we cast off the Rileys from our lives?our sometimes off-putting, unchecked natural human impulses?we're the poorer for it as a society." Theatrical Outfit's production of A Confederacy of Dunces will be directed by Richard Garner, Co-founder and Producing Artistic Director of the acclaimed theater Georgia Shakespeare. Because of his long experience with mounting Shakespearean plays, Garner was Key's immediate choice as director. Explains Key, "As Walker Percy has noted, A Confederacy of Dunces is a commedia 'of Falstaffian proportions,' and Richard, through his breathtaking imagination, knows how to capitalize on the strengths of live theater to deliver great literature to modern audiences in explosive, surprisingly complex ways." Of the challenges presented by the extensive New Orleans locations, Garner comments, "Tom has done a smart job keeping all the flavors of the characters intact while moving the story along with good speed, so we need a creative design conceit that allow us to flow effortlessly from one scenic location to the next." Referring to Globe Theatre productions, Garner continues, "By fueling the audience's imaginations with a vivid lighting and sound design, we'll provide just enough visual hints to make each space distinctive, while our real focus is to draw out all the glorious quirks for all the characters?this show is going to be an actor's dream with all the detailed vocal and physical work." Set designer Sara Ward, a Louisiana native, has drawn on her personal familiarity with New Orleans deftly to create and suggest the distinctive flavors of the French Quarter and the surrounding cityscapes. Since 1995, Tom Key has served as Executive Artistic Director of Theatrical Outfit. He conceived and co-authored the off-Broadway hit, Cotton Patch Gospel, with the late singer-songwriter, Harry Chapin, earning two Dramalogue Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Theater and a nomination as Best Actor by the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle. His one-man play C.S. Lewis On Stage has been presented for over two decades, including productions at The John F. Kennedy Center, Harvard, Yale and Oxford Universities. Richard Garner is in his 24th season as Producing Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Georgia Shakespeare (LORT D), in Atlanta. He trained as an actor at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco and in theatre administration with Leslie Urdang at Double Image Theatre in New York. His directing credits include Henry V, Romeo and Juliet, The Winter's Tale, The Tempest, The Comedy of Errors, Metamorphoses, Richard II, and the recent world-premiere musical adaptation of Antigone. He also directed Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice, a co-production between Georgia Shakespeare and the Alliance Theatre. Cast in the role of Ignatius is Atlanta newcomer Aaron Munoz, who appeared Off-Broadway in the title role of Frankie, as Bottom in Midsummer Night's Dream (Actors Theatre of Louisville), and as Michal in The Pillowman (The Studio Theatre). In the role of Ignatius' long-suffering mother Mrs. Reilly is Kathleen McManus, who grew up in 1960s New Orleans and has been an Atlanta actor for several decades; she was seen last season as Big Edie in Grey Gardens at Actor's Express and Aunt Eller in Oklahoma! at Theatre Emory. E. Roger Mitchell, who plays the Narrator/Watson, was last seen in Theatrical Outfit's The Sunset Limited, Horizon Theatre's A Cool Drink of Water, and Kenny Leon's True Colors' Jitney, Miss Evers Boys and Ceremonies In Dark Old Men; his upcoming films include Blood Done Sign My Name, The Crazies, and Battle Los Angeles (2011). Completing the 16-member cast are: Brik Berkes (Mr. Levy/Ensemble), Andrew Crigler (George/Ensemble), Rachel DeJulio (Waitress/Ensemble), Laura Floyd (Darlene/Myrna/Ensemble), Marianne Fraulo (Trixie/Santa/Miss Annie/Ensemble), Agnes Harty (Lana Lee/Mrs. Levy/Ensemble), Enoch King (Jones/Ensemble), Mark Kinkaid (Sergeant/Ensemble), Eric Mendenhall (Gonzales/Ensemble), William S. Murphey (Claude/Clyde/Ensemble), Andrew Puckett (Dorian/Ensemble), Scott Warren (Mancuso) and Mary Wolfson (Miss Inez/Ensemble). Members of the creative team are Set Designer Sara Ward, Costume Designer Jamie Bullins, Lighting Designer Mike Post, Sound Designer Thom Jenkins, Props Designer Maclare "MC" Park, and Hair and Wig Designer Monty Schuth. For more information about show times and tickets, call the box office at 678.528.1500 or visit www.theatricaloutfit.org . Theatrical Outfit, 84 Luckie Street, Atlanta, GA 30303. # # # About Theatrical Outfit Theatrical Outfit entertains, educates and enlivens our audiences by producing classic and contemporary theater with an emphasis on work indigenous to the culture of the American South. The themes of spirituality and racial understanding are particularly resonant in our culture, and we are committed to giving them dramatic voice in the heart of downtown. Founded in 1976, Theatrical Outfit is dedicated to Atlanta-based artists of national caliber. Theatrical Outfit is a not-for-profit 501 (c) 3 organization supported by private and public funding, along with ticket sales revenue. Major support is provided by the Fulton County Commission through the Fulton County Arts Council, the City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs, Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund, the Georgia General Assembly through the Georgia Council for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nikkibar at aol.com Sat Jul 3 20:12:37 2010 From: nikkibar at aol.com (Garic Barranger) Date: Sat, 3 Jul 2010 19:12:37 -0500 Subject: [percy-l] A Confederacy of Dunces Stage Performance/Theatrical Outfit, Atlanta ( August 11-Sept. 5, 2010) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear Henry, I have referred Winston Riley to the list. He is just about to finish up a documentary on Walker and is looking to scrape up the final ten dgrand to pay CNN for sound bites from Shelby Foote. He does excellent work and we should be proud to give him any help we can. Best, Nikki On Jul 2, 2010, at 8:11 PM, Henry Mills wrote: > Percy-L members, > > This PSA may be of interest to some of you. A few years ago Theatrical Outfit did a rendition of Lost in the Cosmos, information about which is contained in the Percy-L archives. > > Best, > Henry Mills > > __________ > June 28, 2010 > > For Immediate Release > > Media Contact: Ruthie Ervin > ruthieervin at embarqmail.com > 919.630.0103 > > THEATRICAL OUTFIT PRESENTS AUGUST 2010 WORLD PREMIERE OF > A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES BY JOHN KENNEDY TOOLE, > ADAPTED FOR THE STAGE BY TOM KEY > > (Atlanta, GA) From August 11-Sept. 5, 2010, Theatrical Outfit will present a world premiere of Tom Key's stage adaptation of A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. Ever since becoming a 1980 publishing phenomenon and winner of the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, Toole's grand farce, set in 1960s New Orleans, has enticed playwrights and filmmakers alike, but securing the rights to adapt the work has been a rare, much-coveted occurrence. > > In the fall of 2008, Atlantan Tom Key received an unexpected phone call from the book's agent, who offered him the rights for a limited time. No stranger to adapting literary works to the stage, Key has enjoyed a successful string of adaptations, including Walker Percy's Lost in the Cosmos: The Last Self-Help Seminar and The Moviegoer, John Bunyan's classic allegory Pilgrim's Progress, a Reader's Theater extraction of C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, and Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory. Of the initial conversation Key recalls, "I was ecstatic. My antennae are always up for rich dialogue, which is the best soil for translating a piece to the stage, and A Confederacy of Dunces is so full of truth and brilliance and hilarity?there's almost a comic button at the end of every scene." > > Taking its title from a work by Irish satirist Jonathan Swift ("When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."), A Confederacy of Dunces chronicles the extravagantly colorful, eccentric world of one Ignatius J. Reilly, perhaps one of literature's most enduringly rendered anti-heroes. A lumbering, loutish mountain of a man, Ignatius carries a volcanic vitriol for the modern era and is ever at the eruption point; with abandon, he spouts and spews his disdain of the social, racial, economic and religious states of contemporary America. Clad in his trademark green hunting cap with earflaps, voluminous pleated tweed trousers, plaid flannel shirt and muffler (which to Ignatius' mind suggests "a rich, inner life") he spends the bulk of his time in his long-suffering mother's house, feverishly scribbling his lengthy indictment of the last four centuries in Big Chief notebooks. When Ignatius does venture past Constantinople Street, he is forced to function in a culture he loathes, much like his oft-quoted idol, Roman philosopher Boethius. > > The story, in both the novel and Key's stage adaptation, opens at the foot of Canal Street, under the famed D. H. Holmes Department Store clock, with the sun visibly setting on the Mississippi River. From the get-go, Ignatius is embroiled in a madcap misadventure that involves a lute string, a near-riot, and a rickety but lucky escape from the cops. Soon the seductive, seedy side of New Orleans itself joins a carnival cast of characters ranging from hapless Keystonian police officer Mancuso and cool-jive street-smart Jones to porno-peddling barkeep Lana Lee and muscatel-swilling, bowling addict Santa Battaglia. When his tipsy mother Irene must anti-up for wrecking a French Quarter fa?ade with her car, Ignatius, "soldier of ideas," must risk "crumbling his psyche" by entering the working man's world to help pay the damages. The ensuing string of jobs and outlandish events create a masterful portrait of a modern-day prophet bellowing in the wilderness. > > While the work is marked by inspired humor and biting satire, it also contains a pathos and profundity that keep its characters from becoming caricatures. Of Ignatius, Tom Key says, "He is genius with his verbiage, but he's also disconnected from reality. Ignatius is presented in such a way that he's almost impossible to like, but he so exposes the chronic hypocrisy that exists in the country that we have to pull for him?We want our geniuses to be corporate and well-adapted, so if we cast off the Rileys from our lives?our sometimes off-putting, unchecked natural human impulses?we're the poorer for it as a society." > > Theatrical Outfit's production of A Confederacy of Dunces will be directed by Richard Garner, Co-founder and Producing Artistic Director of the acclaimed theater Georgia Shakespeare. Because of his long experience with mounting Shakespearean plays, Garner was Key's immediate choice as director. Explains Key, "As Walker Percy has noted, A Confederacy of Dunces is a commedia 'of Falstaffian proportions,' and Richard, through his breathtaking imagination, knows how to capitalize on the strengths of live theater to deliver great literature to modern audiences in explosive, surprisingly complex ways." > > Of the challenges presented by the extensive New Orleans locations, Garner comments, "Tom has done a smart job keeping all the flavors of the characters intact while moving the story along with good speed, so we need a creative design conceit that allow us to flow effortlessly from one scenic location to the next." Referring to Globe Theatre productions, Garner continues, "By fueling the audience's imaginations with a vivid lighting and sound design, we'll provide just enough visual hints to make each space distinctive, while our real focus is to draw out all the glorious quirks for all the characters?this show is going to be an actor's dream with all the detailed vocal and physical work." > > Set designer Sara Ward, a Louisiana native, has drawn on her personal familiarity with New Orleans deftly to create and suggest the distinctive flavors of the French Quarter and the surrounding cityscapes. > > Since 1995, Tom Key has served as Executive Artistic Director of Theatrical Outfit. He conceived and co-authored the off-Broadway hit, Cotton Patch Gospel, with the late singer-songwriter, Harry Chapin, earning two Dramalogue Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Theater and a nomination as Best Actor by the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle. His one-man play C.S. Lewis On Stage has been presented for over two decades, including productions at The John F. Kennedy Center, Harvard, Yale and Oxford Universities. > > Richard Garner is in his 24th season as Producing Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Georgia Shakespeare (LORT D), in Atlanta. He trained as an actor at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco and in theatre administration with Leslie Urdang at Double Image Theatre in New York. His directing credits include Henry V, Romeo and Juliet, The Winter's Tale, The Tempest, The Comedy of Errors, Metamorphoses, Richard II, and the recent world-premiere musical adaptation of Antigone. He also directed Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice, a co-production between Georgia Shakespeare and the Alliance Theatre. > > Cast in the role of Ignatius is Atlanta newcomer Aaron Munoz, who appeared Off-Broadway in the title role of Frankie, as Bottom in Midsummer Night's Dream (Actors Theatre of Louisville), and as Michal in The Pillowman (The Studio Theatre). In the role of Ignatius' long-suffering mother Mrs. Reilly is Kathleen McManus, who grew up in 1960s New Orleans and has been an Atlanta actor for several decades; she was seen last season as Big Edie in Grey Gardens at Actor's Express and Aunt Eller in Oklahoma! at Theatre Emory. E. Roger Mitchell, who plays the Narrator/Watson, was last seen in Theatrical Outfit's The Sunset Limited, Horizon Theatre's A Cool Drink of Water, and Kenny Leon's True Colors' Jitney, Miss Evers Boys and Ceremonies In Dark Old Men; his upcoming films include Blood Done Sign My Name, The Crazies, and Battle Los Angeles (2011). > > Completing the 16-member cast are: Brik Berkes (Mr. Levy/Ensemble), Andrew Crigler (George/Ensemble), Rachel DeJulio (Waitress/Ensemble), Laura Floyd (Darlene/Myrna/Ensemble), Marianne Fraulo (Trixie/Santa/Miss Annie/Ensemble), Agnes Harty (Lana Lee/Mrs. Levy/Ensemble), Enoch King (Jones/Ensemble), Mark Kinkaid (Sergeant/Ensemble), Eric Mendenhall (Gonzales/Ensemble), William S. Murphey (Claude/Clyde/Ensemble), Andrew Puckett (Dorian/Ensemble), Scott Warren (Mancuso) and Mary Wolfson (Miss Inez/Ensemble). > > Members of the creative team are Set Designer Sara Ward, Costume Designer Jamie Bullins, Lighting Designer Mike Post, Sound Designer Thom Jenkins, Props Designer Maclare "MC" Park, and Hair and Wig Designer Monty Schuth. > For more information about show times and tickets, call the box office at 678.528.1500 or visit www.theatricaloutfit.org . Theatrical Outfit, 84 Luckie Street, Atlanta, GA 30303. > > # # # > > About Theatrical Outfit > > Theatrical Outfit entertains, educates and enlivens our audiences by producing classic and contemporary theater with an emphasis on work indigenous to the culture of the American South. The themes of spirituality and racial understanding are particularly resonant in our culture, and we are committed to giving them dramatic voice in the heart of downtown. Founded in 1976, Theatrical Outfit is dedicated to Atlanta-based artists of national caliber. > > Theatrical Outfit is a not-for-profit 501 (c) 3 organization supported by private and public funding, along with ticket sales revenue. Major support is provided by the Fulton County Commission through the Fulton County Arts Council, the City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs, Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund, the Georgia General Assembly through the Georgia Council for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. > -- > An archive of all list discussion is available at http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/ > > Visit the Walker Percy Project at http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wriddick at usa.net Sat Jul 3 23:21:23 2010 From: wriddick at usa.net (Wade Riddick) Date: Sat, 3 Jul 2010 21:21:23 -0600 Subject: [percy-l] A Confederacy of Dunces Stage Performance/Theatrical Outfit, Atlanta ( August 11-Sept. 5, 2010) In-Reply-To: References: <4C29E510.6080705@embarqmail.com> Message-ID: A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 331 bytes Desc: not available URL: From jeriley at uark.edu Sun Jul 18 20:45:31 2010 From: jeriley at uark.edu (John E. Riley) Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2010 00:45:31 +0000 Subject: [percy-l] What were Walker Percy's favorite films? Message-ID: Does anyone on this list have information on this question and care to divulge? It seems to me that Percy took films seriously even though as an art form they usually disappointed him? I recall in one of his interviews he alluded to the films "Ordinary People" and "Breaking Away." I have always considered the latter film a minor classic, but not many people saw it. I think an interesting study would be how film influenced Percy's fictional techniques--Lewis Lawson may have done some work in that area. Any information would be appreciated. Cheers! John Riley University of Arkansas Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA From rhonda_mcdonnell at msn.com Mon Jul 19 01:14:34 2010 From: rhonda_mcdonnell at msn.com (RHONDA MCDONNELL) Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2010 22:14:34 -0700 Subject: [percy-l] What were Walker Percy's favorite films? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Either Lewis Lawson or Gary Ciuba wrote about his use of film, maybe both. Moviegoer and Lancelot are obvious choices, so if you're searching using MLA you might want to focus on those two. --Rhonda "You live in a deranged age, more deranged than usual, because in spite of great scientific and technological advances, man has not the faintest idea of who he is or what he is doing." Walker Percy > From: jeriley at uark.edu > To: percy-l at lists.ibiblio.org > Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2010 00:45:31 +0000 > Subject: [percy-l] What were Walker Percy's favorite films? > > Does anyone on this list have information on this question and care to divulge? > It seems to me that Percy took films seriously even though as an art form they usually disappointed him? > I recall in one of his interviews he alluded to the films "Ordinary People" and "Breaking Away." I have always considered the latter film a minor classic, but not many people saw it. > I think an interesting study would be how film influenced Percy's fictional techniques--Lewis Lawson > may have done some work in that area. > Any information would be appreciated. > Cheers! > > > John Riley > University of Arkansas > Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA > > -- > An archive of all list discussion is available at http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/ > > Visit the Walker Percy Project at http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail is redefining busy with tools for the New Busy. Get more from your inbox. http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?ocid=PID28326::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WM_HMP:042010_2 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nikkibar at aol.com Mon Jul 19 14:33:52 2010 From: nikkibar at aol.com (Garic Barranger) Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2010 13:33:52 -0500 Subject: [percy-l] What were Walker Percy's favorite films? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <7047E634-1A5A-41C4-973A-871262A3683C@aol.com> My wife Milly and I saw Das Boot with Bunt and Walker at the old Gentilly Arts just before Walker began work on The Thanatos Syndrome. He had decided at that point to write no more novels and we discussed on the way there and back his wanderjahr period in Germany before the war and I suggested that for a writer of his stature to have had that experience ? traveling in Germany during the prewar period after the Weimar era ? and not to write about it would be a serious loss. Thanatos was the result. Critics have not liked the book much, but I have always felt that Father Smith's confession is/was an important addition to American letters. The movie is available through Netflix and is well worth watching today. It retains the great power that it had for us that night, particularly powerful since it deals with the wartime experience of folks on the other side, rather like All Quiet on the Western Front. It is well worth watching today. I remember it as being in black and white but when I revisited it in the Netflix experience I was surprised to find it in color. Nikki Barranger On Jul 18, 2010, at 7:45 PM, John E. Riley wrote: > Does anyone on this list have information on this question and care to divulge? > It seems to me that Percy took films seriously even though as an art form they usually disappointed him? > I recall in one of his interviews he alluded to the films "Ordinary People" and "Breaking Away." I have always considered the latter film a minor classic, but not many people saw it. > I think an interesting study would be how film influenced Percy's fictional techniques--Lewis Lawson > may have done some work in that area. > Any information would be appreciated. > Cheers! > > > John Riley > University of Arkansas > Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA > > -- > An archive of all list discussion is available at http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/ > > Visit the Walker Percy Project at http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jhforest at gmail.com Tue Jul 20 07:55:19 2010 From: jhforest at gmail.com (Jim Forest) Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:55:19 +0200 Subject: [percy-l] What were Walker Percy's favorite films? In-Reply-To: <7047E634-1A5A-41C4-973A-871262A3683C@aol.com> References: <7047E634-1A5A-41C4-973A-871262A3683C@aol.com> Message-ID: Thanks, Nikki, for your posting and even more for the part you played in Walker Percy writing The Thanatos Syndrome. It is, I think, one of his finest achievements. Here is the review of it that I wrote for Commonweal back in 1987. * * * The Thanatos Syndrome by Walker Percy Farrar Straus Giroux, New York. 1987, 372 pp * * * reviewed by Jim Forest Walker Percy is southern and Catholic, Kurt Vonnegut northern and secular, not minor differences, but perhaps they recognize each other as relatives. Both are inclined to use comedy, at times the slapstick variety, in order to talk about some of the unfunniest subjects in the world, like war, euthanasia, abortion, and other justifications we cook up for killing one another. Percy's hero in this book, as in his earlier novel, Love in the Ruins, is Dr. Thomas More, resident of a rural Louisiana parish (what we Yankees call a county) and a direct descendant of St. Thomas More. Like his ancestor, he has been a prisoner, but for selling amphetamines to truckers rather than for acts of fidelity to conscience. Also like his ancestor, he is a Catholic, except in the current generation, things being what they are, More's connection to his Church is threadbare. Still there is a bit of religious glue holding body and soul together. Tom More isn't able to make himself comfortable with the contemporary mercies that pave the way to the gas chamber and the abortorium. In The Thanatos Syndrome we encounter a few psychiatrists who makes heaps of money running the Qualitarian Center, where the old and/or feeble-minded are provided with Death with Dignity. In their spare time, using a federal grant, the clever doctors are in the midst of a local experiment that they regard as the best idea since fluoride in toothpaste. While sticking to bottled water for themselves, they are lacing the parish water supply with a substance (borrowed from a nearby nuclear generator) that knocks out the part of the brain that makes people dangerous and miserable. Violent crime has evaporated in the area effected. Black prisoners are singing the old spirituals as they cheerfully pick cotton on the local prison farm. Sexual-transmitted diseases have practically disappeared. No more AIDS, no more herpes. At first glance it looks like the doctors have found a chemical method to mass produce the lifestyle of the saints. People drinking the local water aren't inclined to do the sorts of things that make headlines in The National Enquirer. But not quite. It turns out that adults who drink too much of the local water find that the ideal sex-partners are children. The part of the brain made dormant also happens to be where the soul and conscience hang out. It is the patch that has most to do with creativity, verbal skills, and what makes us who we are. Those drinking the local water are better at telling you exactly where St. Louis is than in making a sentence that includes a subject, verb and object. They are a whiz at bridge but incapable of theology. Percy links what is now happening in manipulative medical technology in the US and what was going on with psychiatry in Germany from the twenties until the collapse of the Nazis, at the same time pointing out that you don't have to like Hitler (the German shrinks didn't) to end up doing some of the worst things that happened in Hitler's Germany. Percy integrates a steady stream of observation about the American Way of Life and what is like living in "the Age of Not Knowing What to Do." For example here is Tom More reflecting about a patient who, before the local water ironed out all depression and anxiety, felt like a failure: "What is failure? Failure is what people do ninety-nine percent of the time. Even in the movies: ninety-nine outtakes for one print. But in the movies they don't show the failures. What you see are the takes that work. So it looks as if every action, even going crazy, is carried off in a proper, rounded- off way. It looks as if real failure is unspeakable. TV has screwed up millions of people with their little rounded-off stories. Because that is not the way life is. Life is fits and starts, mostly fits." Percy continues his assessment of contemporary American Catholicism that began in Love in the Ruins. Fr. Kev Kevin, the former director of the Love Clinic, has abandoned the controls of the Orgasmatron computer and given up the priesthood as well. He is "into Hinduism," has married a former Maryknoll nun who is taking up witchcraft, and together they run a marriage encounter center in a rehabilitated stable. In The Thanatos Syndrome we meet a very different kind of priest: Fr. Simon Smith, a modern stylite, fasting atop a fire- watch tower as the book begins. People consider him crazy as a loon. Maybe he is, but he's a saint as well. His "confession" is the keystone of the novel. Here we discover that his vocation is an on-going penitential work having chiefly to do with the devastation his father helped bring about in Europe -- he is the son of one of the liberal German physicians (anti-Nazis one and all) whose work to "relieve suffering" via euthanasia helped prepare the way for the Holocaust. Father Smith's big discovery in life was that "the only people I got along with were bums, outcasts, pariahs, family skeletons, and the dying." It isn't a boast. "I don't know about Mother Teresa, but I [did what I did] because I liked it, not for love of the wretched ... dying people were the only people I could stand. They were my kind ... Dying people, suffering people, don't lie." [October 28, 1987] * * * On Mon, Jul 19, 2010 at 8:33 PM, Garic Barranger wrote: > My wife Milly and I saw *Das Boot *with Bunt and Walker at the old > Gentilly Arts just before Walker began work on *The Thanatos Syndrome*. He > had decided at that point to write no more novels and we discussed on the > way there and back his *wanderjahr* period in Germany before the war and I > suggested that for a writer of his stature to have had that experience ? > traveling in Germany during the prewar period after the Weimar era ? and not > to write about it would be a serious loss. *Thanatos * was the result. > Critics have not liked the book much, but I have always felt that Father > Smith's confession is/was an important addition to American letters. The > movie is available through Netflix and is well worth watching today. It > retains the great power that it had for us that night, particularly powerful > since it deals with the wartime experience of folks on the other side, > rather like *All Quiet on the Western Front.* It is well worth watching > today. I remember it as being in black and white but when I revisited it in > the Netflix experience I was surprised to find it in color. > > Nikki Barranger > > On Jul 18, 2010, at 7:45 PM, John E. Riley wrote: > > Does anyone on this list have information on this question and care to > divulge? > It seems to me that Percy took films seriously even though as an art form > they usually disappointed him? > I recall in one of his interviews he alluded to the films "Ordinary People" > and "Breaking Away." I have always considered the latter film a minor > classic, but not many people saw it. > I think an interesting study would be how film influenced Percy's fictional > techniques--Lewis Lawson > may have done some work in that area. > Any information would be appreciated. > Cheers! > > > John Riley > University of Arkansas > Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA > > * * * Jim & Nancy Forest Kanisstraat 5 1811 GJ Alkmaar The Netherlands photos of our stay in southern Tuscany: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimforest/sets/72157624064407075/ Siena: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimforest/sets/72157624333425634/ Florence: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimforest/sets/72157624209031657/ photo collections: www.flickr.com/photos/jimforest/collections/ Jim & Nancy web site: www.jimandnancyforest.com In Communion site: www.incommunion.org On Pilgrimage blog: http://jimandnancyonpilgrimage.blogspot.com/ A Tale of Two Kidneys blog: http://ataleof2kidneys.blogspot.com/ * * * -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hpmills3 at austin.rr.com Wed Jul 21 00:17:14 2010 From: hpmills3 at austin.rr.com (Henry Mills) Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2010 23:17:14 -0500 Subject: [percy-l] FW: Photos of the houses that inspired The Moviegoer In-Reply-To: <4C46049E.4090002@rice.edu> Message-ID: Dear Percy-L, Would anyone care to respond to the below query by Ms. Vrcek of Rice University regarding identifying houses found in The Moviegoer? Please respond to her directly at and copy to Percy-L if you think it would be of interest to the larger group. Marcus, any thoughts? Best regards, Henry Mills ------ Forwarded Message > From: Maria Vrcek > Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:18:38 -0500 > To: > Subject: Photos of the houses that inspired The Moviegoer > > Dear Mr. Mills, > > I am working on a research project with Dr. Logan Browning, the editor > of the Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 at Rice University in > Houston. At the moment, we are researching Walker Percy's /The > Moviegoer/. We are looking for pictures of the homes that may have > inspired those described in the novel. Since Percy admits that he > tampered slightly with the geography of New Orleans in the novel, it is > not guaranteed that we will find an exact match to the houses we are > looking for. However, I was wondering if you could assist us in finding > pictures of the homes on Elysian Fields avenue in New Orleans, LA. from > the early 20th century (1900-1970) or of Aunt Emily's house near the > Quarter and Canal St. > > Cordially, > > Maria Vrcek > Rice University 2012 ------ End of Forwarded Message From RGray at montreat.edu Tue Jul 27 20:21:06 2010 From: RGray at montreat.edu (Gray, Rich) Date: Tue, 27 Jul 2010 20:21:06 -0400 Subject: [percy-l] Notes for a Novel about the End of the World References: <12305a9c0604251421r6601f819veba1cba7ea504a10@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <3FE19AF0B946EE4D8FAB89F9F1159F4C03CEC0E7@e3kmail.montreat.edu> Does anyone know when and in what publication Percy's essay "Notes for a Novel about the End of the World" was originally published? The anthology version in Message in the Bottle does not reveal that. Rich Gray From cgmwebb at gmail.com Tue Jul 27 21:01:05 2010 From: cgmwebb at gmail.com (Cindy Montgomery Webb) Date: Tue, 27 Jul 2010 21:01:05 -0400 Subject: [percy-l] Notes for a Novel about the End of the World In-Reply-To: <3FE19AF0B946EE4D8FAB89F9F1159F4C03CEC0E7@e3kmail.montreat.edu> References: <12305a9c0604251421r6601f819veba1cba7ea504a10@mail.gmail.com> <3FE19AF0B946EE4D8FAB89F9F1159F4C03CEC0E7@e3kmail.montreat.edu> Message-ID: Hi Rich, I believe Percy's essay was first published in 1971 in *Katallagete*, a Theological journal. The full citation follows: Notes for a novel about the end of the world.By: Percy, Walker. Source: Katallagete, 3 Fall 1971, p 5-12. Best Regards, Cindy Webb On Tue, Jul 27, 2010 at 8:21 PM, Gray, Rich wrote: > Does anyone know when and in what publication Percy's essay "Notes for a > Novel about the End of the World" was originally published? > > The anthology version in Message in the Bottle does not reveal that. > > Rich Gray > -- > An archive of all list discussion is available at > http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/ > > Visit the Walker Percy Project at http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: