From jhforest at gmail.com Sat Nov 3 11:37:38 2012 From: jhforest at gmail.com (Jim Forest) Date: Sat, 3 Nov 2012 16:37:38 +0100 Subject: [percy-l] re the National Book Award that went to "The Moviegoer" in 1962 Message-ID: http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2012/11/_1962_national_book_awards_scandal_the_story_behind_the_moviegoer.html Scandal at the National Book Awards Was *The Moviegoer*?s victory in 1962 a fix? By Benjamin Hedin |Posted Friday, Nov. 2, 2012, at 11:10 PM ET [image: Walker Percy] Walker Percy's author photo from the original Knopf edition of *The Moviegoer* Photo by Hazel Ogden The short list for the 1962 National Book Award in fictionwas remarkable, including a number of works today regarded as classics, like *Catch-22 *by Joseph Heller, *Revolutionary Road* by Richard Yates, and *Franny and Zooey *by J.D. Salinger. Yet the prize went to an obscure first novel by a 45-year-old Southerner, a doctor who contracted TB during his residency and turned to writing instead. No one predicted *The Moviegoer *by Walker Percy would win, and 50 years later, as we prepare to hear this year?s winner , it remains one of the great upsets in the history of the National Book Awards. But was the fix in? I talked to some of the players in that surprising decision, hoping to find out how *The Moviegoer* was crowned and whether it is true, as alleged, the novel won thanks only to shady backroom politicking. Percy?s victory set off a controversy that involved the most powerful man in publishing, a famous journalist eager to take credit for the award, and a cub reporter who would go on to become one of the most celebrated writers of our time. *Catch-22 *was considered the favorite, and yet Percy?s greatest opposition, ironically, came not from Heller or any of the other nominees but his own publisher, Alfred A. Knopf. When the charismatic, mercurial founder of the house that bears his name learned it was Percy the judged had tabbed, he exclaimed, ?They?re running the prize into the ground!? Knopf, who had been in the business since 1915, was known for his acuity and taste, for taking a chance on authors other publishers were loath to sign but later wished they had. He had failed, though, to recognize Percy?s talent, and had recently fired Stanley Kauffmann, the editor who acquired *The Moviegoer *and worked with Percy through four rewrites. In the days before the winner was announced Knopf endorsed another one of his books, *The Ch?teau* by William Maxwell, and knew it reflected poorly on him to be seen missing the mark so widely. Knopf had no idea how *The Moviegoer *had been nominated to begin with. According to National Book Awards protocol, only judges could put forward a book. Yet with Kauffmann fired, neither Knopf nor anyone in his house had brought Percy?s novel to the attention of the jurors, and no one?in such a fertile, competitive year especially?was talking about *The Moviegoer*. The book had not even sold through its initial printing. When Knopf did find out how it ended up on the short list he was mortified. The man responsible was none other than A.J. Liebling, the great sportswriter and *New Yorker *reporter?and an author Knopf had published before the two had a falling out. The day after the awards ceremony Liebling told a gathering at Columbia University *The Moviegoer *?got in by the sheerest chance.? Percy?s victory, it turned out, could be traced to a single morning. On May 28, 1961 Liebling was paging through the *New York* *Times*. He had just completed a book about Earl Long, the conservative, erratic governor of Louisiana, brother of Huey, and with his mind still on that state, Liebling paused over a review that began, ?Every night at dusk, when the Gulf breeze stirs the warm, heavy air over New Orleans, a 29-year-old wanderer named Binx Bolling emerges from his apartment, carrying in his hand the movie page of his newspaper, his telephone book and a map of the city.? Liebling went out and bought the book under discussion: *The Moviegoer*. Later he recommended it to his wife, the novelist Jean Stafford, who happened to sit on the National Book Awards fiction jury. Liebling had a Falstaffian presence, was fat and jowly, brilliant and egoistic. He wanted in this context to be seen as a crusader for justice. Knopf, he told the audience at Columbia, had failed in its promotion of *The Moviegoer*. Without A.J. Liebling, one was left to presume, a masterpiece may have been forever lost to posterity. But there was more to the story: A decade before, Knopf had published Liebling?s book *Chicago: The Second City *, and Liebling had never forgiven Knopf for not pushing the book vigorously enough. Now, given the opportunity to embarrass his old publisher for failing to champion Percy?s text, he did not hesitate to put the boot in. But in his hauteur Liebling underestimated Knopf, and did not foresee how craftily the magnate would respond. Rather than confront Liebling directly, Knopf decided to use the media, and he would do more than just issue spin. Gay Talese was 30 years old in 1962, and had recently moved from sports to news in his coverage for the* New York Times*. The book awards was ?the worst possible assignment you could get,? he says. ?The sanitation department would be much better than book publishing. Athletes never complained. People in the literary world are always complaining.? But a letter to the editor or an aggrieved call to the *Times *office was nothing compared to what Talese was about to experience. Reporting on the seminar at Columbiahe wrote, apropos of Liebling and Stafford: ?Judging what he deemed inferior novels for the National Book Award, he told her about *The Moviegoer*. She picked it up and also liked it. Apparently she convinced the two other fiction judges of the merits of the novel.? Thus a legend was born: that *The Moviegoer *emerged victorious because of the partisanship of a husband-and-wife team*, *one that bucked procedure (and ethics?) to railroad home a book others were reluctant to anoint. A lot of bluster and outrage ensued. The magazine *Show* printed an editorial protesting that the judges had cheated Heller of an honor that was rightfully his, and both Stafford and Liebling had to issue statements averring the process had been conducted fairly. Stafford admitted to nominating *The Moviegoer *on her husband?s recommendation but added, ?What is not true is that I ?convinced? or made any attempt to convince my colleagues of the merits of the book. Our meeting was not long and it was conducted in remarkable peace and agreement.? Herbert Gold, a novelist who was also a member of the fiction jury that year, confirms Stafford?s description. Talese?s report, he says, ?is complete bullshit. The fact was I loved *The Moviegoer*. I went to New York with that book under my arm hoping to convince the other two judges. But I can?t claim credit because Jean also loved the book.? The third judge, Lewis Gannett, a columnist for the *New York Herald Tribune*, was reportedly happy to comply. In fact, according to Gold, Gannett was not on intimate terms with the books on the short list. ?My wife liked that one? was about all he could muster in response to some, and *The Moviegoer* won unanimously on the first ballot. But Talese?s story was the version on record, and it was cited for years after. Stafford had to answer to the controversy until her death in 1979, and to this day Talese stands by his report. ?If I wrote it,? he told me last month, ?then it?s true. I am not a fiction writer like Walker Percy.? Which means the only explanation for the affair is that Talese was fed bad information. When an irate Liebling asked how he knew Stafford had coerced the other judges, Talese said his source worked at Knopf. He might as well have said his source?s name was on the spine of Knopf?s books. Several had heard Knopf complaining of ?a conspiracy engineered by Joe Liebling,? and it seems the publisher was eager to deflect some of the attention he was getting for not supporting *The Moviegoer*. Percy?s novel, in other words, was simply caught in a joust between two proud, self-assured men bent on slighting the reputation of the other. But that novel was given new life, with thousands of copies sent out in paperback. So if what happened in 1962 reminds us of the worst of what a literary fete can entail?infighting, a cliquish grievance made into national news?we should remember it also demonstrates the best. What are prizes for, in the end? Sure, the culture machine needs them, publicity departments and the gaggle of blogs, but does literature? The glitzy rah-rah of the awards dinner, the indignation suffered on the losers? behalf: None of it factors into the progression of tradition. What the Booker, Pulitzer, and National Book Awards pretend to accomplish?identifying which works of poetry and prose are superior?takes generations to work out, and we can all name authors, the Julia Peterkinsand Conrad Richters , who are known today only for being forgotten, who claimed one medal or many in their lifetime but whose work no longer resonates. Rescuing an overlooked but deserving title?that?s the most these awards can do, and Percy, though he had gotten a late start, would never have to worry about securing a publisher or a readership again. Percy knew that, and responded to the fracas with nothing more than a shrug of bemusement. Of all the principals he behaved with the greatest aplomb. After accepting the award he returned home to Covington, La., across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans, and resumed work on his next novel, *The Last Gentleman.* In a letter of thanks to Stafford he acquitted Knopf of any neglect and, marveling at the fortuitousness of his situation, reflected on how unlikely the ultimate source of his gratitude was. ?If I understand it correctly,? Percy wrote, ?had it not been for Mr. Liebling (and his recent interest in Louisiana) *The Moviegoer *might never, would never have been considered. To think then, that if it hadn?t been for old Earl, etc. For the first time, I feel kindly toward the Longs.? * * * -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From janetcantor37 at yahoo.com Sat Nov 3 15:51:07 2012 From: janetcantor37 at yahoo.com (janetcantor37 at yahoo.com) Date: Sat, 3 Nov 2012 12:51:07 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [percy-l] re the National Book Award that went to "The Moviegoer" in 1962 In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <1351972267.78733.YahooMailClassic@web141105.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Fascinating. Thank you. --- On Sat, 11/3/12, Jim Forest wrote: From: Jim Forest Subject: [percy-l] re the National Book Award that went to "The Moviegoer" in 1962 To: "Percy-L: Literary and Philosophical Discussion" Date: Saturday, November 3, 2012, 11:37 AM http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2012/11/_1962_national_book_awards_scandal_the_story_behind_the_moviegoer.html Scandal at the National Book Awards Was The Moviegoer?s victory in 1962 a fix? By Benjamin Hedin|Posted Friday, Nov. 2, 2012, at 11:10 PM ET Walker Percy's author photo from the original Knopf edition of The Moviegoer Photo by Hazel Ogden The short list for the 1962 National Book Award in fiction was remarkable, including a number of works today regarded as classics, like Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates, and Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger. Yet the prize went to an obscure first novel by a 45-year-old Southerner, a doctor who contracted TB during his residency and turned to writing instead. No one predicted The Moviegoer by Walker Percy would win, and 50 years later, as we prepare to hear this year?s winner, it remains one of the great upsets in the history of the National Book Awards. But was the fix in? I talked to some of the players in that surprising decision, hoping to find out how The Moviegoer was crowned and whether it is true, as alleged, the novel won thanks only to shady backroom politicking. Percy?s victory set off a controversy that involved the most powerful man in publishing, a famous journalist eager to take credit for the award, and a cub reporter who would go on to become one of the most celebrated writers of our time. Catch-22 was considered the favorite, and yet Percy?s greatest opposition, ironically, came not from Heller or any of the other nominees but his own publisher, Alfred A. Knopf. When the charismatic, mercurial founder of the house that bears his name learned it was Percy the judged had tabbed, he exclaimed, ?They?re running the prize into the ground!? Knopf, who had been in the business since 1915, was known for his acuity and taste, for taking a chance on authors other publishers were loath to sign but later wished they had. He had failed, though, to recognize Percy?s talent, and had recently fired Stanley Kauffmann, the editor who acquired The Moviegoer and worked with Percy through four rewrites. In the days before the winner was announced Knopf endorsed another one of his books, The Ch?teau by William Maxwell, and knew it reflected poorly on him to be seen missing the mark so widely. Knopf had no idea how The Moviegoer had been nominated to begin with. According to National Book Awards protocol, only judges could put forward a book. Yet with Kauffmann fired, neither Knopf nor anyone in his house had brought Percy?s novel to the attention of the jurors, and no one?in such a fertile, competitive year especially?was talking about The Moviegoer. The book had not even sold through its initial printing. When Knopf did find out how it ended up on the short list he was mortified. The man responsible was none other than A.J. Liebling, the great sportswriter and New Yorker reporter?and an author Knopf had published before the two had a falling out. ? The day after the awards ceremony Liebling told a gathering at Columbia University The Moviegoer ?got in by the sheerest chance.? Percy?s victory, it turned out, could be traced to a single morning. On May 28, 1961 Liebling was paging through the New York Times. He had just completed a book about Earl Long, the conservative, erratic governor of Louisiana, brother of Huey, and with his mind still on that state, Liebling paused over a review that began, ?Every night at dusk, when the Gulf breeze stirs the warm, heavy air over New Orleans, a 29-year-old wanderer named Binx Bolling emerges from his apartment, carrying in his hand the movie page of his newspaper, his telephone book and a map of the city.? Liebling went out and bought the book under discussion: The Moviegoer. Later he recommended it to his wife, the novelist Jean Stafford, who happened to sit on the National Book Awards fiction jury. Liebling had a Falstaffian presence, was fat and jowly, brilliant and egoistic. He wanted in this context to be seen as a crusader for justice. Knopf, he told the audience at Columbia, had failed in its promotion of The Moviegoer. Without A.J. Liebling, one was left to presume, a masterpiece may have been forever lost to posterity. But there was more to the story: A decade before, Knopf had published Liebling?s book Chicago: The Second City, and Liebling had never forgiven Knopf for not pushing the book vigorously enough. Now, given the opportunity to embarrass his old publisher for failing to champion Percy?s text, he did not hesitate to put the boot in. But in his hauteur Liebling underestimated Knopf, and did not foresee how craftily the magnate would respond. Rather than confront Liebling directly, Knopf decided to use the media, and he would do more than just issue spin. Gay Talese was 30 years old in 1962, and had recently moved from sports to news in his coverage for the New York Times. The book awards was ?the worst possible assignment you could get,? he says. ?The sanitation department would be much better than book publishing. Athletes never complained. People in the literary world are always complaining.? But a letter to the editor or an aggrieved call to the Times office was nothing compared to what Talese was about to experience. Reporting on the seminar at Columbia he wrote, apropos of Liebling and Stafford: ?Judging what he deemed inferior novels for the National Book Award, he told her about The Moviegoer. She picked it up and also liked it. Apparently she convinced the two other fiction judges of the merits of the novel.?Thus a legend was born: that The Moviegoer emerged victorious because of the partisanship of a husband-and-wife team, one that bucked procedure (and ethics?) to railroad home a book others were reluctant to anoint. A lot of bluster and outrage ensued. The magazine Show printed an editorial protesting that the judges had cheated Heller of an honor that was rightfully his, and both Stafford and Liebling had to issue statements averring the process had been conducted fairly. Stafford admitted to nominating The Moviegoer on her husband?s recommendation but added, ?What is not true is that I ?convinced? or made any attempt to convince my colleagues of the merits of the book. Our meeting was not long and it was conducted in remarkable peace and agreement.? Herbert Gold, a novelist who was also a member of the fiction jury that year, confirms Stafford?s description. Talese?s report, he says, ?is complete bullshit. The fact was I loved The Moviegoer. I went to New York with that book under my arm hoping to convince the other two judges. But I can?t claim credit because Jean also loved the book.? The third judge, Lewis Gannett, a columnist for the New York Herald Tribune, was reportedly happy to comply. In fact, according to Gold, Gannett was not on intimate terms with the books on the short list. ?My wife liked that one? was about all he could muster in response to some, and The Moviegoer won unanimously on the first ballot. But Talese?s story was the version on record, and it was cited for years after. Stafford had to answer to the controversy until her death in 1979, and to this day Talese stands by his report. ?If I wrote it,? he told me last month, ?then it?s true. I am not a fiction writer like Walker Percy.? Which means the only explanation for the affair is that Talese was fed bad information. When an irate Liebling asked how he knew Stafford had coerced the other judges, Talese said his source worked at Knopf. He might as well have said his source?s name was on the spine of Knopf?s books. Several had heard Knopf complaining of ?a conspiracy engineered by Joe Liebling,? and it seems the publisher was eager to deflect some of the attention he was getting for not supporting The Moviegoer. Percy?s novel, in other words, was simply caught in a joust between two proud, self-assured men bent on slighting the reputation of the other. But that novel was given new life, with thousands of copies sent out in paperback. So if what happened in 1962 reminds us of the worst of what a literary fete can entail?infighting, a cliquish grievance made into national news?we should remember it also demonstrates the best. What are prizes for, in the end? Sure, the culture machine needs them, publicity departments and the gaggle of blogs, but does literature? The glitzy rah-rah of the awards dinner, the indignation suffered on the losers? behalf: None of it factors into the progression of tradition. What the Booker, Pulitzer, and National Book Awards pretend to accomplish?identifying which works of poetry and prose are superior?takes generations to work out, and we can all name authors, the Julia Peterkins and Conrad Richters, who are known today only for being forgotten, who claimed one medal or many in their lifetime but whose work no longer resonates. Rescuing an overlooked but deserving title?that?s the most these awards can do, and Percy, though he had gotten a late start, would never have to worry about securing a publisher or a readership again. Percy knew that, and responded to the fracas with nothing more than a shrug of bemusement. Of all the principals he behaved with the greatest aplomb. After accepting the award he returned home to Covington, La., across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans, and resumed work on his next novel, The Last Gentleman. In a letter of thanks to Stafford he acquitted Knopf of any neglect and, marveling at the fortuitousness of his situation, reflected on how unlikely the ultimate source of his gratitude was. ?If I understand it correctly,? Percy wrote, ?had it not been for Mr. Liebling (and his recent interest in Louisiana) The Moviegoer might never, would never have been considered. To think then, that if it hadn?t been for old Earl, etc. For the first time, I feel kindly toward the Longs.? * * * -----Inline Attachment Follows----- -- 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 Contact the moderator: percy-l-owner at lists.ibiblio.org (note: add @ sign when addressing email) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jeriley at uark.edu Sun Nov 4 17:54:29 2012 From: jeriley at uark.edu (John E. Riley) Date: Sun, 4 Nov 2012 22:54:29 +0000 Subject: [percy-l] Percy-L Digest, Vol 98, Issue 2 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Jim: Thanks for calling attention to this article--a great story. As I recall, Jay Tolson in his biography did a good job of piecing together how the Moviegoer was nominated and then won the NBA. The only detail I remember differently from this was Libeling happening upon the novel in a New Orleans bookshop while doing his "Kingfisher" research. It makes me wonder how--or if--Percy's career would have gone differently had he not received a prestigious award for his first novel. I know Percy himself didn't attach much importance to such awards, but publishers certainly do (or did)! Obviously the Moviegoer was deserving--it's still my favorite Percy novel, and would make my desert island list. John Riley Reference Mullins Library University of Arkansas Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA ________________________________________ From: percy-l-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org [percy-l-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org] on behalf of percy-l-request at lists.ibiblio.org [percy-l-request at lists.ibiblio.org] Sent: Sunday, November 04, 2012 2:31 PM To: percy-l at lists.ibiblio.org Subject: Percy-L Digest, Vol 98, Issue 2 Send Percy-L mailing list submissions to percy-l at lists.ibiblio.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/percy-l or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to percy-l-request at lists.ibiblio.org You can reach the person managing the list at percy-l-owner at lists.ibiblio.org When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Percy-L digest..." Today's Topics: 1. re the National Book Award that went to "The Moviegoer" in 1962 (janetcantor37 at yahoo.com) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Sat, 3 Nov 2012 12:51:07 -0700 (PDT) From: "janetcantor37 at yahoo.com" Subject: [percy-l] re the National Book Award that went to "The Moviegoer" in 1962 To: "Percy-L: Literary and Philosophical Discussion" Message-ID: <1351972267.78733.YahooMailClassic at web141105.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Fascinating. Thank you. --- On Sat, 11/3/12, Jim Forest wrote: From: Jim Forest Subject: [percy-l] re the National Book Award that went to "The Moviegoer" in 1962 To: "Percy-L: Literary and Philosophical Discussion" Date: Saturday, November 3, 2012, 11:37 AM http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2012/11/_1962_national_book_awards_scandal_the_story_behind_the_moviegoer.html Scandal at the National Book Awards Was The Moviegoer?s victory in 1962 a fix? By Benjamin Hedin|Posted Friday, Nov. 2, 2012, at 11:10 PM ET Walker Percy's author photo from the original Knopf edition of The Moviegoer Photo by Hazel Ogden The short list for the 1962 National Book Award in fiction was remarkable, including a number of works today regarded as classics, like Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates, and Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger. Yet the prize went to an obscure first novel by a 45-year-old Southerner, a doctor who contracted TB during his residency and turned to writing instead. No one predicted The Moviegoer by Walker Percy would win, and 50 years later, as we prepare to hear this year?s winner, it remains one of the great upsets in the history of the National Book Awards. But was the fix in? I talked to some of the players in that surprising decision, hoping to find out how The Moviegoer was crowned and whether it is true, as alleged, the novel won thanks only to shady backroom politicking. Percy?s victory set off a controversy that involved the most powerful man in publishing, a famous journalist eager to take credit for the award, and a cub reporter who would go on to become one of the most celebrated writers of our time. Catch-22 was considered the favorite, and yet Percy?s greatest opposition, ironically, came not from Heller or any of the other nominees but his own publisher, Alfred A. Knopf. When the charismatic, mercurial founder of the house that bears his name learned it was Percy the judged had tabbed, he exclaimed, ?They?re running the prize into the ground!? Knopf, who had been in the business since 1915, was known for his acuity and taste, for taking a chance on authors other publishers were loath to sign but later wished they had. He had failed, though, to recognize Percy?s talent, and had recently fired Stanley Kauffmann, the editor who acquired The Moviegoer and worked with Percy through four rewrites. In the days before the winner was announced Knopf endorsed another one of his books, The Ch?teau by William Maxwell, and knew it reflected poorly on him to be seen missing the mark so widely. Knopf had no idea how The Moviegoer had been nominated to begin with. According to National Book Awards protocol, only judges could put forward a book. Yet with Kauffmann fired, neither Knopf nor anyone in his house had brought Percy?s novel to the attention of the jurors, and no one?in such a fertile, competitive year especially?was talking about The Moviegoer. The book had not even sold through its initial printing. When Knopf did find out how it ended up on the short list he was mortified. The man responsible was none other than A.J. Liebling, the great sportswriter and New Yorker reporter?and an author Knopf had published before the two had a falling out. ? The day after the awards ceremony Liebling told a gathering at Columbia University The Moviegoer ?got in by the sheerest chance.? Percy?s victory, it turned out, could be traced to a single morning. On May 28, 1961 Liebling was paging through the New York Times. He had just completed a book about Earl Long, the conservative, erratic governor of Louisiana, brother of Huey, and with his mind still on that state, Liebling paused over a review that began, ?Every night at dusk, when the Gulf breeze stirs the warm, heavy air over New Orleans, a 29-year-old wanderer named Binx Bolling emerges from his apartment, carrying in his hand the movie page of his newspaper, his telephone book and a map of the city.? Liebling went out and bought the book under discussion: The Moviegoer. Later he recommended it to his wife, the novelist Jean Stafford, who happened to sit on the National Book Awards fiction jury. Liebling had a Falstaffian presence, was fat and jowly, brilliant and egoistic. He wanted in this context to be seen as a crusader for justice. Knopf, he told the audience at Columbia, had failed in its promotion of The Moviegoer. Without A.J. Liebling, one was left to presume, a masterpiece may have been forever lost to posterity. But there was more to the story: A decade before, Knopf had published Liebling?s book Chicago: The Second City, and Liebling had never forgiven Knopf for not pushing the book vigorously enough. Now, given the opportunity to embarrass his old publisher for failing to champion Percy?s text, he did not hesitate to put the boot in. But in his hauteur Liebling underestimated Knopf, and did not foresee how craftily the magnate would respond. Rather than confront Liebling directly, Knopf decided to use the media, and he would do more than just issue spin. Gay Talese was 30 years old in 1962, and had recently moved from sports to news in his coverage for the New York Times. The book awards was ?the worst possible assignment you could get,? he says. ?The sanitation department would be much better than book publishing. Athletes never complained. People in the literary world are always complaining.? But a letter to the editor or an aggrieved call to the Times office was nothing compared to what Talese was about to experience. Reporting on the seminar at Columbia he wrote, apropos of Liebling and Stafford: ?Judging what he deemed inferior novels for the National Book Award, he told her about The Moviegoer. She picked it up and also liked it. Apparently she convinced the two other fiction judges of the merits of the novel.?Thus a legend was born: that The Moviegoer emerged victorious because of the partisanship of a husband-and-wife team, one that bucked procedure (and ethics?) to railroad home a book others were reluctant to anoint. A lot of bluster and outrage ensued. The magazine Show printed an editorial protesting that the judges had cheated Heller of an honor that was rightfully his, and both Stafford and Liebling had to issue statements averring the process had been conducted fairly. Stafford admitted to nominating The Moviegoer on her husband?s recommendation but added, ?What is not true is that I ?convinced? or made any attempt to convince my colleagues of the merits of the book. Our meeting was not long and it was conducted in remarkable peace and agreement.? Herbert Gold, a novelist who was also a member of the fiction jury that year, confirms Stafford?s description. Talese?s report, he says, ?is complete bullshit. The fact was I loved The Moviegoer. I went to New York with that book under my arm hoping to convince the other two judges. But I can?t claim credit because Jean also loved the book.? The third judge, Lewis Gannett, a columnist for the New York Herald Tribune, was reportedly happy to comply. In fact, according to Gold, Gannett was not on intimate terms with the books on the short list. ?My wife liked that one? was about all he could muster in response to some, and The Moviegoer won unanimously on the first ballot. But Talese?s story was the version on record, and it was cited for years after. Stafford had to answer to the controversy until her death in 1979, and to this day Talese stands by his report. ?If I wrote it,? he told me last month, ?then it?s true. I am not a fiction writer like Walker Percy.? Which means the only explanation for the affair is that Talese was fed bad information. When an irate Liebling asked how he knew Stafford had coerced the other judges, Talese said his source worked at Knopf. He might as well have said his source?s name was on the spine of Knopf?s books. Several had heard Knopf complaining of ?a conspiracy engineered by Joe Liebling,? and it seems the publisher was eager to deflect some of the attention he was getting for not supporting The Moviegoer. Percy?s novel, in other words, was simply caught in a joust between two proud, self-assured men bent on slighting the reputation of the other. But that novel was given new life, with thousands of copies sent out in paperback. So if what happened in 1962 reminds us of the worst of what a literary fete can entail?infighting, a cliquish grievance made into national news?we should remember it also demonstrates the best. What are prizes for, in the end? Sure, the culture machine needs them, publicity departments and the gaggle of blogs, but does literature? The glitzy rah-rah of the awards dinner, the indignation suffered on the losers? behalf: None of it factors into the progression of tradition. What the Booker, Pulitzer, and National Book Awards pretend to accomplish?identifying which works of poetry and prose are superior?takes generations to work out, and we can all name authors, the Julia Peterkins and Conrad Richters, who are known today only for being forgotten, who claimed one medal or many in their lifetime but whose work no longer resonates. Rescuing an overlooked but deserving title?that?s the most these awards can do, and Percy, though he had gotten a late start, would never have to worry about securing a publisher or a readership again. Percy knew that, and responded to the fracas with nothing more than a shrug of bemusement. Of all the principals he behaved with the greatest aplomb. After accepting the award he returned home to Covington, La., across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans, and resumed work on his next novel, The Last Gentleman. In a letter of thanks to Stafford he acquitted Knopf of any neglect and, marveling at the fortuitousness of his situation, reflected on how unlikely the ultimate source of his gratitude was. ?If I understand it correctly,? Percy wrote, ?had it not been for Mr. Liebling (and his recent interest in Louisiana) The Moviegoer might never, would never have been considered. To think then, that if it hadn?t been for old Earl, etc. For the first time, I feel kindly toward the Longs.? * * * -----Inline Attachment Follows----- -- 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 Contact the moderator: percy-l-owner at lists.ibiblio.org (note: add @ sign when addressing email) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/attachments/20121103/df7c8456/attachment.html ------------------------------ _______________________________________________ Percy-L mailing list Percy-L at lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/percy-l End of Percy-L Digest, Vol 98, Issue 2 ************************************** From jopomojo at gmail.com Mon Nov 26 17:09:01 2012 From: jopomojo at gmail.com (Jonathan Potter) Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2012 14:09:01 -0800 Subject: [percy-l] Kindle special on Percy books today Message-ID: Fellow Percy fans: Percy books for the Kindle are going for $2 apiece at Amazon today: More info here: http://korrektivpress.com/2012/11/epercy/ Jonathan Potter Spokane, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From janetcantor37 at yahoo.com Tue Nov 27 23:56:55 2012 From: janetcantor37 at yahoo.com (janetcantor37 at yahoo.com) Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2012 20:56:55 -0800 (PST) Subject: [percy-l] a fun experience Message-ID: <1354078615.29585.YahooMailClassic@web141106.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> I went on a cruise with a group and we get assigned different tables each night so we get to meet new people. One table was long and we couldn't hear what was being said at the other end. But somehow there must have been a few second lull because I heard the words, "Walker Percy" from the other end. I couldn't believe my ears. I asked, "Did you just say Walker Percy?" "Yes". I went over to talk to the couple at the other end of the table for twenty minutes and we were so full of enthusiasm as we shared our histories of how we became fans of Percy. The next day the husband asked to meet me before dinner so we could continue the conversation. After that he walked me to my table for this evening and there was only one couple seated there so far at a table for six. I said my goodbye to the husband and sat down all smiles and enthusiasm. The couple asked why I seemed so excited and I told them I found out yesterday that he admired an author I admire. "Who?" I told them. The couple fell on me. "We adore Percy and have read all of his books and essays." We chose our daughter's college because we knew she would get to read good things like Percy." Now what are the chances that I would have such coincidental experiences on two successive evenings like that? No one else arrived at our table and I was very glad of it because we were able to enjoy our conversation without interruption as we exchanged thoughts. The husband told me he is going to keep me informed about seminars that St. John's college conducts all over America.? He is the director of that study group. The seminars sounded intimidating to me but he assured me that he could tell from my comments that I would love to participate in them. Now how do you like that? Janet Cantor -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From lowry.charles at gmail.com Wed Nov 28 10:36:17 2012 From: lowry.charles at gmail.com (Charles Lowry) Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2012 10:36:17 -0500 Subject: [percy-l] a fun experience In-Reply-To: <1354078615.29585.YahooMailClassic@web141106.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> References: <1354078615.29585.YahooMailClassic@web141106.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: If Percy were asked to comment on this type of occurrence, he would probably adduce something like this: "What do you plan to do?" I shrug. There is only one thing I can do: listen to people, see how they stick themselves into the world, hand them along a ways on their dark journey and be handed along, and for good and selfish reasons. On Tue, Nov 27, 2012 at 11:56 PM, janetcantor37 at yahoo.com < janetcantor37 at yahoo.com> wrote: > I went on a cruise with a group and we get assigned different tables each > night so we get to meet new people. > One table was long and we couldn't hear what was being said at the other > end. But somehow there must have been a few second lull because I heard the > words, "Walker Percy" from the other end. I couldn't believe my ears. I > asked, "Did you just say Walker Percy?" "Yes". I went over to talk to the > couple at the other end of the table for twenty minutes and we were so full > of enthusiasm as we shared our histories of how we became fans of Percy. > The next day the husband asked to meet me before dinner so we could > continue the conversation. > After that he walked me to my table for this evening and there was only > one couple seated there so far at a table for six. I said my goodbye to the > husband and sat down all smiles and enthusiasm. The couple asked why I > seemed so excited and I told them I found out yesterday that he admired an > author I admire. "Who?" I told them. The couple fell on me. "We adore Percy > and have read all of his books and essays." We chose our daughter's college > because we knew she would get to read good things like Percy." Now what are > the chances that I would have such coincidental experiences on two > successive evenings like that? No one else arrived at our table and I was > very glad of it because we were able to enjoy our conversation without > interruption as we exchanged thoughts. The husband told me he is going to > keep me informed about seminars that St. John's college conducts all over > America. He is the director of that study group. The seminars sounded > intimidating to me but he assured me that he could tell from my comments > that I would love to participate in them. > Now how do you like that? > Janet Cantor > > -- > 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 > > Contact the moderator: percy-l-owner at lists.ibiblio.org (note: add @ > sign when addressing email) > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jhforest at gmail.com Thu Nov 29 05:42:00 2012 From: jhforest at gmail.com (Jim Forest) Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2012 11:42:00 +0100 Subject: [percy-l] a fun experience In-Reply-To: <1354078615.29585.YahooMailClassic@web141106.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> References: <1354078615.29585.YahooMailClassic@web141106.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Janet, During your cruise several it seems that several guardian angels were not vacationing. Jim On Wed, Nov 28, 2012 at 5:56 AM, janetcantor37 at yahoo.com < janetcantor37 at yahoo.com> wrote: > I went on a cruise with a group and we get assigned different tables each > night so we get to meet new people. > One table was long and we couldn't hear what was being said at the other > end. But somehow there must have been a few second lull because I heard the > words, "Walker Percy" from the other end. I couldn't believe my ears. I > asked, "Did you just say Walker Percy?" "Yes". I went over to talk to the > couple at the other end of the table for twenty minutes and we were so full > of enthusiasm as we shared our histories of how we became fans of Percy. > The next day the husband asked to meet me before dinner so we could > continue the conversation. > After that he walked me to my table for this evening and there was only > one couple seated there so far at a table for six. I said my goodbye to the > husband and sat down all smiles and enthusiasm. The couple asked why I > seemed so excited and I told them I found out yesterday that he admired an > author I admire. "Who?" I told them. The couple fell on me. "We adore Percy > and have read all of his books and essays." We chose our daughter's college > because we knew she would get to read good things like Percy." Now what are > the chances that I would have such coincidental experiences on two > successive evenings like that? No one else arrived at our table and I was > very glad of it because we were able to enjoy our conversation without > interruption as we exchanged thoughts. The husband told me he is going to > keep me informed about seminars that St. John's college conducts all over > America. He is the director of that study group. The seminars sounded > intimidating to me but he assured me that he could tell from my comments > that I would love to participate in them. > Now how do you like that? > Janet Cantor > > * * * *All Is Grace: a biography of Dorothy Day:* http://www.jimandnancyforest.com/2006/03/24/all-is-grace/ *Saint George and the Dragon* http://www.jimandnancyforest.com/2011/04/04/saint-george-and-the-dragon/ Jim's books: www.jimandnancyforest.com/books/ Jim & Nancy web site: www.jimandnancyforest.com Photo collections: www.flickr.com/photos/jimforest/collections/ On Pilgrimage blog: http://jimandnancyonpilgrimage.blogspot.com/ A Tale of Two Kidneys blog: http://ataleof2kidneys.blogspot.com/ In Communion site: www.incommunion.org *Jim & Nancy Forest* Kanisstraat 5 / 1811 GJ Alkmaar / The Netherlands * * * -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: