I started Letters of Flannery O'Connor: The Habit of Being yesterday as I waited for the locksmith to arrive, then re-key all of the locks at Laddie's. (We have lots of extra keys, now--hedging against future loss.) I just finished Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee and last fall read a biography of Eudora Welty. Didn't realize that I was beginning a reading itinerary of female Southern authors until I just typed those lines! Annnywaayy...O'Connor's letters are marvelous!
O'Connor, who suffered from Lupus, writes of a hospitalization during which a nurse talked all of the time: "...She told me all about the low life in Wilkinson County. I seldom know in any given circumstances whether the Lord is giving me a reward or a punishment. She didn't know she was funny and it was agony to laugh and I reckon she increased my pain about 100%."
In her eary 20's, O'Connor was trying to get released from a publishing company that really didn't like her work; in a letter to Paul Engle discussing the situation, she says: "Selby came to the conclusion that I was 'prematurely arrogant.' I supplied him with the phrase."
:) I'm in no hurry to finish this book, but I'm not sure that the book won't hurry me along.
I adore Southern female writers, but confess I have not dipped into Flannery O'Connor. Thanks for the nudge.
ReplyDeleteO'Connor's fiction is so very strange, but the letters are pure pleasure. My favorite short story is "Good Country People"--good ole Hulga!
ReplyDeleteMust be some fantastic reading with biographies of those women. I'm not acquainted with O'Connor's work either. I like her supplied phrase. How funny! She sounds very droll.
ReplyDeletepersonal quirk: I called my first doll quilt "flannery o'connor." Because it was made of flannel and I was used to seeing that name on my mom's bookshelf. Nobody else thought it was funny or made any sense.
ReplyDeleteOk, and I am reading Wicked and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I think I might need to raise the bar a bit... I know I read To Kill a Mockingbird. I love that book. I think I read a short story by O'Connor in school, but I couldn't prove it...
ReplyDeleteFran - She was very droll, that's a perfect description!
ReplyDeleteACey - That is so funny, and something that Flannery would have greatly appreciated!
Jules - I'm getting ready to indulge in a bunch of fantasy- a combination of adult, YA, and children's fantasy. They are all stacked up and waiting for me. My reading list is a mixture of the divine and the absurd...just the way I like it!
Jen, Your post makes me want to run to the library! But, I probably won't have time...today. At one time I was a reader and always had a read-in-progress. When the grandchildren came along followed by the quilting bug, books began to collect dust. I do find time occasionally for a book but I have to MAKE time because if I wait for time to 'happen', it doesn't. I know, it's MY choice...I have the same amount of minutes in my day as everyone else and it's nobody's fault but mine how they get used (or watsted). Sorry, I think I stepped up on my soapbox... Have a wonderful weekend! :)
ReplyDeleteI meant 'wasted' - should proof-read.
ReplyDeleteConni - I only watch television when I'm sewing, so I have more time to read. The nice thing about letters is that you can read a page or two in a minute or two, put it down, pick it up later, and read another without losing a narrative thread. But I know what you mean about time...we all have our own priorities. Housekeeping and cooking suffer!
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