percy-l AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: Walker Percy
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- From: Dave Duty <daveduty AT austin.rr.com>
- To: Percy-L AT happyhouse.metalab.unc.edu:Literary and Philosophical Discussion <percy-l AT lists.ibiblio.org>
- Cc:
- Subject: Re: [percy-l] Contra Gentiles?
- Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2003 06:58:17 -0500
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I'll way in with my 2 cents. I too had the wonderful chance to spend half a day with WP and Bunt in their little, light cottage. During our conversation, he mentioned a book that he was working on which he referred to as "Thirdness" -- and I believe it has been reported in several places that this was an alternative working title for Contra Gentiles. WP had read my research/disseration which employed a number of his non-fiction/language based notions and pretty much liked what he saw. Feeling I "got" his work, he said he wanted to send me a few chapters to review. Unfortunately, this never came to pass as, I assume, his health failed him so thereafter. We did talk about the content a little, but details elude me at this time. But I do recall that it had to do with starting nothing less than a theory of man. Pretty ambitious stuff -- but I thought then and now that WP's science will one day be understood to be as great, if not more important, than his art. I may be repeating myself from posting past, but I must add that Walker Percy was absolutely all that I could have hoped for. All too often meeting one's living hero is a let down. Not so here. WP was warm, funny, elusive, caring, and real. He really loved to laugh and seemed to get a kick out of my quirky sense of humor. One day I'll post my day with Walker -- which Bunt dubbed the "The Day of the Phantom from the River" .....but that's another story for another time. Jonathan Potter wrote: I had a brief conversation with Walker Percy in November of 1989. When I asked him what he was working on, he said it was a journal he had kept during lent and that he was going to borrow the title from Aquinas' "Summa Contra Gentiles." He added wryly that his publisher was opposed to the title because people wd be confused and think it was about the Nicaraguan contras. I also visited the Chapel Hill archives in 2000 and didn't see it referenced in the inventory. It seems to me the Samway biography mentions it. Since Samway edited Signposts in Strange Land, I wd suspect he also has (or had) access to the Contra Gentiles ms as well. Jonathan Potter Spokane, WA ----- Original Message ----- From: "RHONDA MCDONNELL" <rhonda_mcdonnell AT msn.com> To: <percy-l AT lists.ibiblio.org> Sent: Monday, August 25, 2003 5:46 PM Subject: Re: [percy-l] Contra Gentiles? |
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RE: [percy-l] Contra Gentiles?,
Parlin, Steven, 08/25/2003
- <Possible follow-up(s)>
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Re: [percy-l] Contra Gentiles?,
Nikkibar, 08/25/2003
- Re: [percy-l] Contra Gentiles?, Kenneth Ketner, 08/25/2003
- Re: [percy-l] Contra Gentiles?, Kenneth Ketner, 08/25/2003
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Re: [percy-l] Contra Gentiles?,
RHONDA MCDONNELL, 08/25/2003
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Re: [percy-l] Contra Gentiles?,
Jonathan Potter, 08/25/2003
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Re: [percy-l] Contra Gentiles?,
Dave Duty, 08/26/2003
- Re: [percy-l] Contra Gentiles?, David Alan Beck, 08/26/2003
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Re: [percy-l] Contra Gentiles?,
Dave Duty, 08/26/2003
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Re: [percy-l] Contra Gentiles?,
Jonathan Potter, 08/25/2003
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RE: [percy-l] Contra Gentiles?,
Parlin, Steven, 08/26/2003
- Re: [percy-l] Contra Gentiles?, Dave Duty, 08/26/2003
- Re: [percy-l] Contra Gentiles?, RHONDA MCDONNELL, 08/26/2003
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