Percy-L: Literary, Religious, Scientific, and Philosophical Discussion of Walker Percy

[Henry Mills <wppdirector AT gmail.com>]

Dear Percy-L:

We are now beginning the month leading up to the May 28 centennial of the birth of the good Dr. Percy, who has left us so many literary treasures to enjoy and inspire our lives. To begin our own celebration as a community, I'd like to forward here two items of interest for this time of reflection on Percy's legacy, both its broader value to so many, as well as in how it may personally be meaningful to each of us as his readers.

This post today follows a longer, more detailed one entitled "2016 Walker Percy Centennial Opportunities:  A Listing of Activities, Discussion Programs, etc..." sent out to the Percy-L community this past February 21.  A distilled listing of those opportunities and links to them is now viewable on the homepage of The Walker Percy Project website: <http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy>.

To begin with individual announcements as they arrive, and provide some Percy-related reading opportunities to start the month off, here are the two present items of timely interest:

1) "Walker Percy's 'The Moviegoer' at Fifty: New Takes on an Iconic American Novel" now available
The essay collection "Walker Percy's 'The Moviegoer' at Fifty..." from LSU Press is now available and is certain to provoke some new perspectives on Percy's best known work based on many of the essay titles contained in the book. Read the full book description and table of contents at <http://lsupress.org/books/detail/walker-percys-the-moviegoer-at-fifty#sthash.ZMHTv1yv.dpuf>.

2) "The Walker Percy Centennial: Pilgrimage in Literature": 2016 Southeast Christianity & Literature Conference begins today
Today marks the start of the 2016 Southeast Christianity & Literature Conference recognizing Percy's literary contributions at the lovely setting of Montreat College near Black Mountain, NC, scheduled to run tonight through Saturday afternoon.  The keynote speaker is Dr. Farrell O'Gorman, author of "Peculiar Crossroads: Flannery O'Connor, Walker Percy, and Catholic Vision in Postwar Southern Fiction" (LSU Press, 2004).  David Madden - - novelist, Civil War historian, and a former creative writing professor at LSU - - will also share at the conference his remembrances of Percy when Percy taught in the LSU English Department as a visiting writer.  

You can read about the many interesting paper topics and scheduled events at <http://www.montreat.edu/student-life/special-programs/walker-percy-centennial/>.  Percy-L member Pr. Rich Gray of Montreat has organized an outstanding conference ahead, and with any good fortune, a follow-up conference report from one of its attendees will be available.

Enjoy! There is more to come for this special time and year of the celebration of Walker Percy and his legacy as we all reflect on his personal impact on our individual lives.  I hope one or more of us will have a chance to share our Percy reading experiences with the community in days ahead.

Best Percy wishes,
Henry Mills

- -
Director, The Walker Percy Project
Percy-L Administrator