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

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  • From: lowry.charles AT gmail.com
  • To: percy-l AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [percy-l] A Few Thoughts
  • Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2025 09:27:11 -0400

Thanks to Janet and to Leonard for their insights and perspectives,
intelligently relayed to the list.

I have just a couple things to note:

* Both Janet and Leonard spoke about scholarship and academic credentials. I
have often thought that one of the strengths of this list is that its members
approach literature in general and Percy in particular from many different
angles: academics who do serious, professional studies that underlie much of
what the rest of us grope toward; seekers who have a particular bent toward,
e.g., Southern or Catholic or Existential viewpoints; general readers who
find in fiction a very useful method of recognizing and understanding homo
sapiens (my group); folks (friends, neighbors, colleagues) who knew Percy;
residents of New Orleans, Mandeville, Biloxi, etc. for whom this is local
literature; etc. Any such thought should include a shoutout to Henry for
keeping it all together!

* Almost everyone who has commented on The Last Gentleman has compared
characters or episodes to characters or episodes in The Moviegoer. Did Percy
intend that? Is it a strength or weakness? Is it because The Moviegoer is a
really remarkable novel?

* In my reading of The Last Gentleman and the comments, I have evaluated and
re-evaluated and re-re-evaluated the function and importance of Kitty in the
opening part of the book. Am I alone there?

Any and all thoughts welcome, though I know it is tough to compete with a
war, a severe heat wave and an important primary in New York New York, the
city so terrific they had to name it twice.

Chuck Lowry
Brooklyn, New York

  • [percy-l] A Few Thoughts, lowry . charles, 06/26/2025

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