From janetcantor37 at yahoo.com Sat Jul 9 07:16:43 2016 From: janetcantor37 at yahoo.com (janetcantor37 at yahoo.com) Date: Sat, 9 Jul 2016 11:16:43 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [percy-l] Slow Reading Discussion: The Second Coming - Schedule and Format (discussion to begin next weekend, July 2-3) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <686030801.165957.1468063003971.JavaMail.yahoo@mail.yahoo.com> Is there no leader?for the discussion? When does it begin on the list?Janet Cantor From: Henry Mills To: Percy-L: Literary and Philosophical Discussion Sent: Sunday, June 26, 2016 3:33 PM Subject: [percy-l] Slow Reading Discussion: The Second Coming - Schedule and Format (discussion to begin next weekend, July 2-3) Dear Percy-L: It looks like the votes have it for The Second Coming.? Seems like a fine choice for the centenary year of Percy's birth, given the book's sense of evolving hope and Percy's very playful approach to language throughout it.? Please as a group familiarize yourselves with the following schedule, discussion format, and topic guidelines to aid us in beginning the read. Any comments or suggestions in response to this post can be sent to the entire community for consideration: 1) READING SCHEDULE I have made an outline of a reading schedule that the group can use as found at the bottom of this email. I recommend that discussion begin next weekend, July 2-3, to finish by August 27. This will give folks a chance to get the book and read the first two? (2) chapters, or 40 pages total before next weekend.? The breakdown is based on the Picador version, which I believe is the most recent trade copy available. This breakdown almost directly follows Percy's chapters, with the exception of chapters 5-6.? The flow of the book might encourage a faster pace in places, so the group, I think, can adjust forward as we feel comfortable.? The Picador version of the book can be purchased through the following link or likely at your favorite bookstore:?https://www.amazon.com/Second-Coming-Novel-Walker-Percy/dp/0312243243/thewalkerpercyprA/ 2) FORMAT OF DISCUSSION In the spirit of the election year (one further word about that below), I would like to suggest that, rather than attempting to divide up sections between individuals who introduce each with questions/comments/observations, we as a group democratically move forward in an open manner through the book with the below schedule in mind as a frame.? 3) DISCUSSION TOPICS I suggest that a reader response approach to the book (its themes, characters, language, etc.) is suitable for discussion, as well as any biographical or historical commentary and the like.? However, it exactly being an election year, I would strongly suggest that we leave presidential politics aside.? We are here to enjoy Percy, not discuss current politics.? True, there was a bit of room for politics in Love in the Ruins. The Second Coming is such a delightful book that I think there is much to be enjoyed solely within itself.? 4) SUMMARY - Slow reading discussion to begin next weekend, July 2-3. - The reading schedule is roughly 40 pages per week, following Percy's chapter breakdown with flexibility built in as determined by the group. - Discussion to complete by August 26 (8 weeks total at the most) following the weekly schedule below. - The format of the discussion will be open in terms of how each section is begun (i.e., no assigned discussion leaders). - All discussion topics -- as will lead us to enjoy the book in its wonderful charm, art, and spirit -- are welcome, with a special caveat restricting the introduction of presidential politics.? Sorry, folks, that's another listserv! - Any responses to this email are welcome at this time by sending them to the Percy-L community as a whole. The Second Coming is a fine book and, personally, I believe, should give us all quite an enjoyable read, discussion, and ultimately renewed appreciation for Percy and his?wonderful?art and sense of humor as an uplifting experience this summer.? I look forward to the start of discussion next weekend, and invite all to join in. Best wishes, Henry Mills Percy-L Administrator READING SCHEDULE PART I For July 2?/ Chapter 1-2 (pages 3-43) For July 9?/ Chapter 3 (pages 44-79) For July 16?/ Chapter 4 (pages 80-121) For July 23?/? Chapter 5 to 5.7? (pages 122-171) For July 30?/ Chapter 5.8 to 6 (pages 171-229) PART II For August 6?/ Chapter I (pages 233-266) For August 13?/ Chapter 2-3 (pages 267-305) For August 20?/ Chapter 4-5 (pages 306-360) * Percy-L Discussion Archives: http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/ * Manage Your Membership: http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/percy-l * Contact the Moderator: percy-l-owner (at) lists.ibiblio.org * Visit The Walker Percy Project: http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From janetcantor37 at yahoo.com Fri Jul 15 01:46:57 2016 From: janetcantor37 at yahoo.com (janetcantor37 at yahoo.com) Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2016 05:46:57 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [percy-l] the second coning References: <1106739142.118018.1468561617976.JavaMail.yahoo.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1106739142.118018.1468561617976.JavaMail.yahoo@mail.yahoo.com> What happened to the slow read of The Second Coming?Janet Cantor? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wppdirector at gmail.com Fri Jul 15 23:42:45 2016 From: wppdirector at gmail.com (Henry P. Mills) Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2016 23:42:45 -0400 Subject: [percy-l] Percy-L test: please ignore Message-ID: <8cde1013-27fc-c5de-a2b4-61e1de43944a@gmail.com> This message is testing current list function. Please ignore. Thanks. -- Henry P. Mills Director & Editor The Walker Percy Project www.ibiblio.org/wpercy From jhforest at gmail.com Sat Jul 16 07:10:35 2016 From: jhforest at gmail.com (Jim Forest) Date: Sat, 16 Jul 2016 13:10:35 +0200 Subject: [percy-l] the second coning Message-ID: If nothing more happens (the discussion has been intensely Quakerish so far), it was a joy re-reading the book. Jim On Fri, Jul 15, 2016 at 7:46 AM, janetcantor37 at yahoo.com < janetcantor37 at yahoo.com> wrote: What happened to the slow read of The Second Coming? > Janet Cantor > > > > * Percy-L Discussion Archives: http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/ > > * Manage Your Membership: > http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/percy-l > > * Contact the Moderator: percy-l-owner (at) lists.ibiblio.org > > * Visit The Walker Percy Project: http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy > > -- just out: *The Root of War is Fear: Thomas Merton's Advice to Peacemakers:* http://jimandnancyforest.com/2016/06/root-of-war-is-fear/ recent books: *Loving Our Enemies: Reflections on the Hardest Commandment: * www.jimandnancyforest.com/2014/07/loving-our-enemies/ *Saint Nicholas and the Nine Gold Coins: * www.jimandnancyforest.com/2015/04/saint-nicholas-and-the-nine-gold-coins/ *Books in print*: www.jimandnancyforest.com/books/ *Jim & Nancy web site*: www.jimandnancyforest.com *Photo albums*: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimforest/albums *Facebook*: https://www.facebook.com/jim.forest1 *Jim & Nancy Forest* Kanisstraat 5 / 1811 GJ Alkmaar / The Netherlands * * * -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From janetcantor37 at yahoo.com Sat Jul 16 08:27:23 2016 From: janetcantor37 at yahoo.com (janetcantor37 at yahoo.com) Date: Sat, 16 Jul 2016 12:27:23 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [percy-l] the second coning In-Reply-To: <828273646.187877.1468671048011.JavaMail.yahoo@mail.yahoo.com> References: <828273646.187877.1468671048011.JavaMail.yahoo@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1647061046.217161.1468672043605.JavaMail.yahoo@mail.yahoo.com> Has there been a discussion at all? And, forgive me, I see you listing your books under your signature, so I am going to, this one time, promote my own book, which I wrote in my mid seventies as a first time author. It is a personal memoir which includes fifty pages on Walker Percy, thirty of which involve some of my correspondence with the darling Jay Tolson. An Epistolary Life is the title. Janet Cantor? If nothing more happens (the discussion has been intensely Quakerish so far), it was a joy re-reading the book. Jim On Fri, Jul 15, 2016 at 7:46 AM, janetcantor37 at yahoo.com wrote: What happened to the slow read of The Second Coming?Janet Cantor? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wppdirector at gmail.com Sat Jul 16 08:49:03 2016 From: wppdirector at gmail.com (Henry P. Mills) Date: Sat, 16 Jul 2016 08:49:03 -0400 Subject: [percy-l] the second coning In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <3854726b-e551-7379-e857-0e263bfb52bd@gmail.com> Jim, thanks for your listserv submission below. Perhaps your excellent wit will spark some conversation? As an aside, could you confirm for me that you received a copy of the message yourself after you submitted it to the listserv? Also, apologies for not getting back to you about your last message to me about what a chapter leader does. After considering how to handle reading the SC, I made the suggestion to the list that discussion and leadership for chapter by chapter discussion be completely open and "democratic" this time. I am hoping you saw that message. Please do let me know if you received your own message below. Others have recently been having some difficulties I am working to resolve. Your message came successfuly to me and is also in the Percy-L archives at: http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/ Many thanks, Henry On 7/16/16 7:10 AM, Jim Forest wrote: > If nothing more happens (the discussion has been intensely Quakerish > so far), it was a joy re-reading the book. > > Jim > > On Fri, Jul 15, 2016 at 7:46 AM, janetcantor37 at yahoo.com > > wrote: > > What happened to the slow read of The Second Coming? > Janet Cantor > > > > * Percy-L Discussion Archives: > http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/ > > * Manage Your Membership: > http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/percy-l > > * Contact the Moderator: percy-l-owner (at) lists.ibiblio.org > > > * Visit The Walker Percy Project: http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy > > > > > -- > just out: > *The Root of War is Fear: Thomas Merton's Advice to Peacemakers:* > http://jimandnancyforest.com/2016/06/root-of-war-is-fear/ > > recent books: > *Loving Our Enemies: Reflections on the Hardest Commandment: * > www.jimandnancyforest.com/2014/07/loving-our-enemies/ > > *Saint Nicholas and the Nine Gold Coins: * > www.jimandnancyforest.com/2015/04/saint-nicholas-and-the-nine-gold-coins/ > > > *Books in print*: www.jimandnancyforest.com/books/ > > *Jim & Nancy web site*: www.jimandnancyforest.com > > *Photo albums*: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimforest/albums > *Facebook*: https://www.facebook.com/jim.forest1 > > *Jim & Nancy Forest* > Kanisstraat 5 / 1811 GJ Alkmaar / The Netherlands > > * * * > > > * Percy-L Discussion Archives: http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/ > > * Manage Your Membership: http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/percy-l > > * Contact the Moderator: percy-l-owner (at) lists.ibiblio.org > > * Visit The Walker Percy Project: http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy -- Henry P. Mills Director & Editor The Walker Percy Project www.ibiblio.org/wpercy -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bradley.a.scott at gmail.com Sat Jul 16 09:10:05 2016 From: bradley.a.scott at gmail.com (Bradley Scott) Date: Sat, 16 Jul 2016 09:10:05 -0400 Subject: [percy-l] the second coning In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Is this discussion happening? If so, how does one join it? I have a couple of other books I'm currently engaged to review, but I look forward to catching up with The Second Coming in a week or so. BAS On Saturday, July 16, 2016, Jim Forest wrote: > If nothing more happens (the discussion has been intensely Quakerish so > far), it was a joy re-reading the book. > > Jim > > On Fri, Jul 15, 2016 at 7:46 AM, janetcantor37 at yahoo.com > < > janetcantor37 at yahoo.com > > wrote: > > What happened to the slow read of The Second Coming? >> Janet Cantor >> >> >> >> * Percy-L Discussion Archives: >> http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/ >> >> * Manage Your Membership: >> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/percy-l >> >> * Contact the Moderator: percy-l-owner (at) lists.ibiblio.org >> >> * Visit The Walker Percy Project: http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy >> >> > > > -- > just out: > *The Root of War is Fear: Thomas Merton's Advice to Peacemakers:* > http://jimandnancyforest.com/2016/06/root-of-war-is-fear/ > > recent books: > *Loving Our Enemies: Reflections on the Hardest Commandment: * > www.jimandnancyforest.com/2014/07/loving-our-enemies/ > *Saint Nicholas and the Nine Gold Coins: * > www.jimandnancyforest.com/2015/04/saint-nicholas-and-the-nine-gold-coins/ > > *Books in print*: www.jimandnancyforest.com/books/ > *Jim & Nancy web site*: www.jimandnancyforest.com > *Photo albums*: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimforest/albums > *Facebook*: https://www.facebook.com/jim.forest1 > > *Jim & Nancy Forest* > Kanisstraat 5 / 1811 GJ Alkmaar / The Netherlands > > * * * > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From janetcantor37 at yahoo.com Sat Jul 16 09:21:06 2016 From: janetcantor37 at yahoo.com (janetcantor37 at yahoo.com) Date: Sat, 16 Jul 2016 13:21:06 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [percy-l] the second coning In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1165664137.223611.1468675266574.JavaMail.yahoo@mail.yahoo.com> Just read as the assignment says and feel free to comment on your reactions to the assigned sections.Welcome to the discussion as part of the slow read of The Second ComingJanet Cantor Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android On Sat, Jul 16, 2016 at 9:10 AM, Bradley Scott wrote: Is this discussion happening?? If so, how does one join it? I have a couple of other books I'm currently engaged to review, but I look forward to catching up with The Second Coming in a week or so. BAS On Saturday, July 16, 2016, Jim Forest wrote: If nothing more happens (the discussion has been intensely Quakerish so far), it was a joy re-reading the book. Jim On Fri, Jul 15, 2016 at 7:46 AM, janetcantor37 at yahoo.com wrote: What happened to the slow read of The Second Coming?Janet Cantor -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kennenathens at frontier.com Sat Jul 16 09:28:44 2016 From: kennenathens at frontier.com (Ken Armstrong) Date: Sat, 16 Jul 2016 09:28:44 -0400 Subject: [percy-l] the second coning In-Reply-To: <3854726b-e551-7379-e857-0e263bfb52bd@gmail.com> References: <3854726b-e551-7379-e857-0e263bfb52bd@gmail.com> Message-ID: Henry, thank you for getting me back on the list, to which I'm posting this as a test and to answer your first email to me off the list. I'm subscribed at only this one email address and would be glad to pick up the discussion of 2nd Coming (which I thought I'd substantially missed), but am on the way out of town for the day so would have to beg off until at least tomorrow. Since we're to do this "democratically" it appears anyone ready and willing could post some remarks on Ch1 &/or 2 to kick things off? Jim? Janet? Stacy? How many people are subscribed to the list? Perhaps this would be a good point to say that it is an open list and anyone subscribed is welcome to join in the Second Coming or any other discussion. Thanks again. Ken On 7/16/2016 8:49 AM, Henry P. Mills wrote: > > Jim, thanks for your listserv submission below. Perhaps your > excellent wit will spark some conversation? As an aside, could you > confirm for me that you received a copy of the message yourself after > you submitted it to the listserv? > > Also, apologies for not getting back to you about your last message to > me about what a chapter leader does. After considering how to handle > reading the SC, I made the suggestion to the list that discussion and > leadership for chapter by chapter discussion be completely open and > "democratic" this time. I am hoping you saw that message. > > Please do let me know if you received your own message below. Others > have recently been having some difficulties I am working to resolve. > Your message came successfuly to me and is also in the Percy-L > archives at: > http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/ > > Many thanks, > > Henry > > > On 7/16/16 7:10 AM, Jim Forest wrote: >> If nothing more happens (the discussion has been intensely Quakerish >> so far), it was a joy re-reading the book. >> >> Jim >> >> On Fri, Jul 15, 2016 at 7:46 AM, janetcantor37 at yahoo.com >> > > wrote: >> >> What happened to the slow read of The Second Coming? >> Janet Cantor >> >> >> >> * Percy-L Discussion Archives: >> http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/ >> >> * Manage Your Membership: >> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/percy-l >> >> * Contact the Moderator: percy-l-owner (at) lists.ibiblio.org >> >> >> * Visit The Walker Percy Project: http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy >> >> >> >> >> -- >> just out: >> *The Root of War is Fear: Thomas Merton's Advice to Peacemakers:* >> http://jimandnancyforest.com/2016/06/root-of-war-is-fear/ >> >> recent books: >> *Loving Our Enemies: Reflections on the Hardest Commandment: * >> www.jimandnancyforest.com/2014/07/loving-our-enemies/ >> >> *Saint Nicholas and the Nine Gold Coins: * >> www.jimandnancyforest.com/2015/04/saint-nicholas-and-the-nine-gold-coins/ >> >> >> *Books in print*: www.jimandnancyforest.com/books/ >> >> *Jim & Nancy web site*: www.jimandnancyforest.com >> >> *Photo albums*: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimforest/albums >> *Facebook*: https://www.facebook.com/jim.forest1 >> >> *Jim & Nancy Forest* >> Kanisstraat 5 / 1811 GJ Alkmaar / The Netherlands >> >> * * * >> >> >> * Percy-L Discussion Archives:http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/ >> >> * Manage Your Membership:http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/percy-l >> >> * Contact the Moderator: percy-l-owner (at) lists.ibiblio.org >> >> * Visit The Walker Percy Project:http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy > > > -- > Henry P. Mills > Director & Editor > The Walker Percy Project > www.ibiblio.org/wpercy > > > * Percy-L Discussion Archives: http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/ > > * Manage Your Membership: http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/percy-l > > * Contact the Moderator: percy-l-owner (at) lists.ibiblio.org > > * Visit The Walker Percy Project: http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wppdirector at gmail.com Sat Jul 16 09:47:43 2016 From: wppdirector at gmail.com (Henry P. Mills) Date: Sat, 16 Jul 2016 09:47:43 -0400 Subject: [percy-l] the second coming In-Reply-To: References: <3854726b-e551-7379-e857-0e263bfb52bd@gmail.com> Message-ID: <07f6a1fb-54c2-289d-6bec-3f7c79c9f371@gmail.com> Ken, thanks. Please do open discussion with any comments or sharings you wish to offer about the Second Coming. It is a delightful book, is it not? To answer your question, the Democratic Republic of Percy-L has roughly 140 Sons and Daughters of the Apocalypse dispersed worldwide at all levels of Percy interest. Some members prefer to remain silent simply as listeners, avoiding the sniper fire and golf sand traps, and of course that is perfectly fine. Any member, of course, may make a contribution at any time, and the list is open to anyone who wishes to join. Your and others' more active participation is most appreciated by all, I am certain, and I look forward to any future contributions you have to offer whenever you next have a chance. In the meantime, happy travels and may you not fall out of any caves or have any toothaches! All best, Henry On 7/16/16 9:28 AM, Ken Armstrong wrote: > > Henry, thank you for getting me back on the list, to which I'm posting > this as a test and to answer your first email to me off the list. I'm > subscribed at only this one email address and would be glad to pick up > the discussion of 2nd Coming (which I thought I'd substantially > missed), but am on the way out of town for the day so would have to > beg off until at least tomorrow. Since we're to do this > "democratically" it appears anyone ready and willing could post some > remarks on Ch1 &/or 2 to kick things off? Jim? Janet? Stacy? > > How many people are subscribed to the list? Perhaps this would be a > good point to say that it is an open list and anyone subscribed is > welcome to join in the Second Coming or any other discussion. > > Thanks again. > > Ken > > > On 7/16/2016 8:49 AM, Henry P. Mills wrote: >> >> Jim, thanks for your listserv submission below. Perhaps your >> excellent wit will spark some conversation? As an aside, could you >> confirm for me that you received a copy of the message yourself after >> you submitted it to the listserv? >> >> Also, apologies for not getting back to you about your last message >> to me about what a chapter leader does. After considering how to >> handle reading the SC, I made the suggestion to the list that >> discussion and leadership for chapter by chapter discussion be >> completely open and "democratic" this time. I am hoping you saw that >> message. >> >> Please do let me know if you received your own message below. Others >> have recently been having some difficulties I am working to resolve. >> Your message came successfuly to me and is also in the Percy-L >> archives at: >> http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/ >> >> Many thanks, >> >> Henry >> >> >> On 7/16/16 7:10 AM, Jim Forest wrote: >>> If nothing more happens (the discussion has been intensely Quakerish >>> so far), it was a joy re-reading the book. >>> >>> Jim >>> >>> On Fri, Jul 15, 2016 at 7:46 AM, janetcantor37 at yahoo.com >>> >> > wrote: >>> >>> What happened to the slow read of The Second Coming? >>> Janet Cantor >>> >>> >>> >>> * Percy-L Discussion Archives: >>> http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/ >>> >>> * Manage Your Membership: >>> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/percy-l >>> >>> * Contact the Moderator: percy-l-owner (at) lists.ibiblio.org >>> >>> >>> * Visit The Walker Percy Project: http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> just out: >>> *The Root of War is Fear: Thomas Merton's Advice to Peacemakers:* >>> http://jimandnancyforest.com/2016/06/root-of-war-is-fear/ >>> >>> recent books: >>> *Loving Our Enemies: Reflections on the Hardest Commandment: * >>> www.jimandnancyforest.com/2014/07/loving-our-enemies/ >>> >>> *Saint Nicholas and the Nine Gold Coins: * >>> www.jimandnancyforest.com/2015/04/saint-nicholas-and-the-nine-gold-coins/ >>> >>> >>> *Books in print*: www.jimandnancyforest.com/books/ >>> >>> *Jim & Nancy web site*: www.jimandnancyforest.com >>> >>> *Photo albums*: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimforest/albums >>> *Facebook*: https://www.facebook.com/jim.forest1 >>> >>> *Jim & Nancy Forest* >>> Kanisstraat 5 / 1811 GJ Alkmaar / The Netherlands >>> >>> * * * >>> >>> >>> * Percy-L Discussion Archives:http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/ >>> >>> * Manage Your Membership:http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/percy-l >>> >>> * Contact the Moderator: percy-l-owner (at) lists.ibiblio.org >>> >>> * Visit The Walker Percy Project:http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy >> >> >> -- >> Henry P. Mills >> Director & Editor >> The Walker Percy Project >> www.ibiblio.org/wpercy >> >> >> * Percy-L Discussion Archives:http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/ >> >> * Manage Your Membership:http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/percy-l >> >> * Contact the Moderator: percy-l-owner (at) lists.ibiblio.org >> >> * Visit The Walker Percy Project:http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy > -- Henry P. Mills Director & Editor The Walker Percy Project www.ibiblio.org/wpercy -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From janetcantor37 at yahoo.com Sat Jul 16 09:56:01 2016 From: janetcantor37 at yahoo.com (janetcantor37 at yahoo.com) Date: Sat, 16 Jul 2016 13:56:01 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [percy-l] the second coming In-Reply-To: <07f6a1fb-54c2-289d-6bec-3f7c79c9f371@gmail.com> References: <3854726b-e551-7379-e857-0e263bfb52bd@gmail.com> <07f6a1fb-54c2-289d-6bec-3f7c79c9f371@gmail.com> Message-ID: <1038032986.204480.1468677361906.JavaMail.yahoo@mail.yahoo.com> Only 140?Wow.Janet Cantor From: Henry P. Mills To: Ken Armstrong ; Percy-L: Literary and Philosophical Discussion Sent: Saturday, July 16, 2016 9:47 AM Subject: Re: [percy-l] the second coming Ken, thanks.? Please do open discussion with any comments or sharings you wish to offer about the Second Coming.? It is a delightful book, is it not?? To answer your question, the Democratic Republic of Percy-L has roughly 140 Sons and Daughters of the Apocalypse dispersed worldwide at all levels of Percy interest.?? Some members prefer to remain silent simply as listeners, avoiding the sniper fire and golf sand traps, and of course that is perfectly fine.? Any member, of course, may make a contribution at any time, and the list is open to anyone who wishes to join.? Your and others' more active participation is most appreciated by all, I am certain, and I look forward to any future contributions you have to offer whenever you next have a chance.? In the meantime, happy travels and may you not fall out of any caves or have any toothaches! All best, Henry -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jhforest at gmail.com Sat Jul 16 11:57:04 2016 From: jhforest at gmail.com (Jim Forest) Date: Sat, 16 Jul 2016 17:57:04 +0200 Subject: [percy-l] slow read of The Second Coming Message-ID: Just to put a toe in the water in our so-far-silent discussion of ?The Second Coming?: We start on a golf course. For Walker Percy, golf courses serve as symbols of an affluent life that has lost an interest in what Percy called ?the search? in ?The Moviegoer,? his first novel. When Will Barrett falls on the green and sees the world upside down, he focuses on an apocalyptic cumulous cloud that makes him think of Hiroshima. And then it crosses his mind to shoot himself. Suicide is one of the novel?s core issues. Will is amazed at the lengths people will go to hide from themselves the fact that their lives are farcical. They play golf, drink, converse, laugh, attend church services, crack jokes and ?deceive themselves into believing that things are going well.? By the yardstick of his fellow golfers, Will is as nutty as a fruitcake, though it?s a condition readily forgiven as Will, owner of the local mountain, is on top of the money pile. Lying on the fairway, Will becomes hyper-alert, aware that -- at least at certain moments -- the brain forgets nothing: the smell of chalk dust, the feel of hot corduroy, etc -- it?s all there. Will remembers a wedge-shaped patch of weeds and Ethel Rosenblum in her cheerleader uniform, a girl he wanted so badly he fell down. An earlier fall. In Second Coming, falling is an important state to be in. What would life have been like, Will wonders, with Ethel Rosenblum? ?Would he have been better off?? Would he be thinking about shooting himself in the head? All is not well with Will. -- Jim Forest * * * just out: *The Root of War is Fear: Thomas Merton's Advice to Peacemakers:* http://jimandnancyforest.com/2016/06/root-of-war-is-fear/ recent books: *Loving Our Enemies: Reflections on the Hardest Commandment: * www.jimandnancyforest.com/2014/07/loving-our-enemies/ *Saint Nicholas and the Nine Gold Coins: * www.jimandnancyforest.com/2015/04/saint-nicholas-and-the-nine-gold-coins/ *Books in print*: www.jimandnancyforest.com/books/ *Jim & Nancy web site*: www.jimandnancyforest.com *Photo albums*: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimforest/albums *Facebook*: https://www.facebook.com/jim.forest1 *Jim & Nancy Forest* Kanisstraat 5 / 1811 GJ Alkmaar / The Netherlands * * * -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From janetcantor37 at yahoo.com Sat Jul 16 11:02:39 2016 From: janetcantor37 at yahoo.com (janetcantor37 at yahoo.com) Date: Sat, 16 Jul 2016 15:02:39 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [percy-l] Comments on the first assigned reading of The Second Coming References: <375643049.238509.1468681359544.JavaMail.yahoo.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <375643049.238509.1468681359544.JavaMail.yahoo@mail.yahoo.com> The book opens with a reminder of the opening of The Moviegoer as our protagonist is lying, face pressed to earth in a bunker surveying his surroundings. Instead of a dung beetle, this time it is a strange bird flying overhead.???There are the usual Percy obsessions, golf, people who seem happy but maybe not, because they don't realize why they shouldn't be, a hero who seems to be at sea about himself, drifting, yet there are real people and he is participating in ?real life ordinary situations; there are negroes, Jews, a water tower, a girl that seems to have mattered, things going on in the brain.And this is just in the first twelve pages. So much to draw on for the rest of the novel. Along the way there is Percy's whimsy, mock seriousness and gorgeous writing.Now we branch out to the south and Churches. More of this to come surely. There is a to be or not to be moment. But he says no, because then he would not find the answers, among them about the Jews and if they are a sign.Why, it is Will Barrett of The Last Gentleman. Percy decided he wasn't finished with him. Percy wanted to find out the answers, too. Another reminder of The Moviegoer comes when a shot grazes his calf and he is snapped out of his malaise. The first chapter closes with one of Percy's marvelous character drawings, Ewell McBee, and a terrific tour de force bit of philosophy. Now we meet a strange woman whom Percy uses as an example of another of his obsessions, how we communicate. There is some sweetly humorous writing about language and how others perceive what she means even if she doesn't know what she is saying or how to say it. Words, she comes to understand are signals, part of an agreed upon code. Semiotics.??Allison it is. And her peculiarities are best read as Percy tells about them. But there is a sense as you read about Allison that Will and she will come together somehow and fill each other's needs.For her to subsist now that she has escaped the asylum, Allison has written herself notes to remind herself that Aunt Sally (Kemp) has left her an estate. There is some money there. Sally can restore to her lost memory the forgotten feeling of being free. Things I liked already from the reading of the first assigned pages: A cat is 100 percent himself, but no man is. Some men were spectators merely occupying space and were only 2% of themselves.?When the shot grazed Will in the thigh, the cat jumped four feet in the air and was reduced to zero percent of himself. Looking for himself in mirrors like Count Dracula. The meaning of the Jews and their comings and goings - now gone from this place Is it a sign? When Jews pull out the gentiles begin acting crazy - and the rest of that splendid paragraph on page 19. So ends out first assigned reading. So much to consider already. We are in the hands of a marvelous novelist. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rhonda_mcdonnell at msn.com Sun Jul 17 01:26:36 2016 From: rhonda_mcdonnell at msn.com (RHONDA MCDONNELL) Date: Sun, 17 Jul 2016 05:26:36 +0000 Subject: [percy-l] slow read of The Second Coming In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Great kick off Jim!! I agree about the golf courses. Additionally, golf courses seem representative of a "new" South for Percy. Consider the Vaughts, embodiment of the new South, live on a golf course. In this sequel the golf course is the sort of non-place Percy sees the South as having become, spun loose from history. Will, however, in falling onto the golf course reconnects to the actual land, and thereby begins the process of connecting to his memories. Lying at the heart of those memories is suicide, an impulse that continues to haunt him. Allie is juxtaposed with him, as she remembers almost nothing. On an unrelated note, what do you all make of her androgyny? The boyish haircut and clothes? Good to see a bit of life on the list! Rhonda Sent from my iPhone On Jul 16, 2016, at 9:17 AM, Jim Forest > wrote: Just to put a toe in the water in our so-far-silent discussion of "The Second Coming": We start on a golf course. For Walker Percy, golf courses serve as symbols of an affluent life that has lost an interest in what Percy called "the search" in "The Moviegoer," his first novel. When Will Barrett falls on the green and sees the world upside down, he focuses on an apocalyptic cumulous cloud that makes him think of Hiroshima. And then it crosses his mind to shoot himself. Suicide is one of the novel's core issues. Will is amazed at the lengths people will go to hide from themselves the fact that their lives are farcical. They play golf, drink, converse, laugh, attend church services, crack jokes and "deceive themselves into believing that things are going well." By the yardstick of his fellow golfers, Will is as nutty as a fruitcake, though it's a condition readily forgiven as Will, owner of the local mountain, is on top of the money pile. Lying on the fairway, Will becomes hyper-alert, aware that -- at least at certain moments -- the brain forgets nothing: the smell of chalk dust, the feel of hot corduroy, etc -- it's all there. Will remembers a wedge-shaped patch of weeds and Ethel Rosenblum in her cheerleader uniform, a girl he wanted so badly he fell down. An earlier fall. In Second Coming, falling is an important state to be in. What would life have been like, Will wonders, with Ethel Rosenblum? "Would he have been better off?" Would he be thinking about shooting himself in the head? All is not well with Will. -- Jim Forest * * * just out: The Root of War is Fear: Thomas Merton's Advice to Peacemakers: http://jimandnancyforest.com/2016/06/root-of-war-is-fear/ recent books: Loving Our Enemies: Reflections on the Hardest Commandment: www.jimandnancyforest.com/2014/07/loving-our-enemies/ Saint Nicholas and the Nine Gold Coins: www.jimandnancyforest.com/2015/04/saint-nicholas-and-the-nine-gold-coins/ Books in print: www.jimandnancyforest.com/books/ Jim & Nancy web site: www.jimandnancyforest.com Photo albums: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimforest/albums Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jim.forest1 Jim & Nancy Forest Kanisstraat 5 / 1811 GJ Alkmaar / The Netherlands * * * * Percy-L Discussion Archives: http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/ * Manage Your Membership: http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/percy-l * Contact the Moderator: percy-l-owner (at) lists.ibiblio.org * Visit The Walker Percy Project: http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From janetcantor37 at yahoo.com Sun Jul 17 01:38:45 2016 From: janetcantor37 at yahoo.com (janetcantor37 at yahoo.com) Date: Sun, 17 Jul 2016 05:38:45 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [percy-l] Comments on the first assigned reading of The Second Coming In-Reply-To: <1800700803.478856.1468733845732.JavaMail.yahoo@mail.yahoo.com> References: <375643049.238509.1468681359544.JavaMail.yahoo.ref@mail.yahoo.com> <375643049.238509.1468681359544.JavaMail.yahoo@mail.yahoo.com> <362650349.246862.1468682286195.JavaMail.yahoo@mail.yahoo.com> <1800700803.478856.1468733845732.JavaMail.yahoo@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1974422684.486520.1468733925139.JavaMail.yahoo@mail.yahoo.com> My notes show up in the archives, but I don't know if they showed up in List members' mail so I am posting them a second time: The book opens with a reminder of the opening of The Moviegoer as our protagonist is lying, face pressed to earth in a bunker surveying his surroundings. Instead of a dung beetle, this time it is a strange bird flying overhead. ???There are the usual Percy obsessions, golf, people who seem happy but maybe not, because they don't realize why they shouldn't be, a hero who seems to be at sea about himself, drifting, yet there are real people and he is participating in ?real life ordinary situations; there are negroes, Jews, a water tower, a girl that seems to have mattered, things going on in the brain.And this is just in the first twelve pages. So much to draw on for the rest of the novel. Along the way there is Percy's whimsy, mock seriousness and gorgeous writing.Now we branch out to the south and Churches. More of this to come surely. There is a to be or not to be moment. But he says no, because then he would not find the answers, among them about the Jews and if they are a sign.Why, it is Will Barrett of The Last Gentleman. Percy decided he wasn't finished with him. Percy wanted to find out the answers, too. Another reminder of The Moviegoer comes when a shot grazes his calf and he is snapped out of his malaise. The first chapter closes with one of Percy's marvelous character drawings, Ewell McBee, and a terrific tour de force bit of philosophy. Now we meet a strange woman whom Percy uses as an example of another of his obsessions, how we communicate. There is some sweetly humorous writing about language and how others perceive what she means even if she doesn't know what she is saying or how to say it. Words, she comes to understand are signals, part of an agreed upon code. Semiotics.??Allison it is. And her peculiarities are best read as Percy tells about them. But there is a sense as you read about Allison that Will and she will come together somehow and fill each other's needs.For her to subsist now that she has escaped the asylum, Allison has written herself notes to remind herself that Aunt Sally (Kemp) has left her an estate. There is some money there. Sally can restore to her lost memory the forgotten feeling of being free. Things I liked already from the reading of the first assigned pages: A cat is 100 percent himself, but no man is. Some men were spectators merely occupying space and were only 2% of themselves.?When the shot grazed Will in the thigh, the cat jumped four feet in the air and was reduced to zero percent of himself. Looking for himself in mirrors like Count Dracula. The meaning of the Jews and their comings and goings - now gone from this place Is it a sign? When Jews pull out the gentiles begin acting crazy - and the rest of that splendid paragraph on page 19. So ends our first assigned reading. So much to consider already. We are in the hands of a marvelous novelist. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From lauren.stacy.berdy at gmail.com Sun Jul 17 11:55:15 2016 From: lauren.stacy.berdy at gmail.com (Lauren Stacy Berdy) Date: Sun, 17 Jul 2016 11:55:15 -0400 Subject: [percy-l] slow read of The Second Coming In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I want like to bring the discussion back to our own inner lives From the beginning I understand Will's pain talking to pain. We all inside of us have a constant inner dialogue that guides and drives us ( sometimes crazy) For myself as I read of the "pied weed at the edge of the rough gave off a faint acrid smell which rose to his nostrils" He was even then beginning to re-own his thoughts........the sweet thoughts that come thru before ego plays its role. I know nothing of the game of golf but I read once that the best happens when you leave thinking alone. All of this is to say that Will is beginning to sense that his thoughts have separated him from his essential nature. (" rather than a self sucking everything into itself") He is still telling himself stories of Ethel Rosenbaum and broken subway tiles and the missing Jews............but that's the pain mind talking. but he has splendid moments when the shadows clear .........as we all do................ onward. Thank you Lauren Stacy Berdy (614) 314-4162 cell (754) 816-7508 Lauren.Stacy.Berdy at gmail.com LaurenBrdy at aol.com LaurenStacyBerdy.com On 7/17/2016 1:26 AM, RHONDA MCDONNELL wrote: > Great kick off Jim!! > > I agree about the golf courses. Additionally, golf courses seem > representative of a "new" South for Percy. Consider the Vaughts, > embodiment of the new South, live on a golf course. In this sequel the > golf course is the sort of non-place Percy sees the South as having > become, spun loose from history. Will, however, in falling onto the > golf course reconnects to the actual land, and thereby begins the > process of connecting to his memories. Lying at the heart of those > memories is suicide, an impulse that continues to haunt him. > > Allie is juxtaposed with him, as she remembers almost nothing. > > On an unrelated note, what do you all make of her androgyny? The > boyish haircut and clothes? > > Good to see a bit of life on the list! > > Rhonda > > Sent from my iPhone > > On Jul 16, 2016, at 9:17 AM, Jim Forest > wrote: > >> Just to put a toe in the water in our so-far-silent discussion of >> ?The Second Coming?: >> >> We start on a golf course. For Walker Percy, golf courses serve as >> symbols of an affluent life that has lost an interest in what Percy >> called ?the search? in ?The Moviegoer,? his first novel. >> >> When Will Barrett falls on the green and sees the world upside down, >> he focuses on an apocalyptic cumulous cloud that makes him think of >> Hiroshima. >> >> And then it crosses his mind to shoot himself. >> >> Suicide is one of the novel?s core issues. >> >> Will is amazed at the lengths people will go to hide from themselves >> the fact that their lives are farcical. They play golf, drink, >> converse, laugh, attend church services, crack jokes and ?deceive >> themselves into believing that things are going well.? >> >> By the yardstick of his fellow golfers, Will is as nutty as a >> fruitcake, though it?s a condition readily forgiven as Will, owner of >> the local mountain, is on top of the money pile. >> >> Lying on the fairway, Will becomes hyper-alert, aware that -- at >> least at certain moments -- the brain forgets nothing: the smell of >> chalk dust, the feel of hot corduroy, etc -- it?s all there. Will >> remembers a wedge-shaped patch of weeds and Ethel Rosenblum in her >> cheerleader uniform, a girl he wanted so badly he fell down. An >> earlier fall. In Second Coming, falling is an important state to be in. >> >> What would life have been like, Will wonders, with Ethel Rosenblum? >> ?Would he have been better off?? Would he be thinking about shooting >> himself in the head? >> >> All is not well with Will. >> >> -- Jim Forest >> >> * * * >> >> just out: >> >> *The Root of War is Fear: Thomas Merton's Advice to Peacemakers:* >> http://jimandnancyforest.com/2016/06/root-of-war-is-fear/ >> >> recent books: >> >> *Loving Our Enemies: Reflections on the Hardest Commandment: * >> www.jimandnancyforest.com/2014/07/loving-our-enemies/ >> >> *Saint Nicholas and the Nine Gold Coins: * >> www.jimandnancyforest.com/2015/04/saint-nicholas-and-the-nine-gold-coins/ >> >> >> *Books in print*: www.jimandnancyforest.com/books/ >> >> *Jim & Nancy web site*: www.jimandnancyforest.com >> >> *Photo albums*: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimforest/albums >> >> *Facebook*: https://www.facebook.com/jim.forest1 >> >> *Jim & Nancy Forest* >> Kanisstraat 5 / 1811 GJ Alkmaar / The Netherlands >> >> * * * >> * Percy-L Discussion Archives: >> http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/ >> >> >> * Manage Your Membership: >> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/percy-l >> >> >> * Contact the Moderator: percy-l-owner (at) lists.ibiblio.org >> >> >> * Visit The Walker Percy Project: http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy > > > * Percy-L Discussion Archives: http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/ > > * Manage Your Membership: http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/percy-l > > * Contact the Moderator: percy-l-owner (at) lists.ibiblio.org > > * Visit The Walker Percy Project: http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kterrell at stokeswagner.com Sun Jul 17 14:07:51 2016 From: kterrell at stokeswagner.com (Karl M. Terrell) Date: Sun, 17 Jul 2016 18:07:51 +0000 Subject: [percy-l] slow read of The Second Coming In-Reply-To: References: , Message-ID: <5E07FD6D-4F32-4BCD-A691-5E0EC068CCE6@stokeswagner.com> I recall Percy, when asked once about the so-called New South, in effect stating that it is all he's ever known. He concluded: "My earliest memories are of a golf course." I haven't started my re-read, but isn't there a moment in the first chapter where Will sees his image double-reflected in the Mercedes dark window glass and side view mirror (so that he sees a 'right way around' image of himself)? Sent from my iPhone On Jul 17, 2016, at 11:56 AM, Lauren Stacy Berdy > wrote: I want like to bring the discussion back to our own inner lives >From the beginning I understand Will's pain talking to pain. We all inside of us have a constant inner dialogue that guides and drives us ( sometimes crazy) For myself as I read of the "pied weed at the edge of the rough gave off a faint acrid smell which rose to his nostrils" He was even then beginning to re-own his thoughts........the sweet thoughts that come thru before ego plays its role. I know nothing of the game of golf but I read once that the best happens when you leave thinking alone. All of this is to say that Will is beginning to sense that his thoughts have separated him from his essential nature. (" rather than a self sucking everything into itself") He is still telling himself stories of Ethel Rosenbaum and broken subway tiles and the missing Jews............but that's the pain mind talking. but he has splendid moments when the shadows clear .........as we all do................ onward. Thank you Lauren Stacy Berdy (614) 314-4162 cell (754) 816-7508 Lauren.Stacy.Berdy at gmail.com LaurenBrdy at aol.com LaurenStacyBerdy.com On 7/17/2016 1:26 AM, RHONDA MCDONNELL wrote: Great kick off Jim!! I agree about the golf courses. Additionally, golf courses seem representative of a "new" South for Percy. Consider the Vaughts, embodiment of the new South, live on a golf course. In this sequel the golf course is the sort of non-place Percy sees the South as having become, spun loose from history. Will, however, in falling onto the golf course reconnects to the actual land, and thereby begins the process of connecting to his memories. Lying at the heart of those memories is suicide, an impulse that continues to haunt him. Allie is juxtaposed with him, as she remembers almost nothing. On an unrelated note, what do you all make of her androgyny? The boyish haircut and clothes? Good to see a bit of life on the list! Rhonda Sent from my iPhone On Jul 16, 2016, at 9:17 AM, Jim Forest > wrote: Just to put a toe in the water in our so-far-silent discussion of ?The Second Coming?: We start on a golf course. For Walker Percy, golf courses serve as symbols of an affluent life that has lost an interest in what Percy called ?the search? in ?The Moviegoer,? his first novel. When Will Barrett falls on the green and sees the world upside down, he focuses on an apocalyptic cumulous cloud that makes him think of Hiroshima. And then it crosses his mind to shoot himself. Suicide is one of the novel?s core issues. Will is amazed at the lengths people will go to hide from themselves the fact that their lives are farcical. They play golf, drink, converse, laugh, attend church services, crack jokes and ?deceive themselves into believing that things are going well.? By the yardstick of his fellow golfers, Will is as nutty as a fruitcake, though it?s a condition readily forgiven as Will, owner of the local mountain, is on top of the money pile. Lying on the fairway, Will becomes hyper-alert, aware that -- at least at certain moments -- the brain forgets nothing: the smell of chalk dust, the feel of hot corduroy, etc -- it?s all there. Will remembers a wedge-shaped patch of weeds and Ethel Rosenblum in her cheerleader uniform, a girl he wanted so badly he fell down. An earlier fall. In Second Coming, falling is an important state to be in. What would life have been like, Will wonders, with Ethel Rosenblum? ?Would he have been better off?? Would he be thinking about shooting himself in the head? All is not well with Will. -- Jim Forest * * * just out: The Root of War is Fear: Thomas Merton's Advice to Peacemakers: http://jimandnancyforest.com/2016/06/root-of-war-is-fear/ recent books: Loving Our Enemies: Reflections on the Hardest Commandment: www.jimandnancyforest.com/2014/07/loving-our-enemies/ Saint Nicholas and the Nine Gold Coins: www.jimandnancyforest.com/2015/04/saint-nicholas-and-the-nine-gold-coins/ Books in print: www.jimandnancyforest.com/books/ Jim & Nancy web site: www.jimandnancyforest.com Photo albums: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimforest/albums Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jim.forest1 Jim & Nancy Forest Kanisstraat 5 / 1811 GJ Alkmaar / The Netherlands * * * * Percy-L Discussion Archives: http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/ * Manage Your Membership: http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/percy-l * Contact the Moderator: percy-l-owner (at) lists.ibiblio.org * Visit The Walker Percy Project: http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy * Percy-L Discussion Archives: http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/ * Manage Your Membership: http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/percy-l * Contact the Moderator: percy-l-owner (at) lists.ibiblio.org * Visit The Walker Percy Project: http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy ________________________________ [Avast logo] This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. www.avast.com * Percy-L Discussion Archives: http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/ * Manage Your Membership: http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/percy-l * Contact the Moderator: percy-l-owner (at) lists.ibiblio.org * Visit The Walker Percy Project: http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jhforest at gmail.com Sun Jul 17 16:09:50 2016 From: jhforest at gmail.com (Jim Forest) Date: Sun, 17 Jul 2016 22:09:50 +0200 Subject: [percy-l] Comments on the first assigned reading of The Second Coming In-Reply-To: <375643049.238509.1468681359544.JavaMail.yahoo@mail.yahoo.com> References: <375643049.238509.1468681359544.JavaMail.yahoo.ref@mail.yahoo.com> <375643049.238509.1468681359544.JavaMail.yahoo@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Janet wrote: >> Now we branch out to the south and Churches. More of this to come surely. Will (Percy) has lots to say about churches and Christians -- this is one of the book?s major topics. Page 12: Will ?lived in the most Christian nation in the world, the USA, in the most Christian part of the nation?? Much more coming re Christians in later chapters. Yet, in contrast to a cat, which in 100 percent itself, both the Christians and the non-Christians are two percent themselves. Will Barrett too until grazed by the wakeup call of a bullet. Page 18: ?It takes a gunshot to restore a man to himself.? Then, as Janet points out, Will is haunted/obsessed with the Jews and his sense they have all packed their bags and moved to Israel. Some kind of apocalyptic sign? ?Who said we could get along without the Jews?? (Page 19) One wonders what Jewish presence/absence meant not just to Will but to Percy? Jim * * * On Sat, Jul 16, 2016 at 5:02 PM, janetcantor37 at yahoo.com < janetcantor37 at yahoo.com> wrote: > The book opens with a reminder of the opening of The Moviegoer as our > protagonist is lying, face pressed to earth in a bunker surveying his > surroundings. Instead of a dung beetle, this time it is a strange bird > flying overhead. > > There are the usual Percy obsessions, golf, people who seem happy but > maybe not, because they don't realize why they shouldn't be, a hero who > seems to be at sea about himself, drifting, yet there are real people and > he is participating in real life ordinary situations; there are negroes, > Jews, a water tower, a girl that seems to have mattered, things going on in > the brain. > And this is just in the first twelve pages. So much to draw on for the > rest of the novel. Along the way there is Percy's whimsy, mock seriousness > and gorgeous writing. > Now we branch out to the south and Churches. More of this to come surely. > > There is a to be or not to be moment. But he says no, because then he > would not find the answers, among them about the Jews and if they are a > sign. > Why, it is Will Barrett of The Last Gentleman. Percy decided he wasn't > finished with him. Percy wanted to find out the answers, too. > > Another reminder of The Moviegoer comes when a shot grazes his calf and he > is snapped out of his malaise. The first chapter closes with one of Percy's > marvelous character drawings, Ewell McBee, and a terrific tour de force bit > of philosophy. > > Now we meet a strange woman whom Percy uses as an example of another of > his obsessions, how we communicate. There is some sweetly humorous writing > about language and how others perceive what she means even if she doesn't > know what she is saying or how to say it. Words, she comes to understand > are signals, part of an agreed upon code. Semiotics. > Allison it is. And her peculiarities are best read as Percy tells about > them. But there is a sense as you read about Allison that Will and she will > come together somehow and fill each other's needs. > For her to subsist now that she has escaped the asylum, Allison has > written herself notes to remind herself that Aunt Sally (Kemp) has left her > an estate. There is some money there. Sally can restore to her lost memory > the forgotten feeling of being free. > > Things I liked already from the reading of the first assigned pages: > > A cat is 100 percent himself, but no man is. Some men were spectators > merely occupying space and were only 2% of themselves. > When the shot grazed Will in the thigh, the cat jumped four feet in the > air and was reduced to zero percent of himself. > > Looking for himself in mirrors like Count Dracula. > > The meaning of the Jews and their comings and goings - now gone from this > place Is it a sign? When Jews pull out the gentiles begin acting crazy - > and the rest of that splendid paragraph on page 19. > > So ends out first assigned reading. So much to consider already. We are in > the hands of a marvelous novelist. > > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From janetcantor37 at yahoo.com Mon Jul 18 07:54:31 2016 From: janetcantor37 at yahoo.com (janetcantor37 at yahoo.com) Date: Mon, 18 Jul 2016 11:54:31 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [percy-l] Second Coming slow read References: <1522353984.968864.1468842871222.JavaMail.yahoo.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1522353984.968864.1468842871222.JavaMail.yahoo@mail.yahoo.com> As usual, I find Lauren Stacey Berdy's contributions fascinating.I tend to look at the language at first in a surface way and not make my conclusions until I piece it all together. But I love the way each contributor reads in a different way. Percy is fabulous because he speaks to each of us in separate ways. And each way is valid.Yes, we have inner dialogues. I certainly do, as I am evaluating my every thought and choice. And I am hoping that I am making good choices and not simply rationalizing my behavior to suit my self story, but carrying out my life to do good and be good. And to have a good time while I am at it.I like that comment about seeing himself double reflected so instead of seeing himself in reverse, he sees himself real.And there is going to have to be more about Allison as we continue the discussion.Janet Cantor I want like to bring the discussion back to our own inner lives From the beginning I understand Will's pain talking to pain. We all inside of us have a constant inner dialogue that guides and drives us ( sometimes crazy) For myself as I read of the "pied weed at the edge of the rough gave off a faint acrid smell which rose to his nostrils" He was even then beginning to re-own his thoughts........the sweet thoughts that come thru before ego plays its role. I know nothing of the game of golf but I read once that the best happens when you leave thinking alone. All of this is to say that Will is beginning to sense that his thoughts have separated him from his essential nature. (" rather than a self sucking everything into itself") He is still telling himself stories of Ethel Rosenbaum and broken subway tiles and the missing Jews............but that's the pain mind talking. but he has splendid moments when the shadows clear .........as we all do................ onward. Thank you Lauren Stacy Berdy -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kareyperkins at gmail.com Wed Jul 20 16:13:02 2016 From: kareyperkins at gmail.com (Karey Perkins) Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2016 16:13:02 -0400 Subject: [percy-l] Call for Papers Message-ID: I am chairing two sessions at SAMLA this year on Walker Percy and am in immediate (urgent) need of another paper to complete one of my panels. Are there any Walker Percy scholars interested? If you know of anyone who might be please pass this on. If you yourself are interested, please send an abstract by this Friday. Here is the Call for Papers: Call for Papers: Walker Percy?s Centennial Anniversary at SAMLA 88 Papers on Walker Percy for the centennial anniversary of his birth being celebrated at the South Atlantic Modern Language Association (SAMLA), November 4-6, 2016, in Jacksonville, Florida. https://samla.memberclicks.net/ Paper topics are open to anything celebrating Percy?s life or works, however, those that focus on the SAMLA theme of Utopias/Dystopias or the theme of the reader?s journey with Percy are especially welcomed. Send one-page abstracts to kareyperkins at gmail.com by Friday, July 22, 2016. This is a great conference and great opportunity for anyone interested in going. Smaller than the MLA, so more easygoing and intimate, yet still big enough to draw literary scholars from all over the south, and they have a great book fair. I received two offers of publication of my work (a chapter in a book, and a whole book) at last year?s conference. If it?s appropriate, please pass this on to Percy scholars or anyone who might be interested. I?d like to have something by Friday as the organizers have asked for a third paper for my panels per their rules, and the due date has passed. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jhforest at gmail.com Wed Jul 20 16:22:44 2016 From: jhforest at gmail.com (Jim Forest) Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2016 22:22:44 +0200 Subject: [percy-l] slow read of The Second coming Message-ID: Janet Cantor wrote: ?And there is going to have to be more about Allison as we continue the discussion.? I?ve been attending to chapter II, the first chunk of the book about Allison. Having read the instructions her pre-buzzed self had left for her after a session of electroshock treatment, Allison has escaped from the madhouse via a bread truck, arrived in Linwood, used some of the $400 she finds in her wallet to purchase clothing and food, gotten a hair cut, made of a bench on the main street a temporary observation post. Though stripped of memory, she occasionally gets memory flashes. She has learned from the barber the month, day and date but not the year ? is it 1978? 79? 80? Allison has experimented successfully with talking to a few people and has discovered that, while she uses words to mean what they say, other people seem to use words as signals in a code she has yet to break. (?Perhaps the secret of talking was to have something to say.?) She has also discovered that there seem to be two types of people, those with plans and those without plans and finds herself partly in both categories. Reading pre-buzz Allison?s notes to her post-buzz self, she finds that she has inherited money plus a house near Linwood and an island off the coast of Georgia. It turns out the house has burned down but there is a magnificent greenhouse that she can turn into a dwelling. In fact the greenhouse is a kind of Eden. Speaking of Eden, for me the most powerful thing about this chapter is the overwhelming freshness and innocence of Allison. I wonder if others reading the book see her, as I do, as a ?second coming? of Eve? The chapter ends on a very Eve-like note: ?For the first time in her life, she felt that it, her life, was beginning. But maybe that was because she could not remember much about her old life.? * * * -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From forestflier at gmail.com Thu Jul 21 05:57:43 2016 From: forestflier at gmail.com (Nancy Forest-Flier) Date: Thu, 21 Jul 2016 11:57:43 +0200 Subject: [percy-l] introducing myself Message-ID: Hello Percy list members, By way of introduction: my name is Nancy Forest, and in addition to my interest in all things Percy I'm a Dutch-English literary translator, an Orthodox Christian, mother of six (two of my own, four steps) and grandmother of ten (too complicated to explain). I'm also Jim Forest's wife. I'm eager to involve myself in the Second Coming discussion, which I'm now reading for the second time. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wppdirector at gmail.com Thu Jul 21 19:44:12 2016 From: wppdirector at gmail.com (Henry P. Mills) Date: Thu, 21 Jul 2016 19:44:12 -0400 Subject: [percy-l] introducing myself In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <288df563-41e0-fe4c-a799-9aa6107459d6@gmail.com> Welcome, Nancy, Glad to have you join the Percy-L community from overseas. Speaking for the list, we look forward to your shared comments on the Second Coming and during other Percy discussions in the future. Best wishes, Henry Mills Percy-L Administrator On 7/21/16 5:57 AM, Nancy Forest-Flier wrote: > Hello Percy list members, > > By way of introduction: my name is Nancy Forest, and in addition to my > interest in all things Percy I'm a Dutch-English literary translator, > an Orthodox Christian, mother of six (two of my own, four steps) and > grandmother of ten (too complicated to explain). I'm also Jim Forest's > wife. I'm eager to involve myself in the Second Coming discussion, > which I'm now reading for the second time. > > > > > * Percy-L Discussion Archives: http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/ > > * Manage Your Membership: http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/percy-l > > * Contact the Moderator: percy-l-owner (at) lists.ibiblio.org > > * Visit The Walker Percy Project: http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy -- Henry P. Mills Director & Editor The Walker Percy Project www.ibiblio.org/wpercy -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From forestflier at gmail.com Fri Jul 22 13:50:36 2016 From: forestflier at gmail.com (Nancy Forest-Flier) Date: Fri, 22 Jul 2016 19:50:36 +0200 Subject: [percy-l] A slow reading of The Second Coming Message-ID: Into the third chapter of *The Second Coming*, and I?ve made an interesting discovery I?d like to share. Part 1 of chapter 3 is Will?s recollection of the Thomasville hunting incident when Will was a twelve-year-old boy. After the shots are fired, and Will finds himself alone and slightly injured, trying to figure out what exactly happened and where his father is, he says to himself, ?Then, without knowing how he knew, he knew that he was *free to act* in his own good time. (How did he know such a thing?)? And on the next page, after Will finds his injured father, he says. ?Why is it, he wondered, that I have all the time in the world to figure out what to do and the freedom to do it and that what is more I will do it? ... This is a problem and problems are for solving. All you need to do anything is time to do it, being let alone long enough to do it and a center to do it from. He had found his center.? The key word here is ?freedom.? In the previous chapter, when Allison is reading the note she wrote to herself before escaping from the asylum, she reads, ?There is one thing you must not forget, or if you have forgotten, be reminded of it here and now. It is the discovery I made last week (you made? we made?). Do you remember? ... What was my (you, our) discovery? That I could act. I was *free** to act*.? ?Free to act? is something both Allison and Will have somehow discovered separately, and both of them understand it as a very important discovery. ?How did he know such a thing?? How do we know we are free to act? Where does this knowledge come from? And, as I continue reading, am I going to find out? Nancy * * * * * * * * * * *Forest-Flier Editorial Services* Kanisstraat 5 1811 GJ Alkmaar The Netherlands tel: +31 (0)72 5154180 e-mail: forestflier at gmail.com web site: www.forestflier.com * * * * * * * * * * -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From lauren.stacy.berdy at gmail.com Sun Jul 24 13:13:12 2016 From: lauren.stacy.berdy at gmail.com (Lauren Stacy Berdy) Date: Sun, 24 Jul 2016 13:13:12 -0400 Subject: [percy-l] A slow reading of The Second Coming In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: a few thoughts to add to Nancy Forest-Flier " it is not the tongue but our very life that sings the new song" Wills life was being brought into being. Not by conformity or personality he was making himself an instrument. Body and mind are not the man but only instruments. If you will he was in the spirit............a "will" directly solely by the good of the work to be done. as for Allison..............she has a know-er inside of her.( we all do) nothing can be known or done except with accordance with a knower.........Allison is an artist in the sense of what it meant in the middle ages. ( the modern mania for attribution is the expression of a Renaissance conceit) instead the operation becomes a rite. She is a doer and all that is required of the *instrument *is obedience and efficiency. All her operations becomes a rite. A loyalty to the good of the work to be done. .She /is/ then free to act and isn't trying to express /herself. (It was once the highest purpose in life to achieve a freedom from one self. it is now our WILL to secure the greatest possible measure of freedom for oneself................no matter what........)/ /thank you / / / // Lauren Stacy Berdy (614) 314-4162 cell (754) 816-7508 Lauren.Stacy.Berdy at gmail.com LaurenBrdy at aol.com LaurenStacyBerdy.com On 7/22/2016 1:50 PM, Nancy Forest-Flier wrote: > > Into the third chapter of /The Second Coming/, and I?ve made an > interesting discovery I?d like to share. Part 1 of chapter 3 is Will?s > recollection of the Thomasville hunting incident when Will was a > twelve-year-old boy. After the shots are fired, and Will finds himself > alone and slightly injured, trying to figure out what exactly happened > and where his father is, he says to himself, ?Then, without knowing > how he knew, he knew that he was _free to act_ in his own good time. > (How did he know such a thing?)? And on the next page, after Will > finds his injured father, he says. ?Why is it, he wondered, that I > have all the time in the world to figure out what to do and the > freedom to do it and that what is more I will do it? ... This is a > problem and problems are for solving. All you need to do anything is > time to do it, being let alone long enough to do it and a center to do > it from. He had found his center.? > > The key word here is ?freedom.? In the previous chapter, when Allison > is reading the note she wrote to herself before escaping from the > asylum, she reads, ?There is one thing you must not forget, or if you > have forgotten, be reminded of it here and now. It is the discovery I > made last week (you made? we made?). Do you remember? ... What was my > (you, our) discovery? That I could act. I was /_free_/_to act_.? > > ?Free to act? is something both Allison and Will have somehow > discovered separately, and both of them understand it as a very > important discovery. ?How did he know such a thing?? How do we know we > are free to act? Where does this knowledge come from? > > And, as I continue reading, am I going to find out? > > Nancy > > * * * * * * * * * * > *Forest-Flier Editorial Services* > Kanisstraat 5 > 1811 GJ Alkmaar > The Netherlands > tel: +31 (0)72 5154180 > e-mail: forestflier at gmail.com > web site: www.forestflier.com > * * * * * * * * * * > > > * Percy-L Discussion Archives: http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/ > > * Manage Your Membership: http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/percy-l > > * Contact the Moderator: percy-l-owner (at) lists.ibiblio.org > > * Visit The Walker Percy Project: http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jhforest at gmail.com Mon Jul 25 15:53:00 2016 From: jhforest at gmail.com (Jim Forest) Date: Mon, 25 Jul 2016 21:53:00 +0200 Subject: [percy-l] slow read of Second Coming -- a question Message-ID: Knock knock... I am beginning to wonder if many of our reading group are on holiday. Should the slow reading of "Second Coming" be re-scheduled? Jim Forest -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From janetcantor37 at yahoo.com Thu Jul 28 20:05:18 2016 From: janetcantor37 at yahoo.com (janetcantor37 at yahoo.com) Date: Fri, 29 Jul 2016 00:05:18 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [percy-l] Comments on the next assigned pages of the slow read of The Second Coming References: <1515537052.7862115.1469750718576.JavaMail.yahoo.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1515537052.7862115.1469750718576.JavaMail.yahoo@mail.yahoo.com> Now we pick up more pieces. Percy likes to give us things that seem outside the story but they will all be put together in the end.? It always strikes me that Percy characters have a bit of madness or goofiness in them when they are inside their own heads. Yet Will Barrett has a real life with friends and associates who seem to respect him. They celebrated him as Man of the Year. There is always this incongruity between Percy's protagonists' real lives and inner lives.?Will has golf buddies and knows the etiquette of the game. In a good quote from the top of Page 46 Bill says unlike sin in life, in golf retribution is instantaneous. This will be a metaphor repeated, how golf and the Southern way of religion and life has replaced true faith.?Then there's the sighting of that hawk again with its precision in the dive. What does it signify?His uncharacteristic slicing of the ball has him worried. Dr. Vance Battle, the happiest man Will knows, suspects something is happening to Will, besides problems with his prostate.?His daughter is getting married. Could this be causing part of Will's disintegration? ? On page 49 there is an opening to a cave, mysteriously discovered. There is an opening that lets you disappear into it once used by Confederate soldiers to hide in. ?He remembers his father teaching him about guns when he was a boy, trying also to teach him something about life, and then shooting himself.?Some questions he has avoided since the incident about the shells of the rifle and his cheek being grazed come to his memory. His father was trying to warn him. Does knowing mean he can avoid the same fate? Back to the present. Arabs are coming. What about the Jews? What does it signify that the Jews are leaving? Jimmie Rogers introduced on page 46 as an old conman from the campus, who once saved Will, may be saving him again from something, he knows not what.?And there's that darn hawk again signifying what? Readying himself for a golf shot in the woods a shadow seems to appear behind a tree. Images of light and darkness, sun and a disappearing dark figure recapitulate a frequent theme in Percy. Light reflections show up often. This will be taken up later.As Will chases the shadowy figure he comes upon a greenhouse as big as an ark. (Refuge from a storm?)A lad, no, a woman, returned two of his golf balls to Will. One had broken a window of her greenhouse. He is wondering if she is familiar to him, this peculiar creature; then he relates in a marvelous fragment of a sentence, typical of Percy, drawing together many images, just as the reader is trying to make sense of all he has read so far of all of this: "...because all at once he became aware of himself as she saw him, of his golf clothes, beltless slacks, blue nylon shirt with the club crest, gold cap with club crest, two tone golf shoes with the fringed forward-falling tongues, and suddenly it was he not she who was odd in this silent forest, he with his little iron club and nifty fingerless glove." Another good couple of sentences - more consolidations, come soon after: "...what a nutty world, she zonked out on something, reading Rafael Sabatini and holed up alone in a ruined greenhouse, while grown middle-aged men socked little balls around a mountain meadow and hummed along in electric carts telling jokes about Jews and Germans and niggers. Atlanta and Carolina invaded by Arabs. No wonder my father wanted out." Where is reality, normalcy and where is strangeness? As he returned things were beginning to fall into place and suddenly he remembered everything. What that is we will learn in the pages to come. Phrases and things I liked in this part of the reading: 1. Page 46 - "...happy as a vet with his fist up a cow..." 2. Page 51 - ?the sounds of the cicadas which seemed to come from the pines and from the inside of one's head - ?and - the golf carts whose canopies he could see through the trees one behind the other moving as silently as sails.? 3. "War is not a change, but a poor attempt to make a change." 4. Page 75 - "Never hit a golf ball or a child in anger..." 5. The book Allison is reading is Captain Blood by Sabatini and the protagonist is described as someone born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad. That works as a description of Walker Percy and perhaps of Will Barrett as well. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: