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The San Andreas Fault in the Modern Mind

Percy delivering the 18th Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities. Three items: First a filmed record of the lecture Second, an amended transcript of the lecture Third, the very excellent Patrick Samway, SJ overviews Percy’s lifelong concern with science. By the way, the photo below was taken by artist George Rodrigue: check out Wendy’s blog (George’s widow) and her discussion…

Bourbon, Neat

Michael Baruzzini‘s thoughts on Percy’s famous “ode” to Bourbon. (A companion piece is Luis Buñuel’s recipe for the perfect Martini mentioned in his autobiography and perhaps most famously in the film The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie — for another time). Not only should connoisseurs of bourbon not read this article, neither should persons preoccupied with the…

The Moviegoer – quotes and extracts – 3

Truthfully, it is the fear of exposing my own ignorance which constrains me from mentioning the object of my search. For, to begin with, I cannot even answer this, the simplest and most basic of all questions: Am I, in my search, a hundred miles ahead of my fellow Americans or a hundred miles behind…

The Moviegoer – quotes and extracts – 2

What do you seek — God? you ask with a smile. I hesitate to answer, since all other Americans have settled the matter for themselves and to give such an answer would amount to setting myself a goal which everyone else has reached — and therefore raising a question in which no one has the…

Scandal at the National Book Awards

Speaking of Percy, here is a piece I came across examining the notion that Percy’s NBA victory for The Moviegoer in 1962 was a fix. What are prizes for, in the end? Sure, the culture machine needs them, publicity departments and the gaggle of blogs, but does literature? The glitzy rah-rah of the awards dinner, the indignation suffered…