Fragments From Here and There
Written: Jun 11 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: An interesting looking at the life an amazing author.
Cons: She died before she could finish it.
The Bottom Line: A must read for students of literature.
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| lizf's Full Review: Carson McCullers and C. L. Barney Dews - Illuminat... |
A review of life is not an orderly account from conception to death. Rather it's fragments from here and there. -- William S. Burroughs
On February 19, 1967, Carson McCuller's celebrated her 50th and last birthday. For five short years, we walked together on the same planet. Well, I was living with my parents in West Virginia and she was living in Nyack, New York. But my heart quickens at the through that the possibility existed for us to meet.
A few years ago, I made a pilgrimage to her final resting place; the home in which died and to the grave where she is buried. From reading her many works, I feel as if our souls are connected in some kind of magical other world. McCuller's is one of the few people who seems to understand and be able to express the bizarre combination of loneliness and hopefulness that I live with.
Lula Carson Smith was born in Columbus, Georgia in 1917. Her mother was insistent that Lula Carson was destined for greatness. The family originally thought this greatness would come to her as a concert pianist. However a childhood illness that went undiagnosed for a long time and was later diagnosed as rheumatic fever left her body weak and ravaged. The after affects of this illness left her without the physical stamina necessary to endure the grueling hours of practice and hectic life of a concert pianist.
During her recuperation period, Carson began reading feverously and started to consider the life of an author as an acceptable replacement for concert pianist.
In April 1938, Carson submitted an outline and six chapters for a book she titled, "The Mute" to Houghton Mifflin as an entry in a first-novel contest. Based on her entry, she was offered a contract and a 500-dollar advance. In 1940 the book, re-titled, "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" was published.
Following that she had a string of novels, short stories, and other writings. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter catapulted her into the literary spot-light. Some of her other well known works include:
* Reflections in a Golden Eye (made into a movie staring Elizabeth Taylor)
* The Ballade of the Sad Cafe
* The Member of the Wedding (which became a long running Broadway play)
* The Square Root of Wonderful
* The Clock with No Hands
Despite her literary success, her life was not easy. Tennessee Williams said, "Carson's heart was often lonely and it was a tireless hunter for those to whom she could offer it, it was a heart that was graced with light that eclipsed the shadows."
Carson married Reeves McCullers. He was also an aspiring writer and Carson's success was often a source of pain in their marriage. Reeves was an alcoholic and there is a hint he was abusive. She also struggled with additions to alcohol and cigarettes even though she suffered several strokes throughout her life. Carson was unsure of her sexuality. While she never directly identifies herself as a bi-sexual, but those in the know seem to believe that she was.
Carson wished to write this autobiography to explore the effects of success at a young age. She felt this would be therapeutic for herself. But she also believed it would be helpful to future generations of authors and artists. For me, however, the most striking part of the work was the way Carson handled life.
For Carson, the title referred to her creative insights (her illuminations) and the difficulties she faced in life (the night glare.) But for me the illumination was the light shown on her optimistic spirit and inability to be kept down.
During the final months of her life, Earl Shorris of Harper's went to visit her. In the magazine he wrote:
How painfully she spoke, gathering fractions of words in her throat, raising them through creakings to her soprano song, straining to woo and polish the sounds with her mouth. It was after the stroke; her hand was clubbed, she could not walk. She had not learned to use the tape records that had been given to her; it seemed to have been born broken. But she was writing, dictating to a secretary somehow getting it down, proving at the least that the indomitably of the human spirit which is the resolving power of her work, was not artifice...
At the end as her hand was clubbed and she also suffered from one leg that stuck out at a right angle from her body. She was waiting for an operation to have it amputated. After the surgery she was planning a trip abroad. Only death could stop her.
Her writing moves me. This woman is at once childlike and needy -- looking to be cared for, to love, and to be loved. At the same time she is strong and enduring. Nothing stops her from reaching her goals. I find this remarkable creature to be a source of inspiration and hope. As I move through my life and face my trials and my tragedies; I am reminded of the force that is Carson McCullers. For years, her fiction has been comforting to me. But having the chance to read her own words describing herself is almost a miracle.
This thin volume is packed with information. In addition to the unfinished manuscript, the books includes:
Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Illumination and Night Glare (the body of the work)
World War II Correspondence of Carson and Reeves McCullers
Appendix I: Outline of "The Mute"
Appendix II: Chronology
Appendix III: Editorial Apparatus and Practices and List of Emendations and Corrections
Bibliography
Index
I feel a kinship with Carson. Perhaps this is a sad commentary on my own sense of loneliness. Yet, I also hope that I also have her enduring optimism, her inner strength, her child-like wisdom, and her undying love for life. This volume opens the window and illuminates an amazing person no matter what night glare she may encounter.
Recommended:
Yes
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