Spring 09 Friends of Flannery Newsletter now available online

Spring 2009 Newsletter

Visitors: Southern Studies Program - Lee University

On Saturday, May 23rd, we were delighted to host an after-hours tour for the faculty and students from the Southern Studies Program at Lee University, Cleveland, TN. The students prepared for the visit by reading A Good Man Is Hard To Find and reviewing Flannery's personal history. A visit here enhanced what they had read and learned about her life. Many thanks to Drs. Donna Summerlin and Mary Waalkes for having their students learn about Flannery and visiting her childhood home.

Allan Gurganus to give 2nd Annual Ursrey Memorial Lecture on Thurs., June 4

The Flannery O’Connor Childhood Home will present a lecture by acclaimed author Allan Gurganus on Thursday, June 4 at 7 p.m. at Trinity United Methodist Church, located at 225 W. President St . on Telfair Square. A reception and book signing will immediately follow the lecture. All events are free and open to the public.

Gurganus will be the featured speaker for the 2009 Ashley and Terry Ursrey Memorial Lecture Series. The Ursrey Lecture Series is endowed in memory of the brothers Terry and Ashley Ursrey, native Georgians who, like Flannery O'Connor, were lifelong devotees of all things Southern, particularly the art of storytelling. The series officially debuted in 2008 with a talk by Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Michael Cunningham.

A native of Rocky Mount, N.C., Gurganus is perhaps best known as the author of the best-selling novel, Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All. He has been honored with the prestigious O. Henry Prize, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Best Work of American Fiction, the Lambda Literary Award and the National Magazine Prize. 

Over the years, he has written a number of novels, essays and short stories and has also contributed commentaries to The New York Times, The Newshour with Jim Lehrer and National Public Radio. A 2006 John Simon Guggenheim Fellow, Gurganus is the author of White People, Plays Well With Others and The Practical Heart. His work has been translated into 16 languages. 

Author John Cheever has called Allan Gurganus, “the most technically brilliant and morally responsive writer of his generation.” Robert Wilson, the editor of American Scholar, has described him as “the worthy heir to Faulkner and Welty.”

Gurganus has taught writing and literature at Stanford University, Sarah Lawrence, Duke University and the University of North Carolina –Chapel Hill. He currently resides in Hillsborough, N.C.

Visitors: Historical Restoration Class - SCAD

On the 19th of May, the O'Connor Childhood Home welcomed eight students and their instructor, Jeanne Lambin, for a special late-morning tour. The story of the Home's restoration back in '06/'07, the discoveries made during that time and the photographic log of the process, are always a joy to share. And such a tour brings about renewed appreciation for the generosity of Jerry and Linda Bruckheimer which allowed the restoration to take place. Many thanks to Jeanne for thinking of the Home and bringing her class here. We look forward to the next visit.

Visitors: St. Paul's Episcopal ECW

Flannery's Childhood Home was the site for the monthly meeting of the E C W from Savannah's St. Paul Episcopal Church. The members had prepared by reading the author's short story, Revelation. First they toured the Home and heard stories about Flannery's childhood. Then they were lead in a discussion of the selection by their president, Janet Stone. All agreed their appreciation of the story was enhanced by having visited Flannery's childhood home.

Visitors: Museum Studies Class - SCAD

The Home was visited by the students in Chris Neal's Museum Studies class offered at the Savannah College of Art and Design. For most, it was an introduction to Flannery O'Connor and her literature. All were interested in the origination and development of the Foundation and subsequent museum. Many thanks to Chris for bringing her class to Flannery's Childhood Home.