Party and Fundraiser to be held on October 11

Our major fall fundraiser will be on Oct. 11 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the famed Battersby-Hartridge House at 119 East Charlton St. Built by William Battersby, a business partner of Andrew Low who lived just across the street on the southwest trust lot on Lafayette Square, the home later passed into the Hartridge family, and then into other hands. The home was fittingly purchased in the late 20th century by Walter and Connie Hartridge, who will be our hosts for the evening.

It's $100/person. I know that's a lot of money, esp. in uncertain times like these, but it should be a great event, and a successful fundraiser is absolutely critical to our ongoing programs.

A few highlights:

• Catering by Robbie Wood and Green Tomato Concepts. Robbie was for years the Executive Chef of Georges' of Tybee and his inventive foray into organic and local fare has drawn rave reviews.
• Open bar, including some choice wine from Le Chai.
• Jazz by piano phenom Brendan Polk and his trio.
• An open house at the O'Connor Home, which is in the next block.
• An amazing silent auction -- more on that in my next post.

Invitations should be received over the next day or two. If you don't receive one but are interested in coming, PLEASE just shoot me a quick email and I will answer any questions you have and make sure we have your contact info up to date.

Robert Giroux, RIP

I'm sure there are still some publishers who might one day be considered literary heroes or cultural icons. But it seems that the business of books has made it harder for publishers and agents to pursue quality like they used to, to hold fast to their ideals like they used to.

Robert Giroux died a few days ago. The 94-year old played a pivotal role in the all-too-short career of Flannery O'Connor, and his warm friendship with her is obvious in their published letters.

To get a sense of Giroux's personal and professional interest in O'Connor, read (or re-read) the publisher's introduction to Flannery O'Connor: The Complete Stories over on the "Speaking of Faith" site. 

Plans in the works for fall fundraiser

We're very pleased to announce that this year's fall fundraiser has been scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 11, at the Battersby-Hartridge House on Lafayette Square. It's one of the most unusual and extraordinary houses in Savannah, and we're sure guests will be impressed with the gracious Charleston-style porches and well-preserved parterre garden. More details to come.

The Flannery O'Connor Childhood Home at red Ravine

There's a great post about the O'Connor Childhood Home at the blog red Ravine . It's exciting to see that our rather short tour of an ultimately rather simple home can have such a profound effect on guests.

Thanks to bloggers QuoinMonkey and ybonesy for their interest.

New O'Connor bio slated for February 2009 release

Big news for readers of Flannery O'Connor. Brad Gooch's long-anticipated biography is slated for release on Feb. 24, 2009, and is already listed on Amazon.

Gooch is the author of a number of novels, and also a couple of books of nonfiction -- Godtalk: Travels in Spiritual America and City Poet: The Life and Times of Frank O'Hara -- which seem especially good preparation to write a book about such a complex (even controversial) literary figure.

Cunningham lecture inspires writers and readers alike

More than 150 literary-minded Savannahians came to Trinity United Methodist Church last Tuesday evening for Michael Cunningham's wonderful kickoff to the Ashley and Terry Ursrey Memorial Lecture Series. I was especially heartened by the diversity of the crowd, which included longtime supporters of the O'Connor Childhood Home, numerous people I had never seen, students from Armstrong, a couple of young men who recently moved to town and work as waiters at downtown restaurants, a few members of Trinity's congregation, SCAD professors, and on and on.

Michael's talk (which we hope to print excerpts of here and in our next newsletter) was phenomenal. At least one audience member said that he anticipated a "canned" talk, but Michael composed a test just for us in which he talked about his arguments with a hippie high school teacher about O'Connor's Catholicism (the teacher wanted to dismiss her faith and Cunningham wisely didn't), about reading "Revelation" over the phone to a friend who was stoned at the time, about the relevance of an author's life to her work, and more broadly about the relationship between reader and writer.

After the lecture, Michael graciously signed books and talked to fans until everyone had left the reception.

I also had the pleasure of showing Michael around town earlier in the day, and it was thrilling to see his appreciation for the work we have done in recent years at the O'Connor Home.

All in all, a great night. Attached is a photo of Michael with reader Vernice Vasquez, who has been a regular attendee at our ongoing lecture series.

Michael Cunningham appearing in Savannah

THIS POST HAS BEEN CORRECTED -- MR. CUNNINGHAM'S ORIGINAL DATE HAD TO BE CHANGED BUT HE WILL BE COMING. We are thrilled to announce that Michael Cunningham (Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Hours, Flesh and Blood, Specimen Days, and A Home at the End of the World) will be giving a free reading and lecture in Savannah. Mr. Cunningham's appearance is the first annual installment in the The Ashley and Terry Ursrey Memorial Lecture Series.

Like O'Connor, Cunningham earned an M.F.A. from the University of Iowa. While best known as a novelist, Cunningham has also earned acclaim as a writer of short stories: "White Angel" was chosen for Best American Short Stories 1989, and "Mister Brother" appeared in the 2000 O. Henry collection.

Two of Mr. Cunningham's novels -- The Hours and A Home at the End of the World -- have been turned into highly-acclaimed films. Mr. Cunningham also co-authored the screenplay for Evening, starring Meryl Streep and Vanessa Redgrave.

After his talk, Mr. Cunningham will attend a brief reception and book-signing.

More details to follow.