"The United States is a lot more interesting than it’s given credit for"
October 1, 2014 12:27 PM Subscribe
Southern Gothic: Hunting for the peculiar soul of Georgia
These photos are cool! Georgia is cool! The presentation by the NYTM... not so much. What are they even on about? Plenty of people don't give the US credit for things: being nice, being smart, being peaceful, being highminded, etc etc etc. But nobody has ever sincerely called us uninteresting. 400 years and running of being among the strangest, most fascinating places on the planet and don't you ever forget it (as if you could ignore us what with American culture blerping and blurping from every screen and speaker wherever you are).
posted by Potomac Avenue at 12:49 PM on October 1, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by Potomac Avenue at 12:49 PM on October 1, 2014 [3 favorites]
A peahen on Flannery O’Connor’s Andalusia Farm in Milledgeville, Ga., where the author was said to have 40 peacocks at one time.
Flannery also kept peacocks in her backyard in Savannah. Not 40, but definitely several. Peacocks are assholes. Story time.
My high school English teacher was a Savannah native. His mother was good friends with Flannery O'Connor so he and his brother got hauled over to her place a lot while the friends hung out. He and his brother were always sent outside to play, outside in the backyard, the backyard full of peacocks. He told us how the peacocks would chase them around and terrorize them, and how the hours his mom spent with Flannery were always the most terrifying moments of his young life.
We kind of only half believed him, since the whole thing sounds kind of ridiculous. Like, first of all, who gets to be friends with basically the most famous southern writer ever, and also who lets their kids loose in a yard full of terror beasts.
Anyway, after several months of us rolling our eyes at him he brought in some film, the kind with no sound you actually have to put on a projector. It was of him and his brother in Flannery's back yard. They were both so little, I think our teacher was probably about 6 or 7 and his brother was only a couple years older, wearing pajamas (why I do not know) in this gorgeous, plant-filled back yard. Little teacher was standing there just straight up bawling, a peacock snapping at the sleeve of his pajamas and lunging at him, and his brother was nervously darting around on the other side, like someone had told him to stand there for the camera but he didn't want to get to comfortable lest the peacock turn to him. And then the camera panned over to Flannery and teacher's mom, sitting in some chairs just chuckling, then the camera went back to the kids, now running across the yard away from the peacock in hot pursuit. And the camera was jiggling up and down, as if the person manning it were laughing too hard to keep it still.
What I find most amazing about this whole thing is that of all the things he could have done, this guy grew up to teach English at a school in Savannah, where Flannery O'Connor is basically inescapable.
posted by phunniemee at 12:56 PM on October 1, 2014 [22 favorites]
Flannery also kept peacocks in her backyard in Savannah. Not 40, but definitely several. Peacocks are assholes. Story time.
My high school English teacher was a Savannah native. His mother was good friends with Flannery O'Connor so he and his brother got hauled over to her place a lot while the friends hung out. He and his brother were always sent outside to play, outside in the backyard, the backyard full of peacocks. He told us how the peacocks would chase them around and terrorize them, and how the hours his mom spent with Flannery were always the most terrifying moments of his young life.
We kind of only half believed him, since the whole thing sounds kind of ridiculous. Like, first of all, who gets to be friends with basically the most famous southern writer ever, and also who lets their kids loose in a yard full of terror beasts.
Anyway, after several months of us rolling our eyes at him he brought in some film, the kind with no sound you actually have to put on a projector. It was of him and his brother in Flannery's back yard. They were both so little, I think our teacher was probably about 6 or 7 and his brother was only a couple years older, wearing pajamas (why I do not know) in this gorgeous, plant-filled back yard. Little teacher was standing there just straight up bawling, a peacock snapping at the sleeve of his pajamas and lunging at him, and his brother was nervously darting around on the other side, like someone had told him to stand there for the camera but he didn't want to get to comfortable lest the peacock turn to him. And then the camera panned over to Flannery and teacher's mom, sitting in some chairs just chuckling, then the camera went back to the kids, now running across the yard away from the peacock in hot pursuit. And the camera was jiggling up and down, as if the person manning it were laughing too hard to keep it still.
What I find most amazing about this whole thing is that of all the things he could have done, this guy grew up to teach English at a school in Savannah, where Flannery O'Connor is basically inescapable.
posted by phunniemee at 12:56 PM on October 1, 2014 [22 favorites]
The same certain segment that takes for granted that American's aren't nice, smart, peaceful, or highminded also take for granted (almost by definition) that we're easily dismissable as one overarching stereotype (think fast food, Wonder Bread, and Fox News). I guess that implies "uninteresting".
posted by deathmaven at 12:59 PM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by deathmaven at 12:59 PM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
I have the strangest craving for boiled peanuts now
posted by thelonius at 1:12 PM on October 1, 2014
posted by thelonius at 1:12 PM on October 1, 2014
Relatedly: The LBM Dispatch: An irregularly published newspaper of the North American ramblings of photographer Alec Soth and writer Brad Zellar.
posted by Going To Maine at 1:26 PM on October 1, 2014
posted by Going To Maine at 1:26 PM on October 1, 2014
The same certain segment that takes for granted that American's aren't nice, smart, peaceful, or highminded also take for granted (almost by definition) that we're easily dismissable as one overarching stereotype (think fast food, Wonder Bread, and Fox News). I guess that implies "uninteresting".
I guess but the NYT (not these artists, whose project seems very respectful) doesn't have to justify their position by addressing it. It's like "Don't Worry Georgia: The Times will defined you against everyone who says you are boring! Which is a lot of people!" I'm sure if I was from Georgia that would grind my gears a bit. As they say in Georgia (I don't think they say that really).
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:38 PM on October 1, 2014
I guess but the NYT (not these artists, whose project seems very respectful) doesn't have to justify their position by addressing it. It's like "Don't Worry Georgia: The Times will defined you against everyone who says you are boring! Which is a lot of people!" I'm sure if I was from Georgia that would grind my gears a bit. As they say in Georgia (I don't think they say that really).
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:38 PM on October 1, 2014
this guy grew up to teach English at a school in Savannah, where Flannery O'Connor is basically inescapable.
An English teacher can take a lot of revenge out on an unfavored author....
posted by IndigoJones at 2:02 PM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
An English teacher can take a lot of revenge out on an unfavored author....
posted by IndigoJones at 2:02 PM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
I'm sure if I was from Georgia that would grind my gears a bit.
The phrase is, "That really gets my grits."
posted by sonic meat machine at 3:12 PM on October 1, 2014
The phrase is, "That really gets my grits."
posted by sonic meat machine at 3:12 PM on October 1, 2014
They are pretty pictures, but I'm not really sure the fake small town paper theme ties everything together other than proving everything looks a bit more dramatic in B&W? I mean, if we're just doing vaguely moody pictures of (mostly) rural Georgia I can contribute driftwood on Ossabaw Island at high tide. Or maybe a causeway with some deceptively solid looking grass on either side (watch out for gators). Who knows where it leads? Maybe to a broken down mansion, or maybe you'll take a different path to a not so abandoned relic of the monied class. Anyway, isn't it about time you went to church? Or headed down the road to an older church? It's not far from city hall. Because you've got to get your soul right; not one of us makes it out of this alive. Not the rich, not the humble, not the poor, not even the bird dogs (even the Spunky Amazon had to go).
Ass.
posted by Panjandrum at 4:03 PM on October 1, 2014 [6 favorites]
Ass.
posted by Panjandrum at 4:03 PM on October 1, 2014 [6 favorites]
"The South" inasmuch as it is one place is a very large one. Whether you judge by the presence of Krystals, sweet tea, or subscriptions to Southern Living (all equally valid), it covers ten whole states plus bits and bobs of others, a large chunk of the US population, and enough micro cultures to keep folklife, foodways and linguistics researchers in work for centuries to come.
To my very jaded Southern Eye, these pictures capture nothing more than two guys experiences trying to be Walker Evans.
Bless their hearts.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 4:16 PM on October 1, 2014 [5 favorites]
To my very jaded Southern Eye, these pictures capture nothing more than two guys experiences trying to be Walker Evans.
Bless their hearts.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 4:16 PM on October 1, 2014 [5 favorites]
Yeah, I think the Times blew it with this one. I had started cobbling together a post that was more centered on the LBM Dispatch, which is a fantastic idea. If I had more time, I'd beg them to let me open a "Northeast Bureau." It's just such a great inspirational way to motivate yourself to do great work that might really exist only for the sake of having done it. Stories more about the journey than the destination, which is most of what life's all about anyway.
The basic idea at the time was sort of crazy: Alec wanted to drive around in the exurban Twin Cities, playing at being a newspaper reporter and photographer. It snowballed pretty quickly. We had business cards printed up for our fictitious newspaper and started chasing weird local stories in places that — though seldom more than 30 miles from our homes — neither of us had ever been to. We explored the story of a cat that had been stranded for months on an island in the middle of one of the busiest highway interchanges in the metro area, eluding capture and living off the carcass of a deer and the water from a small pond. We talked to and photographed the last snow-globe repairman in America, a guy who made $150 coffins and people at small-town service clubs, dances and township halls. The whole thing at that point was purely for kicks, but some of Alec’s photos from this time are among my favorites from the whole Dispatch experience. And those brief forays around our hometown were so much fun that we seized on the opportunity to try to create an actual newspaper out of a road trip to Ohio.
Anyway, here's another good article: The ‘LBM Dispatch’ Brings the Good News The rest of what I had is on my laptop, where I am not.
posted by nevercalm at 4:40 PM on October 1, 2014 [2 favorites]
The basic idea at the time was sort of crazy: Alec wanted to drive around in the exurban Twin Cities, playing at being a newspaper reporter and photographer. It snowballed pretty quickly. We had business cards printed up for our fictitious newspaper and started chasing weird local stories in places that — though seldom more than 30 miles from our homes — neither of us had ever been to. We explored the story of a cat that had been stranded for months on an island in the middle of one of the busiest highway interchanges in the metro area, eluding capture and living off the carcass of a deer and the water from a small pond. We talked to and photographed the last snow-globe repairman in America, a guy who made $150 coffins and people at small-town service clubs, dances and township halls. The whole thing at that point was purely for kicks, but some of Alec’s photos from this time are among my favorites from the whole Dispatch experience. And those brief forays around our hometown were so much fun that we seized on the opportunity to try to create an actual newspaper out of a road trip to Ohio.
Anyway, here's another good article: The ‘LBM Dispatch’ Brings the Good News The rest of what I had is on my laptop, where I am not.
posted by nevercalm at 4:40 PM on October 1, 2014 [2 favorites]
Reading a bit more on the LBM Dispatch, it actually sounds pretty interesting. I do have a weakness for analog reporting (which is why I still doggedly keep my subscription to the Oxford American.) So I take back my curmudgeonly attack on the authors earlier. My grumbling at the NYTM article still stands however. If you do want a reasonable view of the south on your very own web-based reader, I will happily suggest The Bitter Southerner instead.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 5:39 PM on October 1, 2014
posted by 1f2frfbf at 5:39 PM on October 1, 2014
It saddens me that north Georgia, where the mountains start, is absent from this article.
posted by unknownmosquito at 5:53 PM on October 1, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by unknownmosquito at 5:53 PM on October 1, 2014 [2 favorites]
My mother was raised on a peanut farm outside of Dalton, Georgia, and "Gothic" would be a euphemism applied even to the stories she considered mild enough to relate to me as I was growing up; her two older sisters and some other family visited us only one time out west, when I was ~8, and it fell out due to a shortage of beds that I was to sleep on the floor in a sleeping bag next to my aunt Edna, a tiny, charming, and still very pretty southern woman, who would subsequently do a few years in the Federal pen for some complicated fraud, and was murdered by her second husband a couple of years after that, but my mother came out of the kitchen as the bags were being laid down and absolutely would not have it, evoking an in retrospect surprisingly low key 'Why Irene, I cannot imagine what you think this beautiful child would have to fear from me' as their gazes locked for a long moment, broken when aunt Edna looked down.
I never did get to hear what that was all about.
We kind of only half believed him, since the whole thing sounds kind of ridiculous. Like, first of all, who gets to be friends with basically the most famous southern writer ever ...
Now eclipsing even Faulkner, apparently, as I knew she must eventually, and I'm glad I lived to see it, though I wish she could've too:
She died of lupus, and one biographical essay I read I recall as claiming her father had it too, relatively rare as it is in males (~1 in every 10 cases), and that he also had peacocks.
Which got me thinking, but back then I couldn't come up with anything suggesting a possible connection between being around peacocks and developing lupus, but Googling around just now I found a study out of Beijing demonstrating that a chlamydial pneumonia endemic among peacocks can be and is transmitted to peacock farmers, and a review article out of Iran discussing chlamydial pneumonia as a causative agent in a range of autoimmune diseases, including lupus.
posted by jamjam at 6:25 PM on October 1, 2014 [3 favorites]
I never did get to hear what that was all about.
We kind of only half believed him, since the whole thing sounds kind of ridiculous. Like, first of all, who gets to be friends with basically the most famous southern writer ever ...
Now eclipsing even Faulkner, apparently, as I knew she must eventually, and I'm glad I lived to see it, though I wish she could've too:
Flannery O'Connor once noted, "The presence alone of Faulkner in our midst makes a great difference in what the writer can and cannot permit himself to do. Nobody wants his mule and wagon stalled on the same track the Dixie Limited is roaring down."though surely so much as acknowledging her current fame would have been too prideful for her to contemplate.
She died of lupus, and one biographical essay I read I recall as claiming her father had it too, relatively rare as it is in males (~1 in every 10 cases), and that he also had peacocks.
Which got me thinking, but back then I couldn't come up with anything suggesting a possible connection between being around peacocks and developing lupus, but Googling around just now I found a study out of Beijing demonstrating that a chlamydial pneumonia endemic among peacocks can be and is transmitted to peacock farmers, and a review article out of Iran discussing chlamydial pneumonia as a causative agent in a range of autoimmune diseases, including lupus.
posted by jamjam at 6:25 PM on October 1, 2014 [3 favorites]
I taught music at a school that bussed kids from Maple St in Augusta Ga and would have to go down to pick up my chorus students from their homes for concerts and then take them home again.....It was a whole different world from the school that they attended, Maple St was in a sad state, really bad but those kids were the best, most appreciative of the ride, just adorable....This was about 20 years ago...I think about them a lot. I hope they are happy...
posted by pearlybob at 9:15 AM on October 2, 2014
posted by pearlybob at 9:15 AM on October 2, 2014
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posted by davidstandaford at 12:43 PM on October 1, 2014 [2 favorites]