Fowl Friend, and Author
March 01, 2009
At her mother’s farm, Andalusia, in Milledgeville, Ga., [Flannery O'Connor] collected
all manner of fowl: ducks, quail, mail-order swans and peacocks. In
Christian art, the peacock appears as a symbol of immortality and the
incorruptible soul. She said she was attracted to the bird by
“instinct.” She was always sending peacock feathers to her
correspondents and friends. After one of Robert Lowell’s “spells,” she
sent him one that was five feet long. Unimpressed, he said, “That’s all
I need, a peacock feather.”
From "Stranger Than Paradise," Joy Williams' review of Flannery: A Life of Flannery O'Connor, by Brad Gooch. New York Times Book Review, March 1, 2009.
See also "Believing in Flannery O'Connor," by Terry Teachout. Commentary Magazine, March 2009.
Robert Lowell was a grump. I would have been enchanted.
Posted by: TadMack | March 02, 2009 at 05:15 AM
For some reason, that line made me laugh. Lowell didn't get it, did he?
Posted by: Susan_Thomsen | March 02, 2009 at 10:05 PM
I like "mail-order swans."
Posted by: Charlotte | March 03, 2009 at 12:43 PM
Me, too, Charlotte.
If I could, I'd have peacocks, too.
Posted by: Susan_Thomsen | March 04, 2009 at 11:56 AM
I thought of you when I read that review in the Times on Sunday. But you really don't want peacocks. My uncle had them and they made the most awful screams.
Posted by: Michelle Turner | March 05, 2009 at 08:25 PM
Why am I not surprised that O'Connor collected fowl? Love her. This is a nice reminder to pick up my short story collection of hers and finish it already.
Posted by: Jules | March 06, 2009 at 11:37 AM
MT, oh, shoot. They're so pretty. But screaming all day long would not be good.
Jules, I'd like to re-read some of her stories, too. I'm not as crazy about the novels.
Posted by: Susan | March 07, 2009 at 08:33 AM