We at the Oxford American felt a special connection with him, being the home of the last two pieces he published and having honored him, our fellow Little Rockian, with an award for Lifetime Achievement in Southern Literature. Because he kept what I’ll call an unsocial media presence himself (he even remained email-less and cellphone-less till the end), the outpouring of affection from his fans was all about his words, which is how he always wanted it. Comedian David Cross showed off his tattoo of the cover art on the first edition of Masters of Atlantis Stephen King called Portis an “American original” and readers from everywhere shared stories of True Grit’s or Norwood’s or The Dog of the South’s lasting effect on them, mostly citing the books’ repeated ability to produce unalloyed delight. The announcement of the death of Charles Portis elicited a social-media groundswell of mourning and appreciation from his fans. WRITERS REFLECT ON CHARLES PORTIS’S LIFE AND LEGACY
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |