Publication
New York : Random House Large Print, [2016]
Collection
Call number
Large Print Non-Fiction C
Physical description
xiv, 267 p.; 24 cm
Status
Available
Call number
Description
"A Lowcountry Heart: Reflections on a Writing Life by Pat Conroy is a new nonfiction collection of letters, interviews, and magazine articles spanning Conroy's long literary career, supplemented by touching pieces from the beloved author's many friends. A Lowcountry Heart collects some of Conroy's most charming pieces of short nonfiction, many of them addressed directly to his readers with his habitual greeting, "Hey, Out There." Ranging across diverse subjects such as favorite recent reads, the challenge of getting motivated to exercise, and processing the loss of dearly missed friends, Conroy's lighthearted and eminently memorable pieces offer a unique window into the life of a true titan of Southern writing. In addition, A Lowcountry Heart also includes some of Conroy's most beloved speeches and interviews, a touching letter to his grandson, and a beautiful introduction from his widow, the novelist Cassandra King. Finally, the collection turns to remembrances of The Great Conroy, as he is lovingly titled by friends, including his eulogy. This moving tribute is sure to be a cherished keepsake for any true Conroy fan, and a lasting monument to one of the best-loved writers of contemporary American letters"--… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member SamSattler
When Pat Conroy died on March 4, 2016, America lost one of her most beloved writers. Conroy’s loss will almost certainly be felt strongest in his native South where he set the standard for Southern writers for the past several decades, but Pat Conroy fans all around the world were equally caught
A Lowcountry Heart: Reflections on a Writing Life, a compilation of past blog entries, essays, speeches, and interviews of Conroy’s is the author’s official farewell to his fans – and it is an effective one. Despite how unlikely it is, over time readers often come to believe that their favorite writers would be their friends if only they ever managed to meet them; they feel as if they know them that well from their writing. Pat Conroy fans seem almost universally to have felt that way about him, and as several of the blog entries included in A Lowcountry Heart will make clear, they just may have been right because Conroy as much looked forward to meeting them as they did to meeting him. He was one of those rare authors who actually look forward to the next book promotion tour, and he often blogged about the people he met along the way and how much he enjoyed the experience.
As Conroy put it in an early 2014 blog entry, “It (book tours) is part of the covenant I sign with Doubleday that I’ll do everything possible to help the sell the book, including not getting drunk on tour or embarrassing my publishing company with my cutting-up on the road. I go out to sell books and it has become one of the greatest things about being a writer during my lifetime. No writer should turn down the chance of meeting the readers of his work.”
Pat Conroy was not one ever to forget his friends or the teachers who influenced his life in some positive way. He was loyal to the end, and his friends knew that he would always be there for them. This was especially true for his old school friends and for a handful of schoolteachers who, in the end, became some of the dearest friends he had. Two of those friends, Bernie Schein and Rick Bragg say their goodbyes to Conroy here in separate pieces, Schein’s “Farewell Letter” and a reprint of Bragg’s Southern Living article titled “The Great Conroy: An Homage to a Southern Literary Giant and a Prince of a Guy.” Both pieces are beautifully done.
A Lowcountry Heart represents Pat Conroy well, presenting him in all his frank vulnerability and willingness to share with the rest of us his pain and what life has taught him. Conroy knew that he was in a race against the clock to finish his last novel, but sadly was unable to complete the book before his time ran out. According to editor Nan A. Talese, she has less than two hundred pages of The Storms of Aquarius in her possession – but the search among his journals for more on the new novel continues. Perhaps someday, Pat Conroy fans will receive one final gift from their storytelling friend. We can only hope so.
(Review Copy from Publisher)
Show More
by surprise at how quickly his death followed the announcement that he was beginning treatment for pancreatic cancer. A Lowcountry Heart: Reflections on a Writing Life, a compilation of past blog entries, essays, speeches, and interviews of Conroy’s is the author’s official farewell to his fans – and it is an effective one. Despite how unlikely it is, over time readers often come to believe that their favorite writers would be their friends if only they ever managed to meet them; they feel as if they know them that well from their writing. Pat Conroy fans seem almost universally to have felt that way about him, and as several of the blog entries included in A Lowcountry Heart will make clear, they just may have been right because Conroy as much looked forward to meeting them as they did to meeting him. He was one of those rare authors who actually look forward to the next book promotion tour, and he often blogged about the people he met along the way and how much he enjoyed the experience.
As Conroy put it in an early 2014 blog entry, “It (book tours) is part of the covenant I sign with Doubleday that I’ll do everything possible to help the sell the book, including not getting drunk on tour or embarrassing my publishing company with my cutting-up on the road. I go out to sell books and it has become one of the greatest things about being a writer during my lifetime. No writer should turn down the chance of meeting the readers of his work.”
Pat Conroy was not one ever to forget his friends or the teachers who influenced his life in some positive way. He was loyal to the end, and his friends knew that he would always be there for them. This was especially true for his old school friends and for a handful of schoolteachers who, in the end, became some of the dearest friends he had. Two of those friends, Bernie Schein and Rick Bragg say their goodbyes to Conroy here in separate pieces, Schein’s “Farewell Letter” and a reprint of Bragg’s Southern Living article titled “The Great Conroy: An Homage to a Southern Literary Giant and a Prince of a Guy.” Both pieces are beautifully done.
A Lowcountry Heart represents Pat Conroy well, presenting him in all his frank vulnerability and willingness to share with the rest of us his pain and what life has taught him. Conroy knew that he was in a race against the clock to finish his last novel, but sadly was unable to complete the book before his time ran out. According to editor Nan A. Talese, she has less than two hundred pages of The Storms of Aquarius in her possession – but the search among his journals for more on the new novel continues. Perhaps someday, Pat Conroy fans will receive one final gift from their storytelling friend. We can only hope so.
(Review Copy from Publisher)
Show Less
LibraryThing member Beamis12
4.5 For over twenty years now I have had a few go to authors, authors whose books I looked forward to, never let me down. Pat Conroy was one of them and I would so have loved to meet him in person, envy those who have. I feel this loss of opportunity and the loss of this fabulous author even more
There is so much humor, his admiration for other authors and yes he names them, the state of publishing today, his history in the Citadel, basketball, his friends, his family, the editors he has had the privilege to work with and along side. So much, his wife the author Cassandra King. His wit, his intelligence, his humanity and his love for his home shines through. Regrets, sorrows, joys, one definitely gets the full range of characteristics that made him the special person he was.
I have read all his books but two, one nonfiction on his writing life and his cookbook, which I didn't know about. Was intruded to new authors I now want to search out and read. I am so glad this has been published, a last glimpse of a great author and very human man.
ARC from publisher.
Show More
so after having read this wonderful collection of blog entries, speeches and of course his eulogy. There is so much humor, his admiration for other authors and yes he names them, the state of publishing today, his history in the Citadel, basketball, his friends, his family, the editors he has had the privilege to work with and along side. So much, his wife the author Cassandra King. His wit, his intelligence, his humanity and his love for his home shines through. Regrets, sorrows, joys, one definitely gets the full range of characteristics that made him the special person he was.
I have read all his books but two, one nonfiction on his writing life and his cookbook, which I didn't know about. Was intruded to new authors I now want to search out and read. I am so glad this has been published, a last glimpse of a great author and very human man.
ARC from publisher.
Show Less
LibraryThing member susan0316
When Pat Conroy died last year, America, and especially the South, lost one of it's best authors. No one could tell a story like he could. He bared his soul to his readers and shared with us his difficult childhood and the joys and sorrows of his life. He is one of the few authors whose books I
Show More
re-read every few years and always the author that I mention first when someone asks who my favorite is. I am extremely saddened that readers won't have any more of his books to devour. This little book, published posthumously, is a collection of some of his best blog posts as well as memorial articles from several friends, his wonderful editor Nan Talese and his wife, Cassandra King - also a fantastic author. I laughed and I cried while I was reading it and it's going to go on my shelf with his other books so that I can read it again and again. Show Less
LibraryThing member DKnight0918
Lovely book, of course. I am going to miss Conrack so much.
LibraryThing member Meladylo
One of my favorite writers. Loved hearing the stories behind the novels and about the people he wrote about and why. Makes me want to read his books all over again.
LibraryThing member foof2you
A book of various writings from Pat Conroy about many different things from speeches, his blog and letters written. This was put together after his death. It is like a bunch of short stories about various topics that if you are a fan of Conroy you will enjoy.
LibraryThing member scottjpearson
Pat Conroy is one of the giant writers of the modern American South. He grew up in Beaufort, South Carolina, in the so-called “Lowcountry,” south of Charleston. The son of a decorated but semi-abusive Marine pilot, he went to the Citadel, a military college in Charleston, then all-male, and
Conroy describes his life, particularly his early life, as being surrounded by dysfunctional people. Thus, his stories – such as The Great Santini and The Prince of Tides – are filled with flawed characters, but he continually finds redeeming qualities in them. This trait, I admire and find inspirational. I suspect he first received this outlook in his Catholic grade-schools yet cultivated it through an enduring faith and love of humanity.
This collection occasionally highlights his broad reading in the world of fiction. It also brings out a wide span of individuals that have marked his journey, like his friend who suffered from AIDS, only to become one of the first to receive curative HAART therapy. He shares about his Citadel classmates and about numerous women authors, who, a rarity at the beginning of his career, became dominant in today’s marketplace. He displays a complex yet tender personality that always looks for a witty yet caring word to spin.
If you’re looking for a collection of essays that will warm your heart, you need search no more than this short volume. You can read them in short spurts – none of them are particularly long – or read several at once. They portray a fascinating, human author whose warm words have touched many. He’s a product of his time, for sure. For instance, he frequently comments on women’s beauty, but also always addresses each one’s ingenuity. Nonetheless, in the particularity of his experiences and his words, he comports something eternal and lasting. That depth makes me grateful to have picked up this work.
Show More
played basketball. He wrote about all of this in several memoirs alongside other great works of fiction. Some of the fiction have even been turned into movies. He died in 2016, and loved ones collected some of his last writings into this collection. Reflecting on life, he conveys a deep, sophisticated heart with a variety of love-filled experiences with adoring people.Conroy describes his life, particularly his early life, as being surrounded by dysfunctional people. Thus, his stories – such as The Great Santini and The Prince of Tides – are filled with flawed characters, but he continually finds redeeming qualities in them. This trait, I admire and find inspirational. I suspect he first received this outlook in his Catholic grade-schools yet cultivated it through an enduring faith and love of humanity.
This collection occasionally highlights his broad reading in the world of fiction. It also brings out a wide span of individuals that have marked his journey, like his friend who suffered from AIDS, only to become one of the first to receive curative HAART therapy. He shares about his Citadel classmates and about numerous women authors, who, a rarity at the beginning of his career, became dominant in today’s marketplace. He displays a complex yet tender personality that always looks for a witty yet caring word to spin.
If you’re looking for a collection of essays that will warm your heart, you need search no more than this short volume. You can read them in short spurts – none of them are particularly long – or read several at once. They portray a fascinating, human author whose warm words have touched many. He’s a product of his time, for sure. For instance, he frequently comments on women’s beauty, but also always addresses each one’s ingenuity. Nonetheless, in the particularity of his experiences and his words, he comports something eternal and lasting. That depth makes me grateful to have picked up this work.
Show Less
Language
ISBN
9781524735760