“Doubt makes a man decent.”
June 9, 2015 7:12 AM Subscribe
Harry Crews: Guilty As Charged [YouTube]
Examines the life and work of Harry Crews. Appearances by James Dickey, Byron Crews, Maggie Powell, Johnny Fieber and William Schafer. Music by Frank Schaap and Byron Crews. Associate Producers: Robert Morris and Latelle Lafollette. Camera and Lighting by Mike Brower and Arthur Rouse. Edited by Tom Thurman and Mike Brower.Previously.
I have never read anything by Harry Crews but this documentary is fascinating. His voice, the way he tells a story, it is so very compelling. A wonderful look at the South and a varied writing life.
posted by Fizz at 7:20 AM on June 9, 2015
posted by Fizz at 7:20 AM on June 9, 2015
I learned of Harry Crews thanks to his appearance in Jim White's Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus (a strange visual extension of his remarkable album The Mysterious Tale of How I Shouted "Wrong-Eyed Jesus"). The way he said "them birds" has never left my head since the first time I heard it. I thought, "I gotta learn more about this guy" so I bought the first book I came across - A Feast of Snakes. I was unimpressed and somewhat disappointed.
Later I checked with my library and they had a copy of Blood and Grits and as soon as I started reading it my brain was set aflame and I never wanted to put it down. Unfortunately I had to give it back to the library so this set me on a search for a copy of my own which took a little bit as it's out of print. I have read and re-read it and occasionally loaned it to people who I find trustworthy. It's one of my favorite possessions.
... and I'll admit that I'm a little afraid to venture back into his other stuff because what if it's not as good? Or maybe I need to re-read A Feast of Snakes and see if I've got my thinking parts tuned in to the correct wavelength now.
[lagniappe: my favorite Crews comment on MetaFilter]
posted by komara at 7:30 AM on June 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
Later I checked with my library and they had a copy of Blood and Grits and as soon as I started reading it my brain was set aflame and I never wanted to put it down. Unfortunately I had to give it back to the library so this set me on a search for a copy of my own which took a little bit as it's out of print. I have read and re-read it and occasionally loaned it to people who I find trustworthy. It's one of my favorite possessions.
... and I'll admit that I'm a little afraid to venture back into his other stuff because what if it's not as good? Or maybe I need to re-read A Feast of Snakes and see if I've got my thinking parts tuned in to the correct wavelength now.
[lagniappe: my favorite Crews comment on MetaFilter]
posted by komara at 7:30 AM on June 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
Nice. I've got something to watch this evening. Thanks for sharing this.
posted by dortmunder at 7:33 AM on June 9, 2015
posted by dortmunder at 7:33 AM on June 9, 2015
Jim White's Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus
that's a great film
Crews was an inspiration to me in gettting sober; I figured, if he could do it, surely I can. I later learned that he took Antabuse for like 20 years....that's not normal.....
posted by thelonius at 7:36 AM on June 9, 2015
that's a great film
Crews was an inspiration to me in gettting sober; I figured, if he could do it, surely I can. I later learned that he took Antabuse for like 20 years....that's not normal.....
posted by thelonius at 7:36 AM on June 9, 2015
... and I'll admit that I'm a little afraid to venture back into his other stuff because what if it's not as good? Or maybe I need to re-read A Feast of Snakes and see if I've got my thinking parts tuned in to the correct wavelength now.
I am firmly convinced that there are some books and authors that are meant to be read at certain points in our life. I've gone back and attempted to read books that I gave up on as a child or teenager and found myself riveted. It might be worth trying again. Then again, it might just be that he is better at writing certain things over others.
posted by Fizz at 7:38 AM on June 9, 2015
I am firmly convinced that there are some books and authors that are meant to be read at certain points in our life. I've gone back and attempted to read books that I gave up on as a child or teenager and found myself riveted. It might be worth trying again. Then again, it might just be that he is better at writing certain things over others.
posted by Fizz at 7:38 AM on June 9, 2015
Oh wow, two of my favorite writers, (Harry Crews, James Dickey) in one post. Marvelous!
It's important for me have a Harry Crews novel on hand when I need it. Some of his books I've read four or five times, which is unusual for me.
Crews's writing has inspired me for years. Whenever I'm feeling like I'm not accomplishing much, I re-read "All We Need Of Hell," or "BODY: A Tragicomedy" and things seem better. They just fire me up.
And anyone who writes a novel about someone trying to eat a car (titled, um, "Car: A Novel") is alright with me.
posted by the matching mole at 8:24 AM on June 9, 2015
It's important for me have a Harry Crews novel on hand when I need it. Some of his books I've read four or five times, which is unusual for me.
Crews's writing has inspired me for years. Whenever I'm feeling like I'm not accomplishing much, I re-read "All We Need Of Hell," or "BODY: A Tragicomedy" and things seem better. They just fire me up.
And anyone who writes a novel about someone trying to eat a car (titled, um, "Car: A Novel") is alright with me.
posted by the matching mole at 8:24 AM on June 9, 2015
Everything through Scar Lover is worth reading, if not consistent. Feast of Snakes is still my favorite.
If you like this, try Lewis Nordan's 'Welcome to the Arrow Catcher Fair' and any Barry Hannah, especially 'The Tennis Handsome.'
posted by rock swoon has no past at 8:36 AM on June 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
If you like this, try Lewis Nordan's 'Welcome to the Arrow Catcher Fair' and any Barry Hannah, especially 'The Tennis Handsome.'
posted by rock swoon has no past at 8:36 AM on June 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
I still love all the stuff I grew up eating. I like weird shit, I mean if I really want to pleasure myself -- I always have it in the house though I don't eat it all the time -- I'll have some hog's head cheese. You know what hog's head cheese is. Take the eardrums and eyeballs out of a pig's head and scrape it good and boil it some and pick the teeth out and mix all that fat on the head with all kinds of herbs and press it into a mold and there it is.- telephone interview with Betty Fussell, August 1986 - collected in Not for Bread Alone: Writers on Food, Wine, and the Art of Eating, edited by Daniel Halpern
I don't know how to say this without sounding racist, but I shop a lot where the brothers and sisters, the black folk, shop because they eat the kind of shit I eat. They just do. I'm very fond of tripe, which is cow's stomach, but most people don't like it because it's cross-grained like a piece of plywood. You have to have a good set of teeth and you have to like to chew. I've never understood people who talk about meat melting in their mouth. I don't want the shit to melt in my mouth. I want to chew, man, and I want to chew a long time. I want to fight with that sucker.
posted by The Big Foist at 8:38 AM on June 9, 2015 [3 favorites]
Huge Crews fan. Huge Hannah fan. Seconding Feast of Snakes as must read. Hannah's Airships is probably the best entry point to his work, though Bat out of Hell is maybe the richest of his collections. I've procrastinated an FPP on contemporary southern writers for a long time, and this post scratches that itch, thanks.
posted by echocollate at 8:43 AM on June 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by echocollate at 8:43 AM on June 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
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