#Evan S. Connell

[bookcoversonly]

Title: Mr. Bridge | Author: Evan S. Connell | Publisher: Penguin (2012)

[dijeh]

Evan S. Connell, Deus Lo Volt!: A Chronicle of the Crusades

[domini-porter]

A Little Story About Commenting (or, more broadly, communicating appreciation to your favs):

I wrote my masters thesis on a little-known book by a sort-of-obscure, multiply-nominated National Book Award and Man Booker Lifetime Achievement nominee named Evan S. Connell; he wrote a couple books you might have heard of (Mrs. Bridge and Son of the Morning Star). I wrote my thesis on a book you almost certainly haven’t heard of (Points for a Compass Rose, nominated for the NBA in 1974 but with zero existing scholarship when I did my degree back in 2010).

He was notoriously private; did very few interviews (and only by correspondence, responses sent, typewritten, on onionskin paper), was a lifelong reporter and reviewer (like so many literary authors), and wrote dozens of books spanning an honestly breathtaking range of subjects, from popular nonfiction about great seekers of history to incredibly delicate and intimate character studies to a chronicle of the Crusades written largely in period dialect to a metatextual genre-bending novel-length allegorical poem about the horrors of Vietnam (that’s the one I wrote about). He also wrote the most profoundly disturbing book I’ve ever read (The Diary of a Rapist; it’s exceptional and nauseating and prescient and like 140 pages and it took me two years to read).

Have I sold you on reading Connell? Good.

Anyway, while I was writing this thesis with no existing scholarship (there was a literary review published when the book came out, but that was it) I figured, hey. Might as well write to this guy. Tell him I like the book that nobody's heard of, that I'm writing my graduate thesis on it. Ask him a few questions, why not; it's an hour out of my day. Send it to the publisher of the book I’m writing about.

About three weeks later, I got a letter, forwarded from a literary press in San Francisco. Inside the envelope was another envelope. My name typed on the front. An address in New Mexico in the corner. A single sheet of onionskin paper, crowded with type, dotted with correction fluid, a few pencil marks. Evan Connell responded to my letter. Answered a few of my questions in the way all the best ones do (some variant on "I don't know, I just kinda did it").

This was so exciting, not only because he'd written back, but because I finally had a fifth entry for my bibliography.

I sent him the finished thesis a few months later, just for shits. Once again: why not?

A few weeks after that, I got another letter. Typed. To me, no forwarding. He thanked me for my work. Said he'd never seen anything like it, that my perception was acute (I have memorized these things; this letter is framed by my bed and is one of three things I'm saving in a fire). He forwarded it to his editor at the press.

When I went back to my summer session, I told a few people about this. The director of the program pulled me aside. Demanded to know how I'd gotten him to write back. He never wrote back. Never did interviews (except a very, very few, and by correspondence). I honestly had no idea, but that one interaction that I'd had with a reclusive author made the whole program buzz for a few days. Made people ask me about his work. Made people who'd never heard of him buy a couple of his books.

Connell died a few years later. An obit mentioned that his favorite of his own books was Points for a Compass Rose, and that he'd been disappointed that it was so rarely read.

That's how I got him to write back to me. I wrote to him about something he thought everyone had forgotten. Something he loved. Something people obviously had read (I found my first copy in the used section at my local bookstore), but nobody had ever thanked him for. And that meant so much to him that he read some nobody grad student's entire academic thesis, and responded to it, when he absolutely did not need to.

And even though this man had written books that appear on Best American Novel lists regularly, have been made into television shows and movies starring Paul Newman, the thing that was actually important and valuable to this towering literary figure (in my opinion, anyway) was some random reader taking a little time to say thanks.

I dunno. I think about this all the time. I think about how taking a chance--even though it was awkward and I felt like a dork doing it--created this whole expansion. Impacted more than just me. I can list at least a dozen people who cite a Connell book as one of their favorites now (I bet you'll find one, too). Three times as many who read one of his books when they probably wouldn't have otherwise.

The thing is, engaging with writers and creators of all kinds causes this sort of ripple of wonder and joy. Always. And it costs nothing, and it takes so little time, and it is always, always, always a good thing.

[unsubconscious]

Excerpt from the book "I am a Lover", by Jerry Stoll and Evans S. Connell Jr, 1961

[the-complexity-of-love]

Fandoms & Ships

I am a true nerd, and as such, continously seek out new media and their fandoms, and become involved with them, while also cyclically coming back to the ones I already love. I am a romantic, and I love seeing love in general (all types of love, not just romantic!), so I am also a very big shipper!

I don't always have a set ship(s) for every fandom I find myself in, nor do I think it necessary to try and "prove" that mine are better than other ships. I like what I like, and I like seeing what others like as well. So I might have OTPs, but I also like engaging with content for all kinds of ships, even true rarepairs.

I also don't think it necessary for a fandom to have ships, so just because I have a listed ship that I like/love, doesn't mean I can't have neutral/objective thoughts and opinions about that particular piece of media.

That being said, here's a list of fandoms I come back to, or keep up with, and a list of ships I have a preference for. OTPs are bolded! Oh, and media (as in the series, books, shows, etc.) are rated according to my opinion!

(This list is subject to change.)

Ongoing Media:

A Sign of Affection (/10)

Nagi Itsuomi/Itose Yuki

Nagi Kyōya/Fujishiro Rin

Iyanagi Shin/Nakazono Emma

Black Butler (/10)

Ciel Phantomhive/Elizabeth Midford

Bungo Stray Dogs (/10)

Dazai Osamu/Nakahara Chūya

Akutagawa Ryūnosuke/Nakajima Atsushi

Edogawa Ranpo/Edgar Allan Poe

Chainsaw Man (/10)

Hayakawa Aki/Angel Devil

Fairy Tail/100 Years Quest (/10)

Zeref Dragneel/Mavis Vermillion

Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia

Gray Fullbuster/Juvia Lockser

Jellal Fernandes/Erza Scarlet

Gajeel Redfox/Levy McGarden

Romeo Conbolt/Wendy Marvell

Happy/Carla

Elfman Strauss/Evergreen

Alzack Connell/Bisca Mulan

Hunter x Hunter (/10)

Gon Freecss/Killua Zoldyck

Hisoka Morow/Illumi Zoldyck

Chrollo Lucilfer/Kurapika

Meruem/Komugi

Jujutsu Kaisen (/10)

Geto Suguru/Gojo Satoru

Itadori Yūji/Fushiguro Megumi

Okkotsu Yūta/Maki

Fushiguro Toji/His Wife (Mama Fushiguro)

Chosō/Me

My Hero Academia (/10)

N/A

Record of Ragnarok (/10)

N/A

SK8 The Infinity (/10)

Nanjō Kojirō/Sakurayashiki Kaoru

Hasegawa Langa/Kyan Reki

Shindo Ainosuke/Kikuchi Tadashi

(Disney) Twisted-Wonderland

Malleus Draconia/Yuu (Player Character)

Kalim al-Asim/Jamil Viper

Almost Everyone/Me

Completed Media:

Assassination Classroom (/10)

Akabane Karma/Nagisa Shiota

Karasuma Tadaomi/Irina Jelvavić

Attack on Titan (/10)

Eren Jaeger/Mikasa Ackermann

Armin Arlert/Annie Leonhart

Ymir/Historia

Levi Ackermann/Hange Zoë

Falco Grice/Gabi Braun

Avatar: The Last Airbender & The Legend of Korra (/10 & /10)

Zuko/Katara

Zuko/Sokka

Katara/Aang

Aang/Azula

Sokka/Suki

Mai/Ty Lee

Korra/Asami

Wu/Mako

Bolin/Opal

Bing An Ben (/10)

He Yu/Xie Qingcheng

Demon Slayer (/10)

Kamado Tanjirō/Tsuyuri Kanao

Hashibira Inosuke/Kanzaki Aoi

Agatsuma Zenitsu/Kamado Nezuko

Rengoku Senjurō/Kamado Nezuko

Iguro Obanai/Kanroji Mitsuri

Rengoku Kyōjurō/Tomioka Giyū

Tomioka Giyū/Kochō Shinobu

Shinazugawa Sanemi/Kochō Kanae

Uzui Tengen/Hinatsuru/Makio/Suma pls don't get mad at me

2HA (/10)

Mo Ran/Chu Wanning

Mei Hanxue/Xue Meng

Nangong Si/Ye Wangxi

Ghibli (/10)

Pazu/Sheeta

Tombo/Kiki

Seiji/Shizuku

Ashitaka/San

Haku/Chihiro

Howl/Sophie

Shō/Arriety

Shun/Umi

Jirō/Naoko

Golden Terrace/Golden Stage (/10)

Fu Shen/Yan Xiaohan

Grisha-verse (/10)

Kaz Brekker/Inej Ghafa

Jesper Fahey/Wylan Van Eck

Nina Zenik/Hanne Brum

Nina Zenik/Matthias Helvar

David Kostyk/Genya Safin

Nikolai Lantsov/Zoya Nazyalensky

Alina Starkov/Malyen Oretsev

Alina Starkov/Alexander Morozova (The Darkling)

Haikyū!! (/10)

Tanaka Ryūnosuke/Shimizu Kiyoko

Sakusa Kiyoomi/Miya Atsumu

Harry Potter (/10)

Remus Lupin/Sirius Black

Evan Rosier/Barty Crouch Jr.

Marlene McKinnon/Dorcas Meadowes

James Potter/Regulus Black

Lily Evans/Mary McDonald

James Potter/Lily Evans

let's just say once again that I'm a multishipper

Heroes of Olympus (/10)

Reyna Ramirez-Arellano/Me

Thalia Grace/Reyna Ramirez-Arellano

Jason Grace/Reyna Ramirez-Arellano

Jason Grace/Leo Valdez

Frank Zhang/Hazel Levesque

Nico di Angelo/Will Solace

JWQS (/10)

Qi Yan | Qiyan Agula/Nangong Jingnu

Qiyan Nomin/Nangong Shunu

Magnus Chase & the Gods of Asgard (/10)

Magnus Chase/Alex Fierro

Blitzen/Hearthstone

MDZS (/10)

Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian

Lan Xichen/Jin Guangyao

Song Lan/Xiao Xingchen/Xue Yang

Jin Zixuan/Jiang Yanli

Lan Sizhui/Jin Ling

Wen Ruohan/Lan Qiren

Naruto (/10)

Too Many, of Several Different Flavors (I'm a multishipper)

Percy Jackson & the Olympians (/10)

Ethan Nakamura/Me

Percy Jackson/Annabeth Chase (.../Rachel Dare)

Charles Beckendorf/Silena Beauregard

Clarisse La Rue/Silena Beauregard

Paul Blofis/Sally Jackson

Qian Qiu (/10)

Yan Wushi/Shen Qiao

Sha Po Lang (/10)

Chang Geng/Gu Yun

She-Ra (/10)

Adora/Catra

Bow/Glimmer

Hordak/Entrapta

Sea Hawk/Mermista

Scorpia/Perfuma

Spirit Animals

Rollan/Meilin

Shane/Abeke

Conor/Worthy | Devin Trunswick

Takoda/Xanthe

Jolt | Karmo/Worthy | Devin Trunswick

Tarik/Lishay

Star Wars (/10)

Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren

Han Solo/Leia Organa

Anakin Skywalker/Padmé Amidala

SVSSS (/10)

Luo Binghe/Shen Yuan | Shen Qingqiu (.../Liu Qingge...)

Mobei-jun/Shang Qinghua

Yue Qingyuan/Shen Jiu | Shen Qingqiu

Liu Mingyan/Sha Hualing

The Kane Chronicles (/10)

N/A

TGCF (/10)

Hua Cheng/Xie Lian

Feng Xin/Mu Qing

He Xuan/Shi Qingxuan

Quan Yizhen/Yin Yu

Jun Wu/Mei Nianqing

Pei Xiu/Ban Yue

Pei Ming/Yushi Huang

Twilight (/10)

Edward Cullen/Bella Swan

Jasper Hale/Alice Cullen

Emmett Cullen/Rosalie Hale

Carlisle Cullen/Esme Cullen

Sam Uley/Emily Young

Paul Lahote/Rachel Black

Jared Cameron/Kim

Leah Clearwater/Me

Jacob Black/Leah Clearwater

Charlie Swan/Eternal Happiness

Charlie Swan/Sue Clearwater

Xiao Mogu (/10)

Lu Feng/An Zhe

Yuri!!! On Ice (/10)

Victor Nikiforov/Katsuki Yuri

Otabek Altin/Yuri Plisetsky

Yu Wu (/10)

Mo Xi/Gu Mang

Zhen Hun (/10)

Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan

[underseer]

reading "son of the morning star" by evan s. connell and it is truly not good. the organizational structure here is like if you offered a historian a substantial sum of money to tell you as much as they could about the battle of little bighorn and every single person in it but without ever drawing a breath or stopping to think. truly free-associational at times ... "xyz general had a drinking problem" then we're treated to every single time anyone connected to the battle observed drinking, their feelings abt it, etc. omg stop

it feels like he should have just committed to making this a novel. the character sketches are dramatic and detailed enough to be suggestive of entire persons, and it's jarring to then hear "we may never know" or "can't be sure" when it comes to the most INTERESTING bits, the motivations of the characters and their relationships to each other. just go the extra mile and make it up!

after reading the first chapter i *immediately* went to check if this came out after "the killer angels" and yes of course it did. there is a real sense of shaara imitation here, even down to the grand, elaborate descriptive cadence of the sentences, but it falls totally flat. "tka" devotes real energy -- so much energy it's embarrassing sometimes -- towards making the moral victors grapple with violence and the immoral losers grapple with a sense of inevitability ... gettysburg as a personal, not just national tragedy. connell misses every opportunity to do any of this, even when the most obvious occasions present themselves. he tells, for instance, a promising tale of a crow scout, half-sioux but turned bitterly towards the federals after his own and his mother's mistreatment at his paternal family's hands, a complete life story, a strange and yet close relationship to custer. the scout is cut down in the battle. two sioux girls decapitate him among the dead and take his head back to their mother, who recognizes him as their uncle, her own brother. what were their reactions? what was the meaning of this familial and tribal tragedy, the ways betrayal and revenge animated and then ended this man's life? connell, in one of his most profoundly useless moments, tells us that "one can only imagine." ?!!!!??;!???;!?? i was speechless.

[brookstonalmanac]

Birthdays 8.17

Beer Birthdays

Joy Campbell (1948)

Jennifer Garris (1971)

Shawn Connelly (1972)

Five Favorite Birthdays

Robert De Niro; actor (1943)

Maria McKee; pop singer (1964)

Colin Moulding; English singer-songwriter and bassist (1955)

Maureen O'Hara; Irish-American actor (1920)

Boog Powell; Baltimore Orioles 1B (1941)

Eric Schlosser; writer (1959)

Famous Birthdays

Francesco Albani; Italian painter (1578)

Luther Allison; blues guitarist and singer (1939)

T. J. Anderson; composer (1928)

Wilfrid Scawen Blunt; English poet (1840)

Sam Butera; saxophonist and bandleader (1927)

Belinda Carlisle; pop musician, singer (1958)

Larry Clinton; trumpet player and bandleader (1909)

Evan S. Connell; novelist, poet, and short story writer (1924)

Davy Crockett; explorer, frontiersman (1786)

Mirella Csikis (porn star; 1994)

Mark Dinning; pop singer (1933)

Sue Draheim; fiddler and composer (1949)

Henry Drummond; Scottish writer (1851)

Larry Ellison; Oracle billionaire (1944)

Julian Fellowes; English actor (1949)

Pierre de Fermat; French mathematician (1607)

Jonathan Franzen; writer (1959)

Marcus Garvey; Jamaican organizer (1887)

Georgia Gibbs; singer (1919)

Samuel Goldwyn; film producer (1879)

Leslie Groves; general and engineer (1896)

Jon Gruden; football coach (1963)

Sib Hashian; rock drummer (1949)

Ted Hughes; English poet (1930)

Richard Hunt; Muppet performer (1951)

Colin James; pop singer, songwriter (1964)

David Koresh; cult leader (1959)

Oliver Waterman Larkin; historian (1896)

Julia Marlowe; English-American actress (1865)

Herta Müller; Romanian-German poet and author (1953)

V.S. Naipaul; Trinidadian-English writer (1932)

Laurence Overmire; poet (1957)

Duke Pearson; pianist and composer (1932)

Sean Penn; actor (1960)

Rachel Pollack; author (1945)

Francis Gary Powers; pilot (1929)

Dave "Snaker" Ray; singer-songwriter and guitarist (1943)

John Matthew Rispoli; Maltese philosopher (1582)

Larry Rivers; painter and sculptor (1923)

Kevin Rowland; English rock musician (1953)

Jean-Jacques Sempé; French cartoonist (1932)

Gene Stratton-Porter; author (1863)

Gary Talley; guitarist and singer-songwriter (1947)

Guillermo Vilas; tennis player (1952)

Donnie Wahlberg; pop singer (1969)

Mae West; actor (1893)

Monty Woolley; actor (1888)

[limeslices]

The Pulse nightclub shooting, a tragic event in Orlando, Florida, occurred on June 12, 2016. It was one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history, resulting in the loss of 49 lives and injuring 53 more. It was also the deadliest violent attack against the LGBTQ+ community in US history. The shooter, Omar Mateen, pledged allegiance to ISIS during the attack. The incident deeply shook the nation, sparking discussions about gun control, terrorism, and LGBTQ+ rights. Vigils and memorials were held worldwide to honor the victims and show solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community.

Here are the names of the 49 victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting:

Stanley Almodovar III

Amanda Alvear

Oscar A. Aracena-Montero

Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala

Antonio Davon Brown

Darryl Roman Burt II

Angel L. Candelario-Padro

Juan Chevez-Martinez

Luis Daniel Conde

Cory James Connell

Tevin Eugene Crosby

Deonka Deidra Drayton

Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez

Leroy Valentin Fernandez

Mercedez Marisol Flores

Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz

Juan Ramon Guerrero

Paul Terrell Henry

Frank Hernandez

Miguel Angel Honorato

Javier Jorge-Reyes

(Cont.)

Jason Benjamin Josaphat

Eddie Jamoldroy Justice

Anthony Luis Laureanodisla

Christopher Andrew Leinonen

Alejandro Barrios Martinez

Brenda Lee Marquez McCool

Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez

Kimberly Morris

Akyra Monet Murray

Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo

Geraldo A. Ortiz-Jimenez

Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera

Joel Rayon Paniagua

Jean Carlos Mendez Perez

Enrique L. Rios Jr.

Jean C. Nives Rodriguez

Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado

Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz

Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan

(Cont.)

Edward Sotomayor Jr.

Shane Evan Tomlinson

Martin Benitez Torres

Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega

Juan P. Rivera Velazquez

Luis S. Vielma

Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez

Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon

Jerald Arthur Wright

[margotreads]

- Mrs. Bridge, Evan S. Connell

[bookcoversonly]

Title: Mrs. Bridge | Author: Evan S. Connell | Publisher: Penguin (2012)

[ao3feed-snape]

Normal People

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/KOhEaNl

by The1WeLiveInNow

an AU based on the TV show Normal People because Reg and James are Marianne and Connell variants.

Pretty much follows the plot of the show but gayer with background Wolfstar and Trans Regulus

James is a popular but quite boy at school whereas Regulus is decidedly unpopular and unable to bite back his sarcastic remarks. The two of them bond and secretly fall in love, their relationship struggles through complications and difficulties as they journey from school to university

Words: 5506, Chapters: 1/13, Language: English

Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Regulus Black, James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Benjy Fenwick, Lily Evans, Gideon Prewett (Harry Potter), Fabian Prewett, Alphard Black, Bellatrix Black Lestrange, Narcissa Black Malfoy, Andromeda Black Tonks, Euphemia Potter, Barty Crouch Jr., Evan Rosier, Pandora Lovegood, Marlene McKinnon, Dorcas Meadowes, Severus Snape, Emmeline Vance, Emma Vanity | Slytherin Quidditch Captain, Mary Macdonald (Harry Potter)

Relationships: Regulus Black/James Potter, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, Marlene McKinnon/Dorcas Meadowes, Mary Macdonald / Lily Evans, Barty Crouch Jr./Evan Rosier

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Inspired by Normal People (TV 2020), Angst with a Happy Ending, Sirius Black Tries to Be a Good Sibling, Trans Regulus Black, Desi James Potter, Established Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, Jealous James Potter, Regulus Black Deserves Better, POV James Potter, POV Regulus Black, Black Family Drama (Harry Potter), Black Family Feels (Harry Potter), Endgame Regulus Black/James Potter, but they both date other people along the way

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/KOhEaNl

[dijeh]

Evan S. Connell, Deus Lo Volt!: A Chronicle of the Crusades

[humanforaminute]

[...] how much time remains? Should I make plans, or not? The forces of evil are too powerful to be overcome by the plans of an individual, just as the energies of our system are going to decay & the glory of the sun be dimmed. Then the earth, which will be tideless and inert, will not tolerate the race which for a few moments disturbed its solitude. Man goes down into the Pit, all his thoughts perish, and his uneasy conscience which has for a brief space broken the silence of the universe  will be eternally at rest. Matter will know itself no further. And these things that we call Imperishable Monuments and Immortal Deeds—yes, and death itself, and love that we thought more powerful than death, will be as if they had not ever been. Nor will anything that IS be better or worse.

Evan S. Connell, The Diary of a Rapist

[westeggediting]

Il primo figlio, una bambina, stranamente scura di occhi e di capelli, che piangeva poco e sembrava soprattutto voler essere lasciata in pace, nacque che erano sposati da poco piú di tre anni. La chiamarono Ruth. Le prime parole intelligibili di Mrs Bridge dopo il parto furono: – È normale? Due anni dopo – Mrs Bridge ne aveva trentuno – venne alla luce Carolyn, circa un mese prima del dovuto, come fosse perfettamente in grado di provvedere a se stessa, e fu soprannominata Corky. Era una biondina paffutella, con gli occhi azzurri come la madre, piú esuberante di Ruth, e piú esigente. Poi, due anni dopo Carolyn, nacque un maschietto dal faccino serio, magro e rosso di capelli come il padre, che chiamarono Douglas. Non avrebbero voluto piú di due figli, ma essendo nate due femmine avevano deciso di fare un terzo tentativo. Se anche quella volta fosse stata una bambina si sarebbero comunque fermati lí; non avrebbe avuto senso rischiare di farsi ridere dietro dalla gente.