Pat Conroy at 70
story by mary ellen thompson photos and artwork provided by USCB
Beaufort claims Pat Conroy as one of its own. It doesn’t matter that
he wasn’t born here, doesn’t matter that he didn’t even get here until
he was a junior in high school. He got here, went away and came back;
Pat and Beaufort go hand in hand.
Pat has written, “My longing for home was as powerful as fire in
my bloodstream. I lived at twenty-three different addresses as my
father moved from base to base…My mother said, ‘From what I
understand, Beaufort, South Carolina, is a perfectly charming town,
Pat. I know you hate all this moving, but this might be a place you
can call home.’”
“I don’t have a home, Mom,” I answered. “I can’t have one. It’s too late.”
“It’s not too late. …It’ll take some work on your part, son,”
she said. “You’ve got to earn a hometown.”
“I took my mother’s advice to heart…In six months I found
myself maddened with the love of this water-ringed town… The town
had an immaculate feel of welcome to it, and I enfolded myself into
its silky embrace. I have never looked back…So I set claim on
Beaufort, South Carolina, the first town in America I ever called
home.”
Many of Pat’s family, friends and fellow authors will descend
into Beaufort for this wonderful Pat Conroy at 70 festival when
everyone can not only glimpse into Pat’s world, but also enjoy an
amazing opportunity to participate in a whole host of literary and
social events.
The festival kicks off with a luncheon with authors, and then
ramps into high gear with a showing of the film, The Great Santini,
followed by a panel discussion featuring Pat, Blythe Danner and
Michael O’Keefe, moderated by Mark Shaffer. Other events include:
roundtable and panel discussions, book signings and a poetry reading.
Presenters during the festival include Pat’s wife, Cassandra
King, lots of other authors we all love, and people from Story River
Books where Pat is now an editor. The usual cast of Conroy’s
characters and friends will make appearances, including his dear
friend Bernie Schein, and his daughter, Maggie, who is Pat’s
assistant.
Beaufort Lifestyle: Are you looking forward to the upcoming birthday
and festival events?
Pat: “Why did I do this? If they sing Happy Birthday to me it will be
my biggest nightmare! I’m stunned by how fast time goes by. Bernie
Schein is writing my eulogy so he can deliver it ahead of time. He
thought I would want to hear it while I still could. As writers,
Faulkner and Wolfe inspire me; the only writer who doesn’t inspire me
is Bernie Schein. He doesn’t inspire me; in fact he nauseates me. I’m
color blind so I’ve had to listen when people describe colors to me.
Bernie will say ‘The sunset’s beautiful but you can’t see it.’ Or
he’ll tell people that I can only see things in black and white.”
BL: Does Bernie get fair payback for what you say about him?
Pat: “Oh yes, he’s much better at it than I am. I remember when Bernie
had pimples. In fact, he looked better with pimples. It’s astonishing
to me that I met him when we were at Beaufort High and we’ve been
friends ever since. It was a difficult time for me, I didn’t deal well
with the twenty three moves that we’d made by that time. Bernie has an
odd take on things – I look for people like that.”
Bernie Schein: “Conroy at 70? Amazing. We all thought he’d be dead by
now. That man’s liver has processed more liquor than Bill’s Liquor
Store on Lady’s Island. Plus, he expends so much energy in just mere
conversation it’s a wonder he hasn’t keeled over from exhaustion. The
bad news is that he’s still with us, somehow reborn, alive and kicking
with as much energy, glowing health, imagination, and bad humor as
when he was a kid making layups at Beaufort High. His rebirth and
renewal is just nothing short of amazing. I used to feel great around
him. Now I feel like an old man, waiting for the next nap. Pisses me
off.”
Those two are famous for conversations like that, so who can even
predict what turns panel discussions will take?
Maggie Schein weighs in: “The festival is, despite the fact that I am
a confirmed hermit, actually exciting. In part, I confess, that is
because I forget that Pat is PAT CONROY (said in big booming, movie
phone guy, voice). This makes me kind of feel a little weird that I’ve
seen him in his skivvies and that I bust into his house with or
without permission. Another part is that I know, deep down, under
those layers of graciousness, under the armor of bravado, this will be
a celebration of him that he will cherish–secretly, and I will have
fun making fun of him for it–but he will cherish every gesture of
love. Yet a third part is that I get to be part of it (and perhaps
have an excuse to buy a new shirt)…not just because I am published
by his imprint (he wrote the forward to my book far before it was
taken up by Story River Books), but because he is part of my life.”
About the motivation for her book, Lost Cantos of the Ouroboros
Caves, Maggie tells us: “No matter what our faith, how devoted we are
to reason, with how much devotion we claim atheism or science or the
absurd, for most of us, I think, behind our convictions is a trick
wall behind which houses a darkroom where we keep our secret
questions, our treasured wonders, mysteries, and that is where they
develop, get hung on a wire to fix, whether or not we tend to them. It
is where the wonders of childhood hide in the cross-hatched shadows
of our adulthood, and continue to grow, despite our efforts at
certainty. These stories came from my darkroom, and, I will be honest,
from me peeking in to the darkrooms that belonged to others—sometimes
invited, and sometimes out of sheer presumption.”
As you can see, there is every reason to attend this festival,
and no reason to miss it. Although the majority of the festival
events will be held at USCB, there are some other venues, and the
Beaufort History Museum is the site of the festive and final event –
the birthday party! The celebration will be a Lowcountry affair,
catered by Roland Washington who walked into Beaufort High School in
The Water is Wide, and music by Horizon.
Hope to see everyone there! For more information: www.patconroyat70.com
