Walker, Uncle Will, and I: A Homophobe and Two Queens Export

@article{citeulike:6009652, abstract = {The noted novelist Walker Percy (1916–1990) endured the suicides of his grandfather, father, and mother during his childhood. His cousin William Alexander Percy (1885–1942) adopted Walker and his two brothers following those tragedies. “Uncle Will” took great interest in the education of his adoptive sons. Walker in particular benefited from this; later in life, Walker and his good boyhood friend, Shelby Foote, who himself was to gain fame as a Civil War historian, speculated that Will Percy's influence played a major role in the incubation of their literary careers. There is an irony in this. Will Percy, a World War I combat hero, published poet of stature, world traveler, member of the Uranian movement, and author of the classic Southern memoir <span>Lanterns on the Levee</span> (1941), led a piquantly gay life. To present-day sensibilities, Will Percy's poetry and his memoir emanate a palpable queerness. Yet, Walker Percy denied his benefactor's homosexuality and indeed, with his brothers, took exhaustive steps to try to conceal that reality. Walker also became a celebrated moralist who expressed a decided aversion to homosexuality. This aspect of the family history exemplifies deletion of queer history in the particular historical context of hereditary Southern gentry with a literary bent in the mid- to late twentieth century.}, author = {Percy, William A. and Flax-Clarke, Aidan and Gannett, Lewis}, citeulike-article-id = {6009652}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10417940903060989}, doi = {10.1080/10417940903060989}, journal = {Southern Communication Journal}, keywords = {analysis, glbt, historical, textual}, number = {3}, pages = {252--268}, posted-at = {2009-10-26 13:26:52}, priority = {2}, publisher = {Routledge}, title = {Walker, Uncle Will, and I: A Homophobe and Two Queens}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10417940903060989}, volume = {74}, year = {2009} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:6009652 L3 - citeulike-article-id:6009652 N2 - The noted novelist Walker Percy (1916–1990) endured the suicides of his grandfather, father, and mother during his childhood. His cousin William Alexander Percy (1885–1942) adopted Walker and his two brothers following those tragedies. “Uncle Will” took great interest in the education of his adoptive sons. Walker in particular benefited from this; later in life, Walker and his good boyhood friend, Shelby Foote, who himself was to gain fame as a Civil War historian, speculated that Will Percy's influence played a major role in the incubation of their literary careers. There is an irony in this. Will Percy, a World War I combat hero, published poet of stature, world traveler, member of the Uranian movement, and author of the classic Southern memoir <span>Lanterns on the Levee</span> (1941), led a piquantly gay life. To present-day sensibilities, Will Percy's poetry and his memoir emanate a palpable queerness. Yet, Walker Percy denied his benefactor's homosexuality and indeed, with his brothers, took exhaustive steps to try to conceal that reality. Walker also became a celebrated moralist who expressed a decided aversion to homosexuality. This aspect of the family history exemplifies deletion of queer history in the particular historical context of hereditary Southern gentry with a literary bent in the mid- to late twentieth century. IS - 3 JF - Southern Communication Journal EP - 268 TI - Walker, Uncle Will, and I: A Homophobe and Two Queens PB - Routledge VL - 74 SP - 252 KW - analysis KW - glbt KW - historical KW - textual AU - Percy, William AU - Flax-Clarke, Aidan AU - Gannett, Lewis PY - 2009/// UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10417940903060989 ER -