Butterfly in the Typewriter (47 page)

167 He “ridiculed
Reader's
” . . . : Ibid.

167 He “made the” . . . : Ibid.

167 And Joan's sister . . . : Ibid.

167 In his courses . . . : Ibid.

168 I tried to . . . : Guerin interview by the author, May 28, 2011.

168 To this day . . . : Dorothy Dawes interview by the author, May 24, 2011.

168 And his mother . . . : Wonk, “John Kennedy Toole's Odyssey Among the Dunces: Part 2.”

168 Whether by chance . . . : Candace de Russy interview by the author, June 7, 2011.

168 He was undeniably . . . : Ibid.

168 One autumn afternoon . . . : de Russy interview by the author, June 27, 2011.

170 He later confessed . . . : Toole letter to Gottlieb, March 5, 1965. Fletcher Papers.

170 Toole had an . . . : Ibid.

170 And when his . . . : Film footage of the Levy Lecture Series.

170 But in the . . . : Michael Korda,
Another Life: A Memoir of Other People
(New York: Delta, 2000).

171 In fact, the . . . : Bruce Jay Friedman,
Lucky Bruce: A Literary Memoir
. (Emeryville: Biblioasis, 2011).

171 She ended that . . . : Jean Ann Jollett letter to Toole, June 9, 1964. Box 1, Folder 11, Toole Papers.

172 He took issue . . . : Gottlieb letter to Toole, June 15, 1964. Fletcher Papers.

172 His comments echoed . . . : Emilie Russ Dietrich letter to Toole. Box 1, Folder 14, Toole Papers.

172 Jollett, a Southerner . . . : Jollett letter to Toole, June 9, 1964. Box 1, Folder, 11, Toole Papers.

172 Dear John . . . : Joe Hines letter to Toole, August 2, 1964. Box 1, Folder 14, Toole Papers.

173 One evening in . . . : Fletcher,
Ken and Thelma
.

173 But he was . . . : Ibid.

173 Still troubled by . . . : Gottlieb letter to Toole, December 14, 1964. Fletcher Papers.

174 They agreed Toole . . . : Ibid.

174 Having typed it . . . : Ibid.

175 One wonders how . . . : Hines letter to Toole, December 6, 1964. Box 1, Folder 14, Toole Papers.

175 Ken came for . . . : J. C. Broussard letter to Fletcher, 1965. Fletcher Papers.

176 Whenever I visited . . . : Polites interview by the author, February 14, 2009.

177 In January of . . . : Toole letter to Gottlieb, March 5, 1965. Fletcher Papers.

177 As he spoke . . . : Ibid.

178 During that conversation . . . : Ibid.

178 By this point . . . : Gottlieb interview by the author, June 3, 2011.

178 He writes to . . . : Toole letter to Gottlieb. March 5, 1965. Fletcher Papers.

178 The book is . . . : Ibid.

179 No doubt this . . . : Ibid.

179 He fully acknowledges . . . : Ibid.

179 One night recently . . . : Ibid.

180 Echoing the editorial . . . : Ibid.

180 He confesses he . . . : Ibid.

180 this book is . . . : Ibid.

181 In fact, George Deaux . . . : George Deaux interview by the author, April 2009.

181 In passing, Deaux . . . : Ibid.

181 Gottlieb's response was . . . : Ibid.

181 When someone like . . . : Gottlieb letter to Toole, March 23, 1965. Fletcher Papers.

182 In closing the . . . : Ibid.

182 Toole found Gottlieb's . . . : Toole letter to Robert Gottlieb, March 28, 1965. Fletcher Papers.

183 What is most . . . : Ibid.

183 Since both of . . . : Toole letter to Fletcher, May 4, 1965. Printed in Fletcher's
Ken and Thelma
.

184 All of which . . . : Ibid.

184 Although you may . . . : Ibid.

185 “It was the” . . . : Dalferes interview by the author, November 22, 2008.

185 And yet, in . . . : Ibid.

185 Dear Mr. Toole . . . : Gottlieb letter to Toole, January 17, 1966. Box 1, Folder 11, Toole Papers.

187 In the afternoon . . . : Geiser interview by the author, June 2008.

189 Thelma's uncle, James . . . : Fletcher,
Ken and Thelma.

189 In December of . . . : Ibid.

190 My brother's nervousness . . . : Arthur Ducoing letter to coroner, Feburary 28, 1966. From the Toole Papers.

190 But he tried . . . :
John Kennedy Toole: The Omega Point
, film.

190 Kubach had read . . . : Ibid.

190 As Kubach observed . . . : Ibid.

191 However, Pam Guerin . . . : Guerin interview by the author, May 28, 2011.

191 She was described as . . . : Dawes interview by the author, May 24, 2011.

191 On at least . . . : Ibid.

191 Kubach, who had . . . : Kubach interview by the author, May 18, 2011.

192 One day, as . . . : Ibid.

192 He wrote to . . . : John Kennedy Toole postcard to parents, July 20, 1967. Box 1, Folder 10, Toole Papers.

193 “John never wanted” . . . : Kubach interview by Joseph Sanford for the film
John Kennedy Toole: The Omega Point
, 2009.

193 “I suppose I” . . . :
John Kennedy Toole: The Omega Point
, film.

194 Charlotte Powell enjoyed . . . : Charlotte Powell interview by the author December 10, 2011.

194 While some guests . . . : Ibid.

194 Powell marveled at . . . : Ibid.

194 In fact, she . . . : Ibid.

194 Enjoying the extra . . . : Laborde, “Remembering a Pulitzer Winner.”

195 Polites recalls . . . : Polites interview by the author, February 14, 2009.

195 Polites recounts . . . : Ibid.

195 The student body . . . : Joan Trader Bowen, interview by the author. August 22, 2011.

195 One of the . . . : Ibid.

196 As Elise explained . . . : Ibid.

196 He was humorless . . . : Mary Pratt Percy Lobdell interview by the author, November 2010.

196 He made snide . . . : Ibid.

196 While the threat . . . : Ibid.

196 As Elise admits . . . : Bowen, interview by the author. August 22, 2011.

196 He confessed he . . . : Byrne interview by Palumbo, 1995.

196 “He was so” . . . : Kubach interview by the author, May 18, 2011.

197 They began frequent . . . : Huling Ussery interview by the author, January 31, 2011.

197 When asked about . . . : Ibid.

197 With growing concern . . . : Ibid.

197 The chair decided . . . : Ibid.

197 Thomas Bonner . . . : Thomas Bonner interview by the author, June 25, 2009.

198 Typically he would . . . : Rickels interview by the author, February 10, 2009.

198 “What are you” . . . : Ibid.

198 Indeed, during the . . . : George Deaux,
The Humanization of Eddie Cement
(New York: Simon and Schuster, 1964); George Deaux,
Exit
(New York: Simon and Schuster, 1966); and George Deaux,
Superworm
(New York: Simon and Schuster, 1968).

199 Patricia listened to . . . : Rickels interview by the author, February 10, 2009.

199 Toole owned Deaux's . . . : Toole's personal library list, Box 5, Folder 5, Toole Papers.

202 Thomas Lask of . . . : Thomas Lask, “Two on the Lighter Side,”
New York Times
, May 8, 1968: 45.

202 Thomas Lask observed . . . : Ibid.

202 As Henry Raymont . . . : Henry Raymont, “Book Trade Upset by Changes in Ownership, Size and Staff,”
New York Times
, March 4, 1968: 28.

203 When Patricia Rickels . . . : Rickels interview by the author, February 10, 2009.

203 Patricia and Milton . . . : Rickels interview by the author, February 10, 2009.

203 Edgar Allen Poe, “The Conqueror Worm,” from
The Unabridged Edgar Allen Poe
(Philadelpia: Courage, 1997).

205 When Ernest Hemingway . . . : Jeffrey Meyers.
Hemingway: A Biography
(New York: Da Capo, 1999).

205 In July of . . . : Mary Welsh Hemingway,
How It Was
(New York: Knopf, 1975).

205 And when Allen . . . : Ginsberg,
Howl and Other Poems
.

205 She had undergone . . . : Connie Ann Kirk,
Sylvia Plath: A Biography
(Westport: Greenwodd, 2004).

205 In February of 1963 . . . : Paul Alexander,
Rough Magic: A Biography of Sylvia Plath
(New York: Viking, 1991).

205 And in 1966 . . . : Arthur Ducoing letter to coroner, Feburary 28, 1966. Box 11, Folder 12, Toole Papers.

209 In his inaugural . . . : Richard Nixon, “Richard Milhous Nixon: First Inaugural Address,”
Bartleby.com
, January 2001, accessed July 13, 2011, at
http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres58.html
.

209 She suspected he . . . : Rickels interview by Sanford, February 2009.

209 The next day . . . : Ibid.

211 It was March . . . : “Toole,”
Times Picayune
, March 27, 1969 : 23.

211 At 3:30 the . . . : Ibid.

211 There were only . . . : Wonk, “John Kennedy Toole's Odyssey Among the Dunces: Part 2.”

212 The “beloved son” . . . : “Toole,”
Times Picayune
.

212 But if he ... : Rickels interview by Sanford, February 2009.

212 From his receipts . . . : Wonk, “John Kennedy Toole's Odyssey Among the Dunces: Part 2.”

212 And Alvin Foote . . . : Foote letter to Toole, February 26, 1957. Box 1, Folder 13, Toole Papers.

212 In a taped . . . : Film footage of the Levy Lecture Series.

213 As she saw . . . :
I Walk in the World for My Son
, film.

214 In fact, when . . . : George Deaux interview by the author, April 2009.

214 “I always found” . . . : Ibid.

214 Biographers René Pol Nevils . . . : René Pol Nevils and Deborah George Hardy,
Ignatius Rising: The Life of John Kennedy Toole
(Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2001).

215 On one occasion . . . : Film footage of the Levy Lecture Series.

215 Cary Laird and . . . : Martin interview by the author, May 5, 2011.

215 According to Thelma . . . : Film footage of the Levy Lecture Series.

215 He “didn't like” . . . : Ibid.

215 Guibet was later . . . : Fletcher,
Ken and Thelma
.

215 The myterious “Ellen” . . . : Ellen letter to Toole. Box 1, Folder 13, Toole Papers.

215 “A lot of people” . . . : Rickels interview by Joseph Sanford, February 2009.

215 And one of . . . : Huling Ussery interview by the author, January 31, 2011.

216 One reviewer of . . . : Smiley Anders, “Gone Too Soon: New Book Chronicles Short, Tragic Life of John Kennedy Toole,”
The Advocate
, June 17, 2001: 1.

216 When using such . . . : Polites interview by the author, February 14, 2009.

217 He coined the . . . : Edwin Shneidman,
Suicide as Psychache: A Clinical Approach to Self-Destructive Behavior
(Plymouth: Rowman & Littlefield, 1993).

217 In his definition . . . : Ibid.

217 In his papers . . . : The date of this manuscript may be 1967. Charlotte Powell recalled at one of her parties in 1967 guests talking about a woman who had just committed suicide at an apartment building a few doors down the street in the French Quarter. Toole was present at the party and heard the discussion. Just like Toole's character Samuel, the woman slit her wrists in her second floor apartment. John Kennedy Toole, “Disillusionment.” Box 6, Folder 2, Toole Papers.

218 Someone was calling . . . : Ibid.

218 The woman realizes . . . : Ibid.

218 The boy watched . . . : Ibid.

219 Cary Laird thought . . . : Martin interview by the author, May 5, 2011.

219 David Kubach wondered . . . : Kubach interview by the author, November 2008.

219 And staring out . . . : Rickels interview by the author, February 10, 2009.

219 She remarks, “What” . . . : Ruth Lafranz Kathmann interview by the author, January 6, 2011.

220 Coincidentally, on the . . . : Mallord,
Love Alone Finds Cold
(New Orleans: Silver Bicycle Press, 1969). The inscription reads, “June 20, 1969. Mr. Toole,
Enjoy my misplaced anti-cedents. In universal oneness with you and Shelley, and being. Mallord.”

221 Dear Mrs. Toole . . . : Joan Trader letter to Thelma D. Toole, April 12, 1969. Box 11, Folder 12, Toole Papers.

222 Bowen felt that . . . : Joan Trader Bowen interview by the author. August 22, 2011.

222 The college did . . . : Ibid.

222 All of Mr. Toole's . . . : St. Mary's Dominican College yearbook, 1969.

223 In a reply . . . : Letter to John Toole, June 19, 1971. Box 11, Folder 13, Toole Papers.

223 Harold Toole recalls . . . : Harold Toole, Jr., interview by the author, May 9, 2009.

223 On December 28 . . . : John D. Toole, Certificate of Death. Box 11, Folder 9, Toole Papers.

223 In the spring . . . : Box 11, Folder 13, Toole Papers.

224 In March of . . . : Thelma D. Toole letter to Knopf, April 8, 1973. Box 11, Folder 13, Toole Papers.

224 Indignant when they . . . : Thelma D. Toole letter to Knopf, May 16, 1973. Box 11, Folder 13, Toole Papers.

224 She contacted literary . . . : Thelma D. Toole letter to Matson and Matson, May 8, 1973. Box 11, Folder 13, Toole Papers.

224 She informed them . . . : Thelma D. Toole letter to Knopf, May 16, 1973. Box 11, Folder 13, Toole papers.

224 “It has literary” . . . :
I Walk in the World for My Son
, film.

224 Perhaps feeling rebuffed . . . : Thelma D. Toole letter to Pelican, May 30, 1973. Box 11, Folder 13, Toole Papers.

224 In July she . . . : Thelma D. Toole letter to Harcourt, July 25, 1973. Box 11, Folder 13, Toole Papers.