Old Weird America: The Dark Comedies of Charles Portis

thepointmag.com

35 points·samclemens··13 comments

From the article I really like the observation that 'the sci-fi writer William Gibson’s proverb, “the future is already here—it’s just not very evenly distributed,” is the obverse of Faulkner’s “the past is never dead. It’s not even past.”'

I know both quotes but never thought about it that way.

I heartily recommend Masters of Atlantis, which is funny and relevant to what's happening in the US today.

Nice essay. Time to re-read True Grit (one of the most enjoyable books I’ve read), and check out Portis’ other books.

The movie starring John Wayne is good too.

I actually like that one better than the newer version.

Ditto

I'm a huge Cohen brothers fan, I thought the new version was excellent, but not as excellent as the original.

One of the editions of True Grit has a fabulous afterword written by Donna Tartt.

Thanks for the tip. I just found and read it, along with her obituary for Portis. Both are very nicely done. Portis must have been a brilliant man, so aware of things most people aren’t.

Donna Tartt also narrated an audiobook version of True Grit.

I read a few after he passed, Dog of the South was my favorite, a very funny story about a particularly American kind of loser. Reminiscent of Confederacy of Dunces.

The too-brief Lodge 49 was influenced by Portis, Masters of Atlantis most obviously, and the second season had some Dog of the South (or possibly Gringos, which I haven't read) in it

I haven't read anything beyond True Grit, but that is one of the funniest books I've seen. I should check out the rest of his work.

"The Old Weird America" -- Greil Marcus uses this phrase a lot.

I read Masters of Atlantis which I highly recommend.

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