Wired Mesh

When I moved to New Orleans to help with a church plant for the PCA, Will Percy (Walker's "favorite nephew," according to Will) had become friends with my brother-in-law (the pastor of that church plant). Percy drove me around one day to help me find an apartment, and he mentioned that he had in the not too distant past interviewed Springsteen for a magazine. He made it seem like Springsteen and Percy had some kind of brief correspondence, but that they never were able to meet. I think that Walker Percy helped grease the wheels for Will to get the interview though, because if I remember correctly, there was some kind of note that Walker wrote Bruce, mentioning Will as his "favorite nephew," or some business like that, and that Walker was interested in Bruce's spiritual pilgramage as evidenced in his song lyrics. I bet if you could get Will's email address, he could substantiate whether the quotes are fabricated or not. He quit going to our church, but I might be able to find out more by asking my brother-in-law for his email address and ask him whether those quotes were true or not. I'll see what I can dig up.

Okay, I just read the article. That's the way Will told it. It was one letter that Walker wrote Springsteen mentioning interest in Bruce's spiritual journey, and that Bruce had not attended to the letter until after Walker had died.

Coles' quotes still sound fishy to me -- they don't fit Percy's speaking patterns in other interviews, and while I don't doubt Percy admired Springsteen, even to that raving extent, I just can't see him talking about it in such silly terms.

Yeah, I agree with that. He sounds like a Rolling Stone writer in those quotes. How did Cole say he got those quotes anyway?

I don't know. I'd have to see a copy of Coles' book. If the conversation did happen, I would assume it took place on Percy's porch, where he conducted most conversations in his later years. My gut feeling on this isn't that Coles constructed fake quotes out of cold cloth, but that he's the sort of reporter with a boomerang ear -- it's like a tin ear, only instead of all his sources sounding forced and awkward, they sound forced, awkward and exactly like Robert Coles. All his sources come back to what he was thinking in the first place. I've been guilty of this in some reporting, but it seems pretty weak for a Harvard prof. Plus he's messing with Percy. Which ticks me off.

By the way, Scott, have you had a chance to look at Paul Elie's excellent biography of Percy, Flan O'Connor, Thomas Merton and Dorothy Day, "The Life You Save May Be Your Own"? That's where I first read about Percy's interest in the Boss. I think you'd really dig that book.

Thanks for the rec, Mesh. It's going on the Christmas wish list asap. I've not heard of it, but that sounds like a fascinating read.

A quadruple biography of my favorite 20-cent. Catholics? Have I died and gone to heaven already?

Yeah, and those quotes do seem tacky. The syntax is all f***ed up for one thing. I've only read one Percy book, but I did get the impression that he knew how to write/speak.

Would you mind doing me a favor? Would you go here and let me know if you have any insights? Thanks.

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