Flannery OConnor

With evident commitment, Flannery O'Connor: Fiction Fired by Faith traces continuing negotiations between a courageous life of prayer and an exacting aesthetic pursuit. A rich, insightful introduction to the life of an author whose ardent Christianity forged a breathtakingly original narrative art. Richard Giannone, author of Flannery O'Connor, Hermit Novelist As someone who has read and taught Flannery O'Connor's fiction continually for the past half century, I found myself riveted by Angela Alaimo O'Donnell's compact and highly readable biography of one of the twentieth century's most deeply fascinating writers. What O'Donnell has managed to do here is to get at the heart of the mystery of O'Connor's novels, short stories, essays and letters and to reveal the by turns dark and luminous Catholic faith that sustained and transformed her work throughout her too-brief life. The truth is I could not put O'Donnell's book down until I had read straight through it from beginning to end. It's all here-the scholarship, the critical insights, a Catholic writer's trenchant understanding of another Catholic writer to remind us that the spirit of Merton, Dorothy Day, Walker Percy, and O'Connor herself is alive and well today. Paul Mariani, Boston College How refreshing it is to read a biography of Flannery O'Connor that shows a deep understanding of her faith and treats it not as an idiosyncrasy to be dismissed as peripheral but as the primary motivator in her life and art. Professor O'Donnell has written an elegant and multi-dimensional portrayal of O'Connor as `a fellow Catholic-in-exile.' This is a must-read for anyone interested in coming to a full understanding of the ways in which O'Connor's faith was not just the background but the driving force behind her vision. Jill Pelez Baumgaertner, Author of Flannery O'Connor: A Proper Scaring, Wheaton College Angela Alaimo O'Donnell has written a graceful, compelling biography of Flannery O'Connor whose fiction, she rightfully insists, constituted `the inestimable contribution [she] has made to American Catholic literature, thought, and culture.' A devout Catholic, O'Connor wrote with the same fervor about her faith than she did her craft. Seamlessly moving from the life events in O'Connor's pilgrimage-the places she wrote, the friends she made, the sufferings she endured-into the characters, settings, and symbols of her stories, O'Donnell brings readers into that enlightened nexus where O'Connor's Catholicism explains and extolls her art. O'Donnell's biography is a must read for anyone who wants to understand how and why O'Connor's fiction with its violence, suffering, and mystery emerges from her Roman Catholic faith and practice. Philip C. Kolin, University of Southern Mississippi, Editor, The Southern Quarterly Flannery O'Connor: Fiction Fired by Faith would serve as an excellent introduction to her life and writings for anyone who has heard about Flannery O'Connor and wondered what all the fuss-and fervor-is about. Rose Pacatte, FSP, Author of Martin Sheen: Pilgrim on the Way This insightful biography explores both the writings of O'Connor and the deep Catholic faith that inspired her many celebrated works of fiction. U.S. Catholic The strength of O'Donnell's book, what makes reading it as enjoyable as dropping in on a senior seminar led by an expert professor, is the deep literary exegesis of O'Connor's work. Many of us have read O'Connor's stories at some point, and probably a visceral impression of the haunted characters remains with us. But O'Donnell plumbs each short story and novel, examples its meanings and relates the themes to profound Christian ones. Drawing on O'Connor's letters, O'Donnell helps the reader understand O'Connor&a

Angela Alaimo ODonnell is a poet, author, and professor at Fordham University in New York City, where she teaches English, Creative Writing, and American Catholic Studies. She also serves as associate director of Fordhams Curran Center for American Catholic Studies. ODonnell is a columnist at America magazine and writes on Books & Culture.

Contents Abbreviations ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 Chapter One The Road from Savannah to Milledgeville (192545): Memories of a Catholic Girlhood 11 Chapter Two Iowa City (194548): Portrait of the Artist as a Young Woman 31 Chapter Three Northern Sojourn (194850): Wanderer and Wayfarer 43 Chapter Four Return to Milledgeville (195153): The Country of Sickness 62 Chapter Five Freaks & Folks (195455): Good Country People 75 Chapter Six Faith & Art (195659): The Journey to the Province of Joy 89 Chapter Seven Saints, Sinners, Race & Grace (196062): Even the Mercy of the Lord Burns 99 Chapter Eight Revelations & Last Acts (196364): Facing the Dragon 113 Notes 125 Index 132