HB: [hands him a book] Yeah, you can talk about her.
NG: Flannery O’Connor. This is the complete stories, because Hilarie doesn’t mess around.
HB: I don’t! [laughs]
NG: Flannery O’Connor is so good! She is. There’s 31 stories in here!
HB: I know. You’re gonna steal that aren’t you?
NG: I’m gonna steal this from you! No, I have a funny story about Wise Blood… is one of my favorite novels ever. It’s so good. And I’ve had four copies in my lifetime…
HB: But you keep giving them away, right?
NG: But I… I wish I gave them away, I think people steal them! But, I do, I give it as a gift whenever I’m in doubt about what to give somebody, because it’s such a good book. But I’ve had four in my life, and I currently have none. But Wise Blood is… Wise Blood is a really good example of southern gothic. Have you read Wise Blood?
HB: I don’t think I’ve read that one.
NG: Oh, Wise Blood is so good! It’s about this guy named Hazel Moats, and he’s kinda this wanderer who…
HB: Another thing about southern gothic literature is that the names are awesome!
NG: Names as so good!
HB: Lincoln Booth, guys!
NG: Lincoln Booth. Hazel Moats. Asa Hawks. Enoch Emery. All in this book! Enoch Emery is my second favorite literary character of all time.
HB: Beautiful.
NG: Who’s yours?
HB: Um… oh, god… who do I just, love? I mean, I was gonna say, [holds up another book] Truman Capote’s stuff really, really hits me. My favorite book of his was The Grass Harp and I had a copy of it but I’m pretty sure Mr. Austin Nichols has it right now.
NG: What a surprise…
HB: What a surprise! Theivin’ Nichols. But yeah, no, Truman Capote is such a great example of what the South produces. This appreciation of melancholy, and beauty, and Truman Capote is such a master of the short story. People know him for In Cold Blood. Great book, but I don’t think it holds a candle to his fiction. His short fiction is really fantastic. And I would say, some of my favorite characters are… it’s Dolly, in The Grass Harp. That’s such a beautiful story about a boy who runs away with his aunt… his very old aunt, and her best friend. And they go live in a tree house, out in the woods. What a romantic notion. Maybe we can build a tree house in the cemetery?
NG: We may. [Looking in the distance] That’s such a good tree.
HB: Right? It’s beautiful. You know, it’s the south! It’s live oaks and tree houses.
NG: You have to read Wise Blood, because Enoch, well he thinks he has wise blood, and that means he thinks he can see things in his blood.
HB: Alright, I will read it if they read it. [points to camera]
NG: and he dresses up as a gorilla at one point, and he steals a mummified baby from a zoo or something, or from a museum.
HB: Really? [searching] Hey, where’s that other book?
NG: [finds book] Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
HB: So not only do we just love literature, which… hey P.S, we are gonna start a book club, and what are we gonna call it?
NG: SoGoPros Book Club.
HB: [laughs] So, once a week or so, we are gonna get on, and recommend something that we feel like will fuel the southern gothic fire. And if you need visuals to go along with that, this was a gift from Gary Wheeler, who directed me in the movie ‘The List.’ He’s a southern writer, director, and it’s [pointing to book] Deep South by Sally Mann and it’s this awesome book of photography. You know, it’s just kinda got that blurred, fuzzy, McCobb feeling to it, you know? Like old, tin prints, and you’ve got lots of swamp photos… and it really is… if you are into photography at all, or visuals, it is such a beautiful book… it’s very dark, you probably can’t see it clearly… but it’s super creepy! It’s a great coffee table find, guys. So yeah, if you guys have any suggestions for us, that you think is something that is southern gothic and you think we’d be into to now that you are learning more about our taste, let us know. We love hearing your feedback, and we really, really appreciate all of the support! You guys have been fantastic.
NG: Do you want to play a game?
HB: Okay.
NG: Alright. Yeah, we will play a southern gothic game. This is like MTV. This is bringing you back to MTV.
HB: [laughs] I know!
NG: I’ll say something, and you will say ‘southern gothic’ or ‘not southern gothic.’
HB: Ooh. Okay.
NG: Alright. And we will get to incorporate some of the newer things that have been inspired by the original southern gothic.
HB: Okay.
NG: Okay… ‘No Country For Old Men.’
HB: I don’t think it’s very southern gothic, do you?
NG: [buzzer sound]
HB: You think it is?
NG: I think it’s southern gothic. I think Corman McCarthy is… I think Corman McCarthy is southern gothic.
HB: I mean, it’s southern gothic. I guess, you know what, violence is something, like crazy violence, is something I’m going to have to learn to get along with in southern gothic culture, right? I’m more into like, you know…
NG: You’re more into the dresses…
HB: [laughs] Yeah, I like the dress end of it, and like, dirty New Orleans streets…
NG: Okay. Moving on, moving on.
HB: Moving on, moving on.
NG: As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner.
HB: Ooh. Southern gothic.
NG: Yes. Southern Gothic… Slumdog Millionaire!
HB: Not southern gothic! [laughs]
NG: Not southern gothic.
HB: Although, very good!
NG: Yes, very good… ‘Ode to Billy Joe’ as performed by Bobby Gentry.
HB: I mean, that’s pretty southern, right?
NG: [whispers] Gothic.
HB: [whispers] Southern gothic.
NG: It is. It is… Xanadu.
HB: Not southern gothic. Although, I do love Olivia Newton John.
NG: Xanadu!
HB: [dances] Yeah.
NG: Alright.
HB: Well, what am I? One and four? Alright, anyway, while we continue to amuse each other, you guys have a great day. Thanks for hanging out with us, and we look forward to hearing from you. Bye!
NG: Thank you guys.
No comments:
Post a Comment