Thomas Wolfe Short Story - "Portrait of a Literaray Critic"
Led by Brandon Johnson
A fun way to enter the world of Thomas Wolfe, Asheville's most famous writer!
In this 10th annual series of monthly discussions during the winter season, members of the general public have been working our way through Thomas Wolfe's Complete Short Stories, edited by Francis E. Skipp (1987) and available for purchase at the Thomas Wolfe Memorial or your favorite bookstore. "Portrait of a Literary Critic" is an 8-page short story in this book.
If you don't know much about Wolfe, don't worry. "Portrait of a Literary Critic" satirizes a fictional character named Dr. Hugo Twelvetrees Turner. The story is Wolfe's revenge for a scathing review of Wolfe's work that Bernard DeVoto published in 1936 in The Saturday Review of Books. In "Genius is Not Enough," DeVoto opined that Wolfe poured out a raw stream of words, which required his editor Maxwell Geismar's help in fashioning them into true works of art. In this story, Wolfe shows his own skill at satire - and a nuanced understanding of what to leave in and what to leave out. Wolfe delights in exposing the poses of "the worthy Doctor" who "first made the astonishing discovery that Sex was Dull."
If you can't attend in person, don't worry. This is a FREE and hybrid event - both in-person AND Zoom. Register via Eventbrite and receive a Zoom link about a week before the event.
Our discussion leader, Brandon Johnson, grew up in Lenoir, North Carolina, the county seat of Caldwell County. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and Political Science from Mars Hill University, and a Master of Arts in English Language and Literature/Letters from Appalachian State University. His MA thesis examined Thomas Wolfe, T.S. Eliot, and Ecclesiastes. Brandon's community service in Mars Hill led him to the Bluff Mountain Festival in Hot Springs, where he started as an intern and in later years has emceed and performed as an award-winning traditional musician on mandolin, guitar and fiddle. Brandon has been an Instructor of English and Assistant Registrar at Mars Hill University. In 2020, he became the program manager for Blue Ridge Craft Trails at the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area. Four years later, he succeeded Laura Boosinger as Executive Director of the Madison County Arts Council.