71 In his poem . . . : John Kennedy Toole, “New York: Three Aspects.” Box 6, Folder 5, Toole Papers.
71 During the winter . . . : John Kennedy Toole letter to Thelma Toole. Box 6, Folder 4, Toole Papers.
71 The speaker of . . . : John Kennedy Toole, “The Arbiter.” Box 6, Folder 4, Toole Papers.
72 “The American Scholar” . . . : John Kennedy Toole letter to Thelma Toole. Box 6, Folder 4, Toole Papers.
72 The poem looks . . . : Toole, “The Arbiter,” Box 6, Folder 4, Toole Papers.
73 In fact “The” . . . : Ibid.
73 While in New . . . : Jack Kerouac,
The Subterraneans
(New York: Grove, 1958). Box 5, Folder 17, Toole Papers.
73 His copy, inscribed . . . : Ibid.
73 Once I was . . . : Ibid.
74 On November 6 . . . : Ann Charters,
Kerouac: A Biography
(New York: St. Martin's Press, 1994).
74 Amis earnestly questioned . . . : Ibid.
74 He named influences . . . : Ed Adler, “Friends and Fellaheen,” in
Departed Angels
, by Jack Kerouac (Boston: Da Capo Press, 2004), 216.
75 The English department . . . : Diana Trilling, “The Other Night at Columbia: A Report from the Academy,”
Partisan Reivew
, Volume 26, 1959: 214â230.
75 However, Diana Trilling . . . : Ibid.
75 As Diana Trilling . . . : Ibid.
75 Instead she found . . . : Ibid.
75 Trilling expresses the . . . : Ibid.
75 During the question . . . : Ibid.
76 In a letter . . . : Allen Ginsberg letter to John Hollander, September 1959, in
Letters of Allen Ginsberg
(Philadelphia: Da Capo, 2008).
76 Fred Kaplan, author . . . : Fred Kaplan,
1959: The Year Everything Changed
(Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2009).
76 It was the . . . : Trilling, “The Other Night at Columbia.”
77 “angel headed hipsters” . . . : Allen Ginsberg,
Howl and Other Poems
(San Francisco: City Lights Books, 2006).
77 In March of . . . : “Honor's thesis final draft,” Box 2, Folder 14, Toole Papers.
77 Professor Wieler commented . . . : Wieler letter to Dichmann, June 10, 1959. English Department Records, University Archives, University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
78 As the
Graduate
. . . :
The Graduate Student's Guide: 1958â1959.
78 Toole graduated with . . . : Wieler letter to Dichmann,June 10, 1959. English Department Records, University Archives, University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
78 Wieler tried to . . . : Ibid.
78 In the Woodrow . . . : The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation,
Directory of Fellowship Awards for the Academic Years 1945/46â1959/60
(New Jersey: 1960).
78 On June 2 . . . : Lawrence Fellows, “Columbia Gives Degrees to 6,571,”
New York Times
, June 3, 1959: 28.
78 Usually the ceremony . . . : Ibid.
78 He reminded them . . . : Ibid.
78 The graduation ceremony . . . : Ibid.
79 He adopted a . . . : Rickels interview by the author, February 10, 2009.
79 Therein, Richard Fogle . . . : Fogle letter to Dichmann, June 12, 1959. English Department Records, University Archives, University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
79 Wieler also wrote . . . : Wieler letter to Dichmann, June 10, 1959. English Department Records, University Archives, University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
79 They would pay . . . : Dichmann letter to Toole, July 8, 1959. English Department Records, University Archives, University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
79 He warned Toole . . . : Paul T. Nolan letter to John Kennedy Toole, June 19, 1959. English Department Records, University Archives, University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Chapter 6: Cajun Country
81 In his epic . . . : Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,
Evangeline and Other Poems
(Toronto: Dover, 1995).
82 When Toole arrived . . . : Fletcher,
Ken and Thelma
.
82 In early September . . . :
L'Acadien 1959â1960.
Southwestern Louisiana Institute.
82 His landlady, “a” . . . : Fletcher,
Ken and Thelma
.
82 Toole once described . . . : Ibid.
82 On the second floor . . . : Trent Angers, “Author of âA Confederacy of Dunces' Taught at USL,”
Acadiana Profile
, Sept. 4, 1981: 23â26.
83 Originally constructed as . . . : Rickels interview by the author, February 10, 2009.
83 Humidity and termites . . . : Ibid.
83 Occasionally, in the . . . : Ibid.
83 While much of . . . : Joel Fletcher interview by the author, December 23, 2008. This accomplishment was largely due to the foresight of Fletcher's father, the president of the college at the time.
83 Many of them . . . : Rickels interview by the author, February 10, 2009.
83 Many of them came . . . : Ibid.
84 “He was always” . . . : Ibid.
84 In a slow . . . : Ibid.
84 Closing her eyes . . . : Rickels interview by Sanford for the film
John Kennedy Toole: The Omega Point
, February 2009.
84 Toole would later . . . : Angers, “Author of âA Confederacy of Dunces' Taught at USL.”
85 George Deaux, an . . . : George Deaux interview by the author, April 2009.
85 Deaux recalls, “One” . . . : Ibid.
85 Joel Fletcher and . . . : Joel Fletcher interview by the author, October 15, 2011
85 Regardless of the . . . : George Deaux interview by the author, April 2009.
85 Deaux recalls one . . . : Ibid.
85 Bereaved by his . . . : Ibid.
85 He lived in . . . : Rickels interview by the author, February 10, 2009.
85 As an avid . . . : Ibid.
86 As Professor Rickels . . . : Ibid.
86 Byrne often said . . . : Byrne interview by Palumbo, 1995.
86 At one time . . . : Rickels interview by the author, February 10, 2009.
86 “I wasn't going” . . . : Byrne interview by Palumbo, 1995.
86 And yet this . . . : Rickels interview by the author, February 10, 2009.
86 Behind his supercilious . . . : Ibid.
86 He once told . . . : Ibid.
86 “I felt cheated” . . . : Ibid.
87 Byrne's aunt was . . . : Byrne interview by Palumbo, 1995.
87 And his blatant . . . : Ibid.
87 One day Byrne . . . : Fletcher,
Ken and Thelma
.
87 Toole later told . . . : Ibid.
87 When Toole once . . . : Byrne interview by Palumbo, 1995.
87 In an article . . . : Angers, “Author of âA Confederacy of Dunces' Taught at USL.”
87 Bobby Byrne, was . . . : Ibid.
88 Then Broussard noticed . . . : Ibid.
88 In recalling their . . . : Byrne interview by Palumbo, 1995.
88 “Oh my God” . . . : Rickels interview by the author, February 10, 2009.
88 Byrne recognized some . . . : Byrne interview by Palumbo, 1995.
88 Toole even seemed . . . : Toole,
A Confederacy of Dunces.
89 Rather, he identified . . . : Byrne interview by Palumbo, 1995.
89 In fact, Byrne . . . : Ibid.
89 “He has it” . . . : Ibid.
89 Byrne noticed a . . . : Ibid.
89 Interestingly, in the . . . : Ibid.
89 One night at . . . : Rickels interview by the author, February 10, 2009.
90 His friend Nick . . . : Polites interview by the author, February 14, 2009.
90 Ken used to . . . : Ibid.
90 In the course . . . : Ibid.
91 He dressed in . . . : Rickels interview by the author, February 10, 2009.
91 When Patricia met . . . :
John Kennedy Toole: The Omega Point
, directed by Joe Sanford and featuring Patricia Rickels, 2010.
91 Patricia, having endured . . . : Rickels interview by the author, February 10, 2009.
91 On occasion, with . . . : Ibid.
92 Before leaving Lafayette . . . : Ibid.
92 He told her . . . : Ibid.
92 And he told . . . : Ibid.
92 Toole introduced them . . . : Angers, “Author of âA Confederacy of Dunces' Taught at USL.”
92 But during their stay . . . : Rickels interview by the author, February 10, 2009.
92 In the event . . . : Ibid.
92 But the extreme . . . : Ibid.
92 On the weekends . . . : Ibid.
93 One day as . . . : Ibid.
93 Over modest meals . . . : Ibid.
93 On occasion he . . . : Ibid.
93 His favorite line . . . : Ibid.
93 To his friends' . . . : Ibid.
94 Nearly everyone played . . . : Ibid.
94 “He was a” . . . : Rickels interview by Sanford, February 2009.
94 Of course, with . . . : Angers, “Author of âA Confederacy of Dunces' Taught at USL.”
94 The slim-fitting . . . : Rickels interview by the author, February 10, 2009.
94 At first he . . . : Ibid.
94 Regardless of his . . . : Ibid.
95 Toole positioned himself . . . : Ibid.
95 But on another occasion . . . : Fletcher interview by the author, December 23, 2008.
95 Looking back on . . . : Rickels interview by Sanford, February 2009.
95 She was convinced . . . : Rickels interview by the author, February 10, 2009.
96 Polites entered their . . . : Polites interview by the author, February 14, 2009.
96 Mrs. Toole came . . . : Ibid.
96 For months Toole . . . : Ibid.
96 She played the . . . : Ibid.
96 “When Ken could” . . . : Ibid.
96 “There were a” . . . : Ibid.
97 He “talked to” . . . : Ibid.
97 Near the end . . . : Ibid.
98 In July of . . . : Fletcher,
Ken and Thelma
.
98 “GET IN OUTTA . . . : Ibid.
98 Later that day . . . : Ibid.
98 Elmore Morgan, the . . . : Angers, “Author of âA Confederacy of Dunces' Taught at USL.”
99 And regardless of . . . : Ibid.
99 Joking with Patricia . . . : Ibid.
99 In May of . . . : “John K. Toole: To Washington,”
English Department Newsletter
, May 11, 1960: 1. English Department Records, University Archives, University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
99 He would attend . . . : Ibid.
99 According to Patricia . . . : Rickels interview by the author, February 10, 2009.
100 Fortunately, in June . . . : “Mr. Toole to New York,”
English Department Newsletter
, June 15, 1960: 5. English Department Records, University Archives, University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
100 The English department . . . : Ibid.
100 He went out . . . : Fletcher,
Ken and Thelma
.
100 Although Nick Polites . . . : Polites interview by the author, February 14, 2009.
100 One weekend in: Martin interview by the author, May 5, 2011.
Chapter 7: Hunter and Columbia
102 He rented a . . . : John Kennedy Toole letter to Nandy and Uncle Arthur, October 18, 1960. Box 1, Folder 1, Toole Papers.
102 Under the guidance . . . : Unofficial Transcript, Columbia University, Box 1, Folder 1, Toole Papers.
102 And he took . . . : Ibid.
102 “He loved New” . . . : Rickels interview by the author, February 10, 2009.
102 The
New York
. . . : “Hunter Opens Calmly,”
New York Times
, September 20, 1960: 30.
103 As Toole reported . . . : Toole letter to Nandy and Uncle Arthur, October 18, 1960.
103 Toole observed how . . . : Ibid.
103 From September to October . . . : Ibid.
103 Upon hearing “The Star-Spangled . . . : “Khrushchev âConducts' âStar-Spangled Banner,'”
New York Times
, October 6, 1960: 16.
103 Desperate attempt to . . . : Benjamin Welles, “Khrushchev Bangs His Shoe on Desk,”
New York Times
, October 13, 1960: 1.
103 Initially humored by . . . : Toole letter to Nandy and Uncle Arthur, October 18, 1960.
103 One morning in . . . : Ibid.
104 Toole confesses, “I find” . . . : Ibid.
104 She picked up . . . : Clayelle Dalferes interview by the author, Nov. 22, 2008.
104 On one occasion . . . : Ibid.
104 And one night . . . : Griffin, “Style and Zest: Remembering John Kennedy Toole.”
105 Dietrich (now Emilie . . . ): Ibid.
105 In a letter . . . : Ibid.
105 With great skill . . . : Ibid.
105 Toole wrote to . . . : Toole letter to Fletcher, February 3, 1961. Printed in Fletcher's
Ken and Thelma
.
106 On one occasion . . . : Eugene Archer, “Playgirl on the Town,”
New York Times
, October 9, 1960: X7.
106 The Columbia
Graduate
. . . :
The Graduate Student's Guide: 1958â1959
.
107 He went sledding . . . : “Adult Photos,” Box 5, Folder 14, Toole Papers.
107 During this playful . . . : Ibid.
108 He wrote to . . . : Toole letter to Fletcher, February 3, 1961. Printed in Fletcher's
Ken and Thelma
.
108 He confides to . . . : Ibid.
108 In March he . . . : Toole letter to parents, March 1, 1961. Box 1, Folder 1, Toole Papers.
108 On the first . . . : Ellen R. Friedman interview by the author, December 31, 2010.
109 “He began a” . . . : Ibid.
109 “He had a” . . . : Ibid.
109 Dear Ken, . . . : “Letter from Ellen” Box 1 Folder 13. Toole Papers.
110 As Fletcher suggests . . . : Fletcher,
Ken and Thelma
.