It’s been a little while since I spent any time on my Penguin reading projects, and a recent narrow reading window seemed the perfect time to fit in the next two in the Penguin Moderns sequence. These titles are very different from each other – but oddly enough there are resonances!
Penguin Modern 37 – The Cracked Looking-Glass by Katherine Anne Porter
Porter is another one of those authors I know of, but have never read. Yet she was a prolific and critically acclaimed writer, perhaps most known for her novel “Ship of Fools”; and her short stories are apparently very highly regarded. This PM contains just one work, the title story, and it’s a moving piece of work.
Rosaleen sat silent, without rancor, but there was no denying the old man was getting old, old. He got up as if he gathered his bones in his arms, and carried himself into the house. Somewhere inside of him there must be Dennis, but where?
First published in 1922, the story tells of Rosaleen, married to a considerably older man and living an unsatisfactory life on a farm in rural Connecticut. At 30 years her senior, Dennis is aware that he is no longer man enough for his wife, who is obviously unhappy and bored. As the story progresses, both characters think back; both are aware of their flaws; and both have deep regrets about the loss of a child, a missing friend and how their lives could have been very different. Rosaleen is drawn to other men, yet holds back; and a trip to the city will test her real feelings.
Porter packs a lot into the 55 pages of her story, and it’s a poignant and atmospheric read. Rosaleen and Dennis share much, including their Irish heritage, and as a portrait of the ties that bind a marriage together, “Cracked…” is excellent. Porter’s writing is excellent, and on the strength of this I definitely would like to read more!
Penguin Modern 38 – Dark Days by James Baldwin
In contrast, book 38 is from the acclaimed author James Baldwin. He’s an author I’m familiar with, having read several of his works back in the day; however, I think these were all fiction, so I was keen to explore the essays in this volume. The book contains three titles: Dark Days (1980), The Price of the Ticket (1985) and The White Man’s Guilt (1965); and each is a powerful and moving read.
To be black was to confront, and to be forced to alter, a condition forged in history. To be white was to be forced to digest a delusion called white supremacy.
The essays explore the situation of people of colour in the USA, and Baldwin draws on his own life; growing up in Harlem, being given breaks by people whom he came to love and trust, and managing to make his way in the world, despite the odds being against this. He digs deeply into the prejudice faced by every one who is non-white, dismantling the illusion that there can be equality until white people’s supremacy is no more. One particularly resonant point he made was about education; this is, of course, structured by white people with a particular bias, and so even if a person of colour gains an education, it is skewed. The essays are inspirational reading, and still very, very relevant today…
…I am facing sixty. Dark days, for we know how much there is to be done and how unlikely it is that we will live another sixty years.
You see, I put in above the years the essays were published because I think it’s worth noting, tragically, how little has changed. In the 1960s and 1980s Baldwin was writing about police brutality to people of colour; and we saw last year how the same attitudes and prejudices lead to continuing violence against non-whites and how those who perpetrate it don’t seem to be brought to justice. It’s a sobering reminder of how much still needs to change.
Baldwin’s writing is, of course, excellent; his arguments are persuasive and his sense of outrage palpable. He’s obviously a writer I need to return to.
*****
This pair of PMs might on the surface, therefore, seem to be quite unalike. However, there are similarities; both books deal with the kind of system of inequality which exists in the USA. Rosaleen and Dennis are marginalised because of their povery and their Irish heritage; Baldwin because of race; and it struck me reading these works that America has a class system of its own. It does seem that those who emigrated to the New World took all their problems and prejudices with them, and if you aren’t one of the white folk who scrambled to the top and are clinging onto your privilege, life is still very hard. A thought-provoking pair of books, which I highly recommend!
Apr 06, 2021 @ 07:22:21
I love James Baldwin. He’s articulate, firm in his thinking but never violent.
I have The Fire Next Time on the TBR. Have you read it?
And yes, it’s disheartening to see how little changed since his time.
Apr 06, 2021 @ 20:16:37
He is – a powerful and very readable writer. I have other books of his in the house, but I’m not sure what or where – they were from the pre-blog era, so I can’t be sure if I read them or not. Must do a little digging…..
Apr 07, 2021 @ 06:53:05
Your house sounds like a book heaven with books in every nook and cranny. 🙂
Apr 07, 2021 @ 17:31:43
LOL! There are certainly books everywhere – which has been wonderful for the pandemic, but does make Mr. Kaggsy fret about the timbers occasionally!!
Apr 06, 2021 @ 12:48:01
Very much like the sound of the Porter.
Apr 06, 2021 @ 20:14:35
It’s a very effective piece of work – gets so much into such a short story. Definitely a writer to explore further!
Apr 06, 2021 @ 16:03:53
Even though I like to read, I also like the idea of short books, books under 100 pages.
I have read both Porter and Baldwin For Porter, it was ‘Pale Horse, Pale Rider’. For Baldwin, it was ‘Go Tell It on the Mountain’ and ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’. I plan on reading the collection of Baldwin’s stories ‘Going to Meet the Man’ very soon.
Apr 06, 2021 @ 20:13:56
I do like a short book to contrast with a doorstopper, definitely! As for Porter and Baldwin, both are authors I would love to read more of, and I do know I have some Baldwin in the house!
Apr 06, 2021 @ 16:09:27
Enjoyed the review, as always! By an odd coincidence, I just pulled my copy of Kathereine Anne Porter’s Pale Horse, Pale Rider off the TBR pile, as I thought it might do for your 1936 year. Alas, it was actually published in 1939 so of course I can’t read it now (only joking! I’ve been wanting to read it for years and may now actually get around to it). I read Ship of Fools many years ago & loved it but then I was very young and it’s quite romantic in many respects. As you say, I believe Porter is primarily regarded as a great short story writer although her novel is definitely worth reading.
Baldwin is definitely a writer I need to explore, having only read a novel or two also many years in the past. It’s difficult to imagine how someone of such passion, intelligence and insight managed to function given the dual (triple?) barriers he faced of race, class & gender (I’m not sure Baldwin ever acknowledged he was homosexual but it’s certainly a strong theme in his fiction). I’m of two minds regarding your statement regading how little has changed regarding racial oppression in the U.S. Beyond question it’s a monumental problem that’s literally killing too many people of color but there does seem to be at least a nascent counter movement that I think would have been incomprehensible to many during Baldwin’s lifetime. Also, there have been enormous demographic & technological changes (think camera phones and atrocities given an internet audience) since Baldwin’s day, which may be affecting the system that Baldwin struggled against. And, maybe, could it be that the long arc of the moral universe is finally tilting, ever so slightly, towards justice? Again, my answer depends on how optimistic I’m feeling on a particular day (right now, I’m awaiting the verdict in a certain trial in Minnesota).
Regarding bias in education — Baldwin of course focused on race but isn’t it interesting to think that it may have also been (and still is) structured to enforce prevailing norms regarding gender?
Apr 06, 2021 @ 20:13:15
Thank you – I think I wll definitely keep my eyes open for KAP’s work because she really does write well.
As for the state of race in the USA, I actually probably shouldn’t make sweeping assumptions because the country is so big that I imagine things are different all over. However, from outside it does seem that viewpoints are entrenched at both ends of an extremely big cravasse and although, as you say, there have been changes which make it harder to get away with vile actions, they still happen. That aspect hasn’t changed so much, and in fact intolerance all over the world seems to be on the increase (including in my country). It’s very, very sad that we can’t learn to live in piece alongside each other.
As for Baldwin, I don’t know a lot about his life, so I don’t know how open he was about his sexuality. What I do know is that he’s certainly a very powerful writer, and certainly gets to the nub of things. Gender, however, is a topic which he may not tackle, and I know black women of the time had to face many, many oppressions because of their colour *and* gender. I need to read some bell hooks next, I think – my Middle Child gave me a book so it should be very interesting.
Apr 06, 2021 @ 22:03:02
Very good points! With respect to race, I didn’t mean to suggest that the problems Baldwin faced had disappeared or perhaps had gotten even significantly better. My thoughts were more along the lines of, on an optmistic day, it was perhaps possible to believe that a few more chips had been whittled away from a mountain of prejudice, with many, many boulders remaining. I do think you’re absolutely correct that opinions on racial topics are becoming much more polarized. Passing/changing laws is relatively easy compared to demolishing belief systems, such as the myth of white supremacy; even the suggestion that it IS a myth strikes at the core of many people’s view of the universe (or at least the U.S. version of it) That Baldwin recognized this so many years ago confirms his brilliance as a social critic. I really must read some of his non-fiction!
Apr 07, 2021 @ 17:35:36
It’s a complex topic, that’s for sure, and I just feel (as I’ve commented elsewhere) that a certain recent administration has eroded the progress made and encouraged those who are full of hatred. You’re quite right that passing a law is not enough – changing people’s minds is what matters, either in matters of racism or sexism. And I think that’s the hardest part…
As for Baldwin’s non-fiction, I’m impressed – and I need to see if I can find his books…. I know they’re somewhere in the house!
Apr 06, 2021 @ 17:34:33
Two more excellent sounding Penguin Moderns, the Katherine Anne Porter particularly appeals. I feel like I might have a novel by her on my kindle.
Apr 06, 2021 @ 20:07:28
I don’t quite know what I was expecting from her but this was a very affecting piece of writing.
Apr 06, 2021 @ 18:52:27
What a thought-provoking review, too, and those comparisons feel very apt.
Apr 06, 2021 @ 20:07:00
Thanks Liz – they were a really interesting pairing, and I got a lot from them, though probably in different ways!
Apr 06, 2021 @ 20:23:13
I’ve been reading some of the book ‘White Rage’. Civil rights was making a lot of progress in the United States in the mid-1960s until Nixon, Reagan, Bush, and Trump reversed it all. Today a higher percent of blacks are in prison than there were in South Africa during apartheid. Now the Republicans are desperately trying to take whatever voting power for black people remains. Trump sort of set the standard for white ignorance and cruelty.
Apr 07, 2021 @ 17:36:26
Agreed – the most recent regime has made things so much worse and encourage those who just what to hate anything or anyone they perceive as being different to themselves. Let’s hope some of that can be repaired.
Apr 06, 2021 @ 23:36:02
I vaguely remember reading Porter’s ‘Ship of Fools’ as a teenager, but it’s her short stories that really show her strengths.
James Baldwin is one of the best writers from this country – in content and writing. Anything he wrote is deeply thought out, powerful, and heartfelt. And beautifully written.
As you point out European immigrants to the Americas brought their prejudices with them, but even worse, set up systems and institutions that made them a key component. It’s going to be a very hard process to get rid of that kind of ingrained prejudice. Two recent changes I’ve seen that might be hopeful, is more of an understanding by more white people of how pervasive and deep systemic racism is, and a realization that it is white people who have to tackle and rid ourselves and the country of it.
Apr 07, 2021 @ 17:33:32
I’d most definitely like to read more of Porter’s short stories – to write well in that format always seems to me the sign of a true artist.
As for Baldwin, his writing is excellent, but I just despair that so little has changed. Like the gains made by the feminist movement, those made against racism are being eroded and it’s tragic. I hope, like you, that increased awareness will help – certainly I am trying to address any unconscious bias I might have….
Apr 07, 2021 @ 09:42:14
Two great authors here, Karen. As I have a copy of that Porter in my TBR, I’ve only skimmed your review for now, but it’s clear from your closing comments how much you admired it. And as for Baldwin, he seems ripe for a full-blown revival. I read If Beale Street Could Talk a couple of years ago (just before the Barry Jenkins’ adaptation screened at the London Film Festival), and I was struck by how contemporary it felt. No wonder these essays still seem so relevant today…
Apr 07, 2021 @ 17:31:07
I was very impressed with Porter, after approaching with no idea what to expect really. I hope I run across more of her writing. As for Baldwin, he’s definitely not aged – his work still resonates. *Must* find the rest of his books!!
Apr 08, 2021 @ 21:21:58
Here is a site I much enjoyed:
https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/columns/re-covered/
From the Paris Review, Lucy Scholes re-covers authors and books from the past who should not be forgotten. It is much deeper and more in depth than most sites that do this sort of thing.
Apr 09, 2021 @ 16:11:56
Thanks for the link – although this could give me more fodder for the wishlist, which is always dangerous!!!!
Apr 08, 2021 @ 21:25:15
Both “deeper and more in depth”, I won’t forgive myself for that one for a long, long time.
Apr 09, 2021 @ 16:11:10
😀
Apr 20, 2021 @ 20:59:56
I’ve had Porter on my shelves for ages; she reminds me, in some ways, of Flannery O’Connor, for having been admired and her work lauded over the years, and not exactly neglected, but not often/enthusiastically read these days either.
To add a Canadian voice into the conversation about American history LOL, I share your concerns about how much has/hasn’t changed. There were powerful resistance movements in the ’60s and ’70s in the U.S. and the movement towards equality backslid dramatically. Something that I find hard to remember is that the polarization we now associate with 2016-2020 was entrenched prior; even when half the country was celebrating to have Obama in the Oval Office for two terms, the other half was appalled. The other day I was listening to an interview about a new biography on “Ladybird” Johnson, wife of Lyndon B. Johnson, and she wrote in her diaries about how her husband despaired that he would ever be able to bring people closer together on these issues (and others) in the later ’60s. A podcast that I quite enjoy on NPR called Throughline looks at the historical context behind issues in the news today (they have a recent episode on The Black Panthers, for instance) and I’ve found it super interesting so you and others might too. (You don’t have to listen to them in order, even though you know that kind of advice pains me a little.)
Apr 21, 2021 @ 11:41:36
Porter is good – I do recommend her.
As for the state of the world, I think things have slipped back everwhere and people’s views are so polarised. When I think of the 1960s and the wish for everyone to live together in peace and harmony, I wonder what happened. However, I know that in the 1970s in Britain, while I was growing up, the cracks were starting to show even then and though things have superficially improved, I’m not sure attitudes have. So sad.