Comments on: Guy Davenport

By: Jane Wodening

Jane Wodening — Wed, 12 Jan 2005 16:24:32 +0000

It must have been almost forty years ago that we brought our five small children along visiting Guy. I was proud of their good behavior. When nap-time came, I was prepared to tuck them all in in a row on the floor but Guy said they must nap on his bed. And we had a fine adult hour as they all slept quietly on Guy’s bed. Then next morning, he called us in great delight—when he had crawled into bed that night, he found a wet spot; he was very excited; it had brought back to him his childhood in a way that was so real, so inspiring, he could hardly sleep because of the delight in the memories it brought to him.

By: Beryl Boxe

Beryl Boxe — Wed, 12 Jan 2005 00:34:11 +0000

A very powerful intellect and sensibility. A great loss. I understand there is forthcoming an perceptive book of crit on GD’s work by A. Furlani, essays from which may be found online. Hope it stimulates the readership so richly warranted—

By: beryl boxe

beryl boxe — Wed, 12 Jan 2005 00:33:07 +0000

By: McBride

McBride — Fri, 07 Jan 2005 20:26:53 +0000

The encylopedia WikiPedia has a fine summary of his life… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Davenport

By: wufnik

wufnik — Fri, 07 Jan 2005 00:36:57 +0000

Along with Henry Miller (the essays, not the fiction) and George Steiner, Davenport has had the most influence on my thinking and reading of anyone I have encountered the past several decades. Not that I have done a damn thing with any of this insight. But still…which makes this loss even harder. And Joel is right—to lose both Kenner and Davenport within a year is a bummer.

By: Doug

Doug — Thu, 06 Jan 2005 21:17:47 +0000

Life just became a bit grayer. I met Prof. Davenport several times & always profited from our conversations. I was just re-reading from “Every Force Evolves a Form” last night & thinking about contacting him again. Damn.

By: Anderson

Anderson — Wed, 05 Jan 2005 23:06:00 +0000

One of the few critics who really knew how to read. A great loss.

By: Dargie

Dargie — Wed, 05 Jan 2005 19:10:00 +0000

I first discovered Davenport in 1974 with “Tatlin” and have admired his work ever since. I would look forward to every new book. Now, sadly, there will be no more. What a loss.

By: joel turnipseed

joel turnipseed — Wed, 05 Jan 2005 18:34:46 +0000

By: joel turnipseed

joel turnipseed — Wed, 05 Jan 2005 18:27:43 +0000

Oh, this is sad. To have lost Kenner and Davenport in same year (diff. calendar) is tough. Said and Sontag will be missed, of course, but Kenner/Davenport a special—almost secret—gang for me. It makes you feel like, now: “I REALLY need to get to work.”