Updike society honors retired librarian

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For half of its 13-year run, The Centaurian counted on Dave Lull to scour the Internet for Updike-related news so that editor James Yerkes could keep the site interesting and useful for scholars and the just-plain-readers Updike most appreciated. Then, two years after a server problem forced that site to close in 2009, Lull, a librarian in charge of technical services at the Duluth Public Library in Duluth, Minn., began doing the same thing for The John Updike Society website.  Over the years he’s provided editor James Plath with the material to post more than 700 articles, both popular and academic—fitting, since over the course of his 39-year career as a librarian Lull has worked in both academic and popular libraries, in both reference and technical services.

Lull retired from library work in 2015, but not from Updike studies. “He sends me so many Updike-related stories and articles that it’s hard for me to keep up,” Plath said—something he shares in common with Yerkes, who could never manage to publish all of the items that Lull located. “I fall behind, and then go through my emails to play catch-up,” Plath said. “But I can’t imagine trying to maintain a society website/blog without Dave’s help. He has really enriched our society’s site.”

Because of all that Lull has done for Updike studies and for all he continues to do, the board of directors of The John Updike Society unanimously approved him to receive the society’s Distinguished Service Award.

Yerkes never had the pleasure of meeting Lull, who lives in Superior, Wis. across the bay from Duluth, but because Plath was going to be in Saint Paul for an F. Scott Fitzgerald conference he suggested meeting halfway in Hinckley, Minn. Appropriately, they gathered at the Hinckley Public Library, where one of the librarians offered to take a photo of the presentation.

“When I walked in, Dave was already there and I asked him if the library had any Updike books,” Plath said. “Of course, being both a librarian and an Updike fan, Dave had already checked. ‘Only one book,’ he said. ‘The Maples Stories.'”

Lull’s academic background is in political science (mainly political philosophy) and philosophy, and he received a B.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Superior in 1970. Then he earned a Master’s in Library Science from Rosary College (now Dominican University) in 1976 after a four-year stint in the Navy. “I have wide-ranging interests with no areas of expertise, so librarianship has been a good fit for me,” Lull said. “I do have a special interest in writing and writers, though I’m not a writer.”

In presenting the award on behalf of the society, Plath noted that it was awarded “with gratitude to Dave Lull, for his many years helping to promote John Updike’s legacy through The Centaurian and JUS website.”

“If you see an article on our website, odds are it’s from Dave,” Plath said.

“I’m delighted to know that I’ve been of service,” Lull said.

This is the fifth Distinguished Service Award the society has presented in its nine years of existence, with the first one going to Yerkes back in 2010.

Michael Updike to present in Belgrade

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Michael Updike, a slate sculptor by profession, will travel to Serbia next June for the Fifth Biennial John Updike Society Conference. He will present a special slideshow and talk about the year that his father, John Updike, spent in London with the family after Couples was published. Included will be slides of “side vacations to Morocco, Austria, etc.,” Michael said. The conference themes are Updike abroad and Updike in translation, and 2018 marks the 40th anniversary of the publication of Couples.

Also featured will be keynote speakers Ian McEwan and Alexander Shurbanov, Updike’s Bulgarian translator. The Fifth Biennial John Updike Society Conference, 1-5 June 2018, will be hosted by the Faculty of Philology at the University of Belgrade. Updike visited Belgrade in 1978 when it was the capital of Yugoslavia. The city, a rising tourist destination, is now the capital of Serbia.

The John Updike Society has been fortunate to have the participation of the Updike family since the very beginning, when, at the First Biennial John Updike Society Conference at Alvernia University in Reading, Pa., Updike’s first wife Mary and three of their children (Elizabeth, Michael, and Miranda) took part in a panel discussion and Q/A. The second conference at Suffolk University in Boston featured an exhibit of objects mentioned in the fiction, presented by Michael and Elizabeth, along with a visit to the house that Updike lived in and a gracious tour provided by Mary, and a walking tour of Ipswich led by Michael. David Updike offered a presentation on “Family Archaeology: pictures, objects, words” at the third conference, held again at Alvernia University in Reading, while at the Fourth Biennial John Updike Society Conference at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, S.C., David and Miranda shared slides and memories of their parents’ Ipswich years.

Conference registration will be posted on or shortly after July 8, 2018. A preliminary schedule and other conference-related articles have been previously posted.

Students research Updike in Belgrade, 1978

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Biljana Dojčinović, director of the upcoming June 2018 Fifth Biennial John Updike Society Conference in Belgrade, Serbia, assigned two of her graduate students the task of finding out more about Updike’s visit to the city back in 1978, when it was still a part of Yugoslavia.

Sanja Sudar researched newspaper and magazine articles describing Updike’s visit; Nemanja Glintić researched documents of the Writers Union, especially pertaining to how Updike came to be invited and what the itinerary was like for the visiting writers. Colleagues from the Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade translated the students’ reports into English.

“I hope this will be interesting reading,” Dojčinović said. Complete conference registration information will be made available within the next several weeks, but with interest running high the society wanted to share the students’ research right away, with gratitude to both of them and their translators:

“Updike in Belgrade: (Until) 1978,” written by Sanja Sudar and translated by Milica Abramović, Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade.

“The Narrative Report: The Association of Serbian Writers Preparations for the 15th International Writers October Summit in Belgrade in 1978 — John Updike,” written by Nemanja Glintić and translated by Anja Radić, Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade.

The above photo is a screen capture from a media clip of the interview conducted at the Writers Union in 1978, reprinted here courtesy of RTS (Radio and TV Serbia). The full clip can be seen at the society’s Facebook page.

Fifth Biennial John Updike Society Conference Call for Papers

 

Updike included in aging masculinity in the American novel study

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It’s been out for a year, but sometimes it takes a while to discover academic books. One of those titles that was displayed at the recent American Literature Association conference in Boston was Aging Masculinity in the American Novel, by Alex Hobbs, published by Rowman & Littlefield in May 2016.

In a chapter titled “Late Writing,” Hobbs focuses on John Updike, Philip Roth, Don DeLillo, and Cormac McCarthy, while in her conclusion she asks,

“Why should sexual identity be any less valued than professional identity, for example? Roland Blythe contends, ‘Old age is not an emancipation from desire for most of us, that is a large part of its tragedy. . . . Most of all [the old] want to be wanted.’ This is certainly accurate for Roth and Updike’s protagonists, and, to a lesser degree, perhaps, Paul Auster, Ethan Canin, and Anne Tyler’s characters, too. The long-term pessimism that is displayed by Roth and Updike’s men, but not by those in Auster, Canin, and Tyler’s novels, arguably stems from the way they try to use sexual relationships as their project; they rely on women to make their life whole and worthwhile. Thus, while there should be no vilification of the need or desire to retain an active sex life in old age, the characters analyzed here indicate that it is unhealthy to make this the sole focus for this stage of life. ”

Amazon link

Hobbes earned her doctorate in English from Anglia Ruskin University and teaches through The Open University. Her critical essays have appeared in Journal of American Culture, Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction, and Philip Roth Studies.

McPhees, PECO Foundation honored for Updike house support

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Roemer and Constance McPhee, whose support helped The John Updike Society to go all out and hire a historic restoration specialist to bring The John Updike Childhood Home in Shillington, Pa. back to the way it was when Updike lived there from “age zero to 13,” have received the society’s Distinguished Service Award.

In presenting the award at the society’s business meeting on Thursday, May 25, at the Westin Copley Place Hotel in Boston, society president James Plath recalled a phone call he received in December 2012 from “a man named Roemer McPhee, who told me he’d read about our efforts to turn The John Updike Childhood Home into a museum and wanted to help by sending us a check for $3000.” McPhee was a big John Updike fan and thought it was a perfect opportunity to give the writer his due.

Since that first donation, H. Roemer McPhee III—an author himself (The Boomer’s Guide to Story: A Search for Insight in Literature and Film) and a New York investor who studied at Princeton and the Wharton Graduate School of Business—has demonstrated his love of Updike by driving to Shillington to tour the house and Updike sites with his mother and later attended the Third Biennial John Updike Society Conference in Reading, Pa. with his wife and co-benefactor, Connie. Through their PECO Foundation, Roemer and Connie have contributed more than $70,000 over the years to help with the restoration, making them the second largest donor, behind the Robert and Adele Schiff Family Foundation, whose initial donation enabled the society to purchase the home. With some work still outstanding and museum display cases needed, the McPhees have also pledged additional help and said they are considering joining society members in Belgrade, Serbia for the Fifth Biennial John Updike Society Conference in June 2018.

“It’s fairly common to find foundations that care enough about a cause to donate money,” Plath said, “but to have the people behind those organizations also become involved on a personal level and to be so knowledgeable about Updike that they can discuss texts such as the Rabbit novels with members, that’s highly unusual, and it underscores the impact that Updike had as a writer.”

Because of their shared love of John Updike and his works, and because of the passion they’ve shown and the impact they’ve had in helping the society to fulfill its mission, the board of directors of The John Updike Society unanimously voted to award Roemer and Constance McPhee the society’s Distinguished Service Award, Plath said.

Over the nine years that The John Updike Society has been in existence, the society has given Distinguished Service Awards to James Yerkes, for his important contributions to Updike scholarship through The Centaurian print and online newsletter; Conrad Vanino, whose pro bono work as realtor helped the society acquire The John Updike Childhood Home and who continues to act as the society’s agent; and The Robert and Adele Schiff Family Foundation, whose generous support enabled the purchase and restoration of The John Updike Childhood Home.

Roemer McPhee’s most recent book is Killing the Market: Legendary Investor Robert W. Wilson.

Preliminary schedule announced for Updike conference in Serbia

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The John Updike Society has held four successful conferences, and the upcoming Fifth Biennial John Updike Society Conference is already shaping up to be one of the best. Below is a preliminary schedule for the conference. Registration information will follow shortly. Note that “on own” means that for logistical reasons the cost is not included in the basic academic conference registration. Note too that the day trip will be an additional cost. Most people in Belgrade speak some English, but bilingual graduate students will be available to help as guides. Those wishing to share research should see the Call for Papers.

DAY 1—Friday, June 1

5:30-7:15pm—Registration open

6:00-7:15pm—Reception hosted by the Faculty of Philology

7:30-7:40pm—Welcome by the Dean of the Faculty of Philology and President of the Society

7:40-9pm—Opening Keynote: Ian McEwan (talk, questions, booksigning)

DAY 2—Saturday, June 2

8:30am-1pm—Registration open

8:30-9:20am—Plenary Session (Panel: Translating Updike)

9:45-11am—Academic Sessions (two concurrent, three papers each plus moderator)

11:15am-12:15pm—Keynote: Prof. Alexander Shurbanov (Updike’s Bulgarian translator)

12:30-2pm—Lunch at Writer’s Union Club (where Updike had lunch; includes a look at the press conference room where Updike was interviewed)

2:30-5:30pm—Tour of the Tesla Museum (pictured below)

6-8pm—Reception at the residence of U.S. Ambassador Kyle Randolph Scott

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Come to Belgrade: A Fifth Biennial John Updike Society Conference teaser

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Fifth Biennial John Updike Society Conference director Biljana Dojčinović, Professor in the Dept. of Comparative Literature and Theory of Literature, Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade, Serbia, has put together a teaser for the upcoming conference in Serbia, formerly part of Yugoslavia. All are welcome to attend. Registration details will be announced soon on the John Updike Society website and Facebook page, but for now, mark June 1-5 2018 on your calendars.

Call for Papers

BBC Travel article on “Serbia: the place to be; A Rich History and Culture,” which includes “The Perfect Belgrade Itinerary,” subtitled, “Forget Berlin, Paris or Rome: for a city break rich in culture, history, scenery and gastronomy, yet unspoiled by the tourist masses, try Belgrade instead”

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On climate change, storytelling and John Updike

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In a recent cultural criticism and analysis essay in The Nation on “Where the Air Stands Still; In India, the pathology of denial about climate change reveals the real crisis at our door—one of imagination,” Abhrajyoti Chakraborty talks about the negative effects that colonialization and globalization have had on India and concludes that, given the “imperative to industrialize” and the effects that had on rural life and the country’s natural resources, “[i]t is hard not to view global warming as the outcome of modernization’s very success.”

Chakraborty discusses Meera Subramanian’s research methods and book, A River Runs Again, and also novelist Amitav Ghosh‘s “recent polemic,” The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable, the conclusion of which is that “the project of modernity has expelled the idea of ‘the collective’ from our imagination over the last 150 years. It did so by making obsolete the many older communal forms of storytelling—like fables, legends, and myths—and by implying that most of the events they described were unlikely to happen.

“‘The Flaubertian novel came into fashion as a result of this shift, and, something similar,’ Ghosh argues, also occurred in the field of geology. Both disciplines have become emblematic of a worldview that perceives only slow, foreseeable change and misses completely the possibility of ‘short-lived cataclysmic events’. . . .

“Much of this is inferred from a review by John Updike for The New Yorker back in 1988, in which a sense of ‘individual moral adventure’ is said to distinguish novels from fables and chronicles. Literature—comprising primarily of ‘serious fiction’ in Ghosh’s reckoning: novels that are reviewed in ‘highly regarded literary journals’—cannot persuasively imagine the unforeseeable consequences of a warmer world. This is also how, as in Subramanian’s book, personalities become more important than policies. Journalistic scrutiny can always be redirected to something private. Politics has become the sort of novel Updike might have liked: broad in principle, but relentlessly individual in practice.”

Later Chakraborty writes, “The absence of novels about climate change is a constant refrain in The Great Derangement. Identifying the absence is only part of the problem: One should also consider what such a novel might look like. It is instructive that in Updike’s characterization of the novel as an ‘individual moral adventure,’ Ghosh takes issue with the adjectives. He seems to share with Updike the confining sense that the novel is, when all is said and done, a story, an ‘adventure.’ Ways of telling are not as important as the tale: A novel is distinguished by its aboutness. There is little room for doubt or prevarication in such a novel—little room, as it were, for imagination.”

Read the full essay.

What’s Keillor reading? Updike, of course

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The John Updike Society invited Garrison Keillor to be the keynote speaker at the Fourth Biennial John Updike Society Conference in Columbia, South Carolina last October because of his love of John Updike. So there won’t be much suspense for Updike fans when Martha’s Vineyard Times interviewer Connie Berry asks Keillor, “Whom do you like to read these days?”

“I am still reading John Updike,” says Keillor. “It will take me about five more years to finish with him. And then I’ll turn to Faulkner and Turgenev and go back and reread War and Peace, and then if I’m still alive I’ll take another run at Moby-Dick.”

Read the full interview:  “Minnesota invades Martha’s Vineyard”