Butterfly in the Typewriter
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78 In the Woodrow . . . : The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, Directory of Fellowship Awards for the Academic Years 1945/46–1959/60 (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 1959–1960. 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 ‘A Confederacy of Dunces’ Taught at USL,” Acadiana Profile, Sept. 4, 1981: 23–26.
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 ‘A 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 ‘A 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 ‘A 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 ‘A 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 ‘A 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 ‘Conducts’ ‘Star-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: 1958–1959.
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.
110 Thelma Toole understood . . . : Thelma D. Toole interview by University of Louisiana at Lafayette, 1981. Hunter yearbooks from 1960 to 1964 do not list a girl by the name of Myrna Minkoff as a graduate of Hunter College.
110 And Anthony Moore . . . : Anthony Moore interview by the author, January 24, 2009.
111 As he admitted . . . : Toole letter to Fletcher, February 3, 1961. Printed in Fletcher’s Ken and Thelma.
111 In a letter . . . : Toole letter to parents, March 1, 1961. Box 1, Folder 1, Toole Papers.
111 The professor whose . . . : Ibid.
111 As Particia Rickels . . . : Rickels interview by the author, February 10, 2009.
112 He used to . . . : Dalferes interview by the author, November 22, 2008.
112 Nick Polites notes . . . : Polites interview by the author, February 14, 2009.
112 He admits to . . . : Toole letter to Fletcher, February 3, 1961. Printed in Fletcher’s Ken and Thelma: The Story of A Confederacy of Dunces.
112 In the 1961 . . . : The Wistarion: 1960–1961 (New York: Hunter College, 1961).
113 Polites remembers . . . : Polites interview by the author, February 14, 2009.
113 Emilie Griffin remembers . . . : Griffin, “Style and Zest: Remembering John Kennedy Toole.”
113 It was a . . . : Letter from Emilie Russell Dietrich. Box 1, Folder 14, Toole Papers.
113 Griffin identified Toole . . . : Griffin, “Style and Zest: Remembering John Kennedy Toole.”
113 Dalferes tells of . . . : Dalferes interview by the author, November 22, 2008.
114 He was a . . . : Polites interview by the author, February 14, 2009.
114 In June of . . . : Louella Parsons. New York Journal American. June 29, 1959.
114 “I know a” . . . : Frances Faye. “Frances and Her Friends.” Caught in the Act GNP Crescendo Records, 1959.
114 As the Washington . . . : Dorthy Kilgallen, “Bobby Has Eye on Sandy’s Career,” Washington Post, Times Herald, 1959–1973, Feb. 18, 1961.
115 Variety reports of . . . : Variety. March 8 1961
115 Polites observes, “It” . . . : Polites interview by the author, February 14, 2009.
115 So impressed with . . . : Fletcher, Ken and Thelma.
115 He began drafting . . . : Toole letter to Gottlieb, March 5, 1965. Fletcher Papers.
116 Along these lines . . . : Polites interview by the author, February 14, 2009.
116 Polites recalls . . . : Ibid.
116 In 1960 Purdy . . . : William Grimes, “James Purdy” New York Times. March 13, 2009 accessed on June 10, 2011 at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/14/books/14purdy.html.
116 Dalferes came to . . . : Dalferes interview by the author, November 22, 2008.
116 He despised long . . . : John Kennedy Toole letter to Patricia Rickels, January 7, 1963. Personal Collection of James D. Wilson.
117 She knew that . . . : Dalferes interview by the author, November 22, 2008.
117 Dalferes claims, “He . . . : Ibid.
117 Perhaps Polites got . . . : Polites interview by the author, February 14, 2009.
117 Toole declined, explaining . . . : Toole letter to Fletcher, July 9, 1961. Printed in Fletcher’s Ken and Thelma.
118 After her return . . . : Letter from Emilie Russell Dietrich. Box 1, Folder 14, Toole Papers.
118 “I think it” . . . : Ibid.
Chapter 8: The Army and Puerto Rico
119 And according to David . . . : Kubach interview by the author, November 2008.
120 As Joel Fletcher . . . : John Kennedy Toole: The Omega Point.
120 The barracks were . . . : Fort Buchanan photos from the personal collection of Walter Carreiro.
120 And Bob Morter . . . : Due to a story related to this individual in Chapter 9, his name has been changed.
120 Toole described them as . . . : Toole letter to parents, September 14, 1962. Box 1, Folder 4, Toole Papers.
121 Candid pictures from . . . : Fort Buchanan photos from the personal collection of Walter Carreiro.
121 Soon after Toole . . . : Kubach interview by the author, November 2008.
121 As Kubach remembers . . . : Ibid.
121 Tony Moore . . . : Anthony Moore interview by the author, January 24, 2009.
121 On another occasion . . . : Ibid.
122 As Kubach remembers . . . : Kubach interview by the author, November 2008.
122 Moore recalls Toole . . . : Moore interview by the author, January 24, 2009.
122 As I was . . . : Toole letter to parents, July 10, 1962. Box 1, Folder 4, Toole Papers.
123 In March of . . . : Ronald Walker, “P. R. Recruits Busy Learning English,” San Juan Star, March 23, 1962: 1.
123 The leadership at . . . : Letter of Commendation, February 21, 1963. Box 1, Folder 15, Toole Papers.
123 While several instructors . . . : Moore interview by the author, January 24, 2009.
123 As the San . . . : Walker, “P. R. Recruits Busy Learning English.”
123 They walked on . . . : “Style and Zest,” Remembering John Kennedy Toole.
124 She recalls seeing . . . : Ibid.
124 It was the . . . : Ibid.
124 In one of . . . : Letter of Commendation.
124 On May 22, . . . : Toole letter to parents, May 22, 1962. Box 1, Folder 2, Toole Papers.
125 The cool sea . . . : Toole letter to parents, June 24, 1962. Box 1, Folder 1, Toole Papers.
125 On June 24 . . . : Ibid.
125 “I don’t feel” . . . : Toole letter to parents, July 1, 1962. Box 1, Folder 2, Toole Papers.
125 He spent his . . . : Ibid.
126 On June 24 . . . : Toole letter to parents, June 24, 1962. Box 1, Folder 1, Toole Papers.
126 By July, the . . . : Toole letter to parents, July 1, 1962. Box 1, Folder 2, Toole Papers.
126 “Whatever its drawback” . . . : Ibid.
127 Whatever the long . . . : Toole letter to parents, July 14, 1962. Box 1, Folder 2, Toole Papers.
128 In an undated . . . : Thelma Ducoing Toole letter to John Kennedy Toole, undated. Box 1, Folder 14, Toole Papers.
128 Yesterday, the Fourth . . . : Toole letter to parents, July 5, 1962. Box 1, Folder 2, Toole Papers.
129 In Puerto Rican . . . : Toole letter to parents, May 22, 1962. Box 1, Folder 1, Toole Papers.
130 In fact, he . . . : Toole letter to parents April 10, 1963. Box 1 Folder 7. Toole Papers.
130 In his letter . . . : Letter of Commendation, Toole Papers.
130 In Waugh in . . . : Evelyn Waugh, Waugh in Abyssinia (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2007).
130 Therein, a white . . . : Evelyn Waugh. Black Mischief. (New York: Back Bay Books, 2002).
130 He won the . . . : Toole letter to parents, July 14, 1962. Box 1, Folder 2, Toole Papers.
131 He writes, “Aruba’s” . . . : Toole letter to parents, July 25, 1962. Box 1, Folder 2, Toole Papers.
131 In early August . . . : Toole letter to parents, August 4, 1962. Box 1, Folder 3, Toole Papers.
131 “There was a” . . . : Ibid.
133 Toole was promoted . . . : Toole letter to parents, August 14, 1962. Box 1, Folder 3, Toole Papers.
133 Company A saw . . . : Moore interview by the author, January 24, 2009.
133 Our First Sergeant . . . : Toole letter to parents, August 14, 1962. Box 1, Folder 2, Toole Papers.
134 When another Puerto . . . : Ibid.
135 Sgt. Jose Ortiz . . . : Toole letter to parents, September 14, 1962. Box 1, Folder 4, Toole Papers.