Beaufort SC -Inspiration for Creative Thoughts
Pat Conroy was the reason that I decided to write a novel. He was dead by the time I figured all of this out. So, it was fitting that we include Beaufort SC on our trip last fall. We stayed at the Beaufort Inn which is in the next block and I was able to visit the center before it closed. I'm not much on hero worship but when an author does as much for other authors and writers as they do for themselves, that is worth noting and that was what Pat Conroy did and is still doing. I had just published the first edition of Tampa Traffick and I was just happy to have it out there. It was full of mistakes, way too long, and needed work. I realized it on reading Pat's book, My Reading Life. The citation is at the end of this. The center was a great place to get a glimmer of the impact a writer such as Pat Conroy had and still has. They conduct workshops for kids, young writers and adults. It was created by a loving community and it is testimony to the how close Beaufort South Carolina and Pat Conroy are connected. As we traveled around to find the spots mentioned in Pat's cookbook (citation follows) we got a feel for how the man and the community were blended. He would be the first to tell you that it wasn't always a calm union but as both the man and the city matured, it is hard to tell where one stops and the other begins. There were many good qualities about Pat Conroy that had nothing to do with Beaufort. And, Beaufort has many great qualities that Pat had nothing to do with. But the blend was and still is magnificent. The stories include poor Gullah children left to a crumbling school who would latter produce a writer. They include the story of how Pat campaigned and won the privilege to be buried in St. Helena Memorial Garden. the first white man to be buried there near the Penn Center. St. Helena Memorial Garden and the Penn Center both have a history in the civil rights movement. Early in his career, Pat met Martin Luther King there and Pat's devotion to teaching and advocating for better education for black students became legendary. His gravestone is covered with small mementos left by the people who make it a point to visit. In so doing, they come in contact with one of the most historic sites for human rights in the entire South. Two missions, joined by the talent and dedication of one author and his fans. If you have not read Pat Conroy please take the time to do so. He writes of life lived with all its challenges, triumphs, and loses.
My Reading Life by Pat Conroy. Published by Nan A Talese/Doubleday, A Division of Random House, Inc. New York 2010.
The Pat Conroy Cookbook by Pat Conroy. Published by Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, A Division of Random House, Inc. New York 2004
For a complete guide to Pat Conroy, his life and his work, please visit: patconroy.com For more information on the Pat Conroy Literary Center please visit patconroyliterarycenter.org.