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Bureau of Missing Persons , livre ebook

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A devoted reader of autobiographies and memoirs, Roger J. Porter has observed in recent years a surprising number of memoirs by adult children whose fathers have led secret lives. Some of the fathers had second families; some had secret religious lives; others have been criminals, liars, or con men. Struck by the intensely human drama of secrecy and deception played out for all to see, Porter explores the phenomenon in great depth. In Bureau of Missing Persons he examines a large number of these works-eighteen in all-placing them in a wide literary and cultural context and considering the ethical quandaries writers face when they reveal secrets so long and closely held.Among the books Porter treats are Paul Auster's The Invention of Solitude, Alison Bechdel's graphic memoir Fun Home, Essie Mae Washington-Williams's Dear Senator (on her father, Strom Thurmond), Bliss Broyard's One Drop, Mary Gordon's The Shadow Man, and Geoffrey Wolff's The Duke of Deception. He also discusses Nathaniel Kahn's documentary film, My Architect. These narratives inevitably look inward to the writer as well as outward to the parent. The autobiographical children are compelled, if not consumed, by a desire to know. They become detectives, piecing together clues to fill memory voids, assembling material and archival evidence, public and private documents, letters, photographs, and iconic physical objects to track down the parent.

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Publié par	Cornell University Press
Date de parution	06 mai 2011
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9780801460968
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,7500€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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BUREAU OF MISSING PERSONS

WRI T I NG T HE SECRE T L I VES OF FAT HE RS

Ro g e r J . Po rte r

CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS Ithaca and London

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850.

First published 2011 by Cornell University Press

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data Porter, Roger J., 1936– Bureau of missing persons : writing the secret lives of fathers / Roger J. Porter. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 9780801449871 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Autobiography—Authorship. 2. Fathers in literature. 3. Secrecy in literature. 4. Deception in literature. I. Title. CT25.P664 2011 808'.06692—dc22 2010052648

Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possibleinthepublishingofitsbooks.Suchmaterialsinclude vegetablebased, lowVOC inks and acidfree papers that are recycled, totally chlorinefree, or partly composed of nonwood fibers. For further information, visit our website at www.cornellpress.cornell.edu.

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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To Jennifer, with Love

“Why do you want to go so far into it?” asked Alka. “Why do you want to know so much about your father? He borned you, that is the great thing.” —Germaine Greer “Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father,” says the commandment. —Germaine Greer Children whose parents do not make them blush are irrevocably condemned to mediocrity. —Emil Cioran In writing about a father one clambers up a slippery mountain, carrying the balls of another in a bloody sack, and whether to eat them or worship them or bury them decently is never cleanly decided. —Geoffrey Wolff

Co nt e nts

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction: The Child’s Book of Parental Deception 1. FaithChanging for Life The Wounds of Memory: Shame and Discovery in the Kurzem Family Into the Belly of the Beast: Counterfeiting Identity for Survival Probing Secret Conversions: Helen Fremont’s Anguished Inquisition 2. Deciphering Enigma Codes Shadowing the Furtive Father Beyond the Grave: Mary Gordon’s Ambivalent Inquiry “Love Is No Detective”: Germaine Greer’s Guilty Hunt Family on the Lam: A Son Running After Secrets A Scavenger in the Archives: The “Memory Boy” Tracks His Parents The Naked Lady’s Face and the Detective’s Effacement 3. The Men Who Were Not There Sleuthing Amidst the Shards of the Past: Tracking Absence in the Austers The Letters and the Flag: Recuperating a Lost Father

1 17

43 54

91 99

101

110

vii

viiiCONTENTS

Speaking Him into the World: A Daughter Reenters Her Father’s History 119 A Father Gone Missing: Documenting a Broken Bond 128 4. Becoming One’s Parent 137 The Limits of Privacy: Decorum and Exposure at the Ackerleys 139 “Lies Like Contagious Diseases”: The Secrets of the Duke and His Son 147 Imagining Himself in the Paternal Matrix 155 Shared Secrets in the Fun House 161 5. Breaking the Silence 174 Race, Secrecy, and Discovery: Black on White, White on Black 176 Conclusion: Freedom or Exploitation? 186

Bibliography 189 Index 195

A c k n o w l e d g m e nt s

John Eakin has been a constant champion of my work, and his insightful critique of the manuscript proved to be invalu able. His friendship has helped me throughout, and I, like so many other writers on Autobiography, always benefit from his sage counsel. Richard Freadman has been a loyal and sympathetic reader, and chimed in with ben eficial, astute criticism and suggestions; he ran a wonderful conference at Latrobe University in Melbourne where I first presented the ideas that led to this book, and I am grateful for his profound understanding of the issues. At another conference Peter Brooks lent a careful ear to some early words that found their way into the book, and was reassuring that the project had merit. Other organizers and chairs of conferences on Life Writing where I presented portions of the book include Rocio Davis, Alfred Hornung, Craig Howes, and Alexandra Wettlaufer, and I am grateful to them. As always Howard Wolf constantly prodded me in directions I had not initially considered, giving discerning advice and continual support, and encourag ing me when I wasn’t sure my approach was on the mark. Ellie Langer, one of the most trusted writers I know, was a careful reader of portions of the text; her clarity and integrity were models to aim for. Other students of life writing who have been helpful in a multitude of ways include John Barbour, Tom Couser, Rebecca Hogan, Joe Hogan, David Parker, Gene Stelzig, and Julia Watson. I am grateful to Reed College for a summer grant and a paid leave award which allowed me to do much of the work on the book; my colleague Peter Steinberg, former dean of the faculty at Reed, has been unstintingly sup portive of my work. Peter Potter, editor in chief at Cornell University Press, was enthusiastic about this project from the start, and I deeply appreciate his wisdom along the way to publication. I am also pleased to acknowledge his assistant, Rachel Post, and my editor, Susan Specter, for their valuable assistance in getting the book into print.

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