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Midstream: An Unfinished Memoir
The fourth and final memoir from Reynolds Price, “one of the most important voices in modern southern fiction” ( The New York Times ), who died in January 2011.
The final book from Reynolds Price, “one of the most important voices in modern Southern fiction” ( The New York Times )—with a foreword by Anne Tyler and an afterwordby William Price
WHEN REYNOLDS PRICE DIED IN JANUARY 2011, he left behind one final piece of writing—two hundred candid, heartrending, and marvelously written manuscript pages about a critical period in his young adulthood. Picking up where his previous memoir, Ardent Spirits, left off, the work documents a brief time from 1961 to 1965, perhaps the most leisurely of Price’s life, but also one of enormous challenge and growth. Price gave it the title Midstream . Approaching thirty, Price writes, is to face the notion that “ This is it. I’m now the person I’m likely to be . . . from here to the end. ” Midstream, which begins when Price is twenty-eight, details the final youthful adventures of a man on the cusp of artistic acclaim. Here, Price chases a love to England, only to meet heartbreak. Determined to pursue other pleasures, he travels to Sweden for a friend’s wedding, then journeys to Rome with British poet Stephen Spender and spends an afternoon with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. Price returns to the United States, where he finds company with a group of artists as he awaits the 1962 publication of his first novel, A Long and Happy Life .
“Few writers have made as dramatic an entrance on the American literary stage,” declared The New York Times on the book’s success. Price would settle into a tranquil life in North Carolina, buy a house, and resume teaching. Concluding with his mother’s death and Price’s new endeavors—a second novel and foray into Hollywood screenwriting— Midstream offers a poignant portrait of a man at the threshold of true adulthood, navigating new responsibilities and pleasures alike. It is a fitting bookend for Price’s remarkable career, and it reinforces his place in the pantheon of American literature.
***
FROM ANNE TYLER’S FOREWORD TO MIDSTREAM
“Just look at him flying across the campus, curls bouncing, dark eyes flashing, and a black cape (I swear it) flaring out behind him. Actually he never owned a black cape; he told me that, years later. He said it was a navy jacket, just tossed over his shoulders. But still, he was wearing a virtual cape, if you know what I mean. He was an exclamation point in a landscape of mostly declarative sentences. He lived in a house-trailer out in the woods; he invited us to come there and drink smoky-tasting tea in handmade mugs. Speaking with a trace of an English accent from his recent studies at Oxford (for he had a genius for unintentional mimicry, which he said could become a curse in certain situations), he told us funny, affectionate tales about his childhood in backwater Macon. Most of us came from Macons of our own; we were astonished to hear that they were fit subjects for storytelling. All over again, inspiration hit. Let us out of there! We had to get back to our rooms and start writing.”
The final book from Reynolds Price, “one of the most important voices in modern Southern fiction” ( The New York Times )—with a foreword by Anne Tyler and an afterwordby William Price
WHEN REYNOLDS PRICE DIED IN JANUARY 2011, he left behind one final piece of writing—two hundred candid, heartrending, and marvelously written manuscript pages about a critical period in his young adulthood. Picking up where his previous memoir, Ardent Spirits, left off, the work documents a brief time from 1961 to 1965, perhaps the most leisurely of Price’s life, but also one of enormous challenge and growth. Price gave it the title Midstream . Approaching thirty, Price writes, is to face the notion that “ This is it. I’m now the person I’m likely to be . . . from here to the end. ” Midstream, which begins when Price is twenty-eight, details the final youthful adventures of a man on the cusp of artistic acclaim. Here, Price chases a love to England, only to meet heartbreak. Determined to pursue other pleasures, he travels to Sweden for a friend’s wedding, then journeys to Rome with British poet Stephen Spender and spends an afternoon with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. Price returns to the United States, where he finds company with a group of artists as he awaits the 1962 publication of his first novel, A Long and Happy Life .
“Few writers have made as dramatic an entrance on the American literary stage,” declared The New York Times on the book’s success. Price would settle into a tranquil life in North Carolina, buy a house, and resume teaching. Concluding with his mother’s death and Price’s new endeavors—a second novel and foray into Hollywood screenwriting— Midstream offers a poignant portrait of a man at the threshold of true adulthood, navigating new responsibilities and pleasures alike. It is a fitting bookend for Price’s remarkable career, and it reinforces his place in the pantheon of American literature.
***
FROM ANNE TYLER’S FOREWORD TO MIDSTREAM
“Just look at him flying across the campus, curls bouncing, dark eyes flashing, and a black cape (I swear it) flaring out behind him. Actually he never owned a black cape; he told me that, years later. He said it was a navy jacket, just tossed over his shoulders. But still, he was wearing a virtual cape, if you know what I mean. He was an exclamation point in a landscape of mostly declarative sentences. He lived in a house-trailer out in the woods; he invited us to come there and drink smoky-tasting tea in handmade mugs. Speaking with a trace of an English accent from his recent studies at Oxford (for he had a genius for unintentional mimicry, which he said could become a curse in certain situations), he told us funny, affectionate tales about his childhood in backwater Macon. Most of us came from Macons of our own; we were astonished to hear that they were fit subjects for storytelling. All over again, inspiration hit. Let us out of there! We had to get back to our rooms and start writing.”
- GenresMemoirNonfiction
192 pages, Hardcover
First published May 15, 2012
4 people are currently reading
60 people want to read
About the author
Reynolds Price
218 books122 followersReynolds Price was born in Macon, North Carolina in 1933. Educated at Duke University and, as a Rhodes Scholar, at Merton College, Oxford University. He taught at Duke since 1958 and was James B. Duke Professor of English.
His first short stories, and many later ones, are published in his Collected Stories. A Long and Happy Life was published in 1962 and won the William Faulkner Award for a best first novel. Kate Vaiden was published in 1986 and won the National Book Critics Circle Award. The Good Priest's Son in 2005 was his fourteenth novel. Among his thirty-seven volumes are further collections of fiction, poetry, plays, essays, and translations. Price was a member of both the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and his work has been translated into seventeen languages.
Photo courtesy of Reynolds Price's author page on Amazon.com
His first short stories, and many later ones, are published in his Collected Stories. A Long and Happy Life was published in 1962 and won the William Faulkner Award for a best first novel. Kate Vaiden was published in 1986 and won the National Book Critics Circle Award. The Good Priest's Son in 2005 was his fourteenth novel. Among his thirty-seven volumes are further collections of fiction, poetry, plays, essays, and translations. Price was a member of both the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and his work has been translated into seventeen languages.
Photo courtesy of Reynolds Price's author page on Amazon.com
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 1, 2012
It ends abruptly, being truly unfinished, but it has his inimitable voice and presence. I mourn his loss, as he was my teacher and a wonderful writer.
October 26, 2021
This brings back many memories of living in Raleigh. The name of Reynolds' sister-in-law Pia Price is familiar to me--had to be from NCSU days at the School of Education but my memory is vague.
A poignant memoir because there is so much pain is in young Reynolds' future. At times I got bogged down in the names of writers and others he knew at Oxford but when names were more familiar to me--Samuel Barber, Leontyne Price, Anne Tyler--I was more intrigued. How different his life would be today with gay marriage as an option.
A poignant memoir because there is so much pain is in young Reynolds' future. At times I got bogged down in the names of writers and others he knew at Oxford but when names were more familiar to me--Samuel Barber, Leontyne Price, Anne Tyler--I was more intrigued. How different his life would be today with gay marriage as an option.
April 2, 2013
A delightful introduction to Reynolds Price. A memoir about his life and his literary rambles with many of the modern greats of English literature. Reading the book is kind of like going to a really interesting cocktail party as the famous drop in and out and we find out gossipy tidbits about them. We also learn a lot about what it meant to be gay in England and the United States. n the 50s and 60s. Price's gentle, although sometimes scathing humor and his insightful comments about literature and people make me want to read his novels. A new project.
July 3, 2012
This last, unfinished memoir does have a feeling of a work in progress and not a completed project - but I enjoyed reading it and was impressed when you think of the conditions under which Price was writing.
The afterword by his brother about Price's final weeks is particularly moving and yes, it made me cry. Anne Tyler offers an affectionate introduction.
I also like a book with pictures.
The afterword by his brother about Price's final weeks is particularly moving and yes, it made me cry. Anne Tyler offers an affectionate introduction.
I also like a book with pictures.
December 19, 2012
Written in short sections, Midstream: An Unfinished Memoir by Reynolds Price is a wonderful, touching memoir Price was working on at the end of the life. As always, Price's writing is wonderful, beautiful prose and interesting anecdotes. Price remains one of my favorite authors.
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February 5, 2016Memoir written from diaries kept by author forty years after the effect. Could the 50's early 60's have been so sexless? Author alludes to affairs (three with individuals who all get married--so much for the changing of the sex orientation of individuals!) A couple of humorous anecdotes regarding Burton & Taylor, Steven Spenser and Leontyce Price. Not enough gay content.
May 13, 2012
Here's my review in the Minneapolis Star Tribune for Sunday, May 13, 2012:
http://www.startribune.com/entertainm...
http://www.startribune.com/entertainm...
December 12, 2012
Loved it! What a life! In spite of difficult physical challenges , Mr. Price lived life fully and made significant contributions to American literature. His memoir proves he savored every moment.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews