SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — Lafayette Square in downtown Savannah was filled with Flannery O’Connor fans Sunday to celebrate what would have been the author’s 100th birthday. The day was filled with music, dancing and reading. More than 40 local authors set up tables to greet festival goers and discuss O’Connor’s influence on them as writers.
Jessica Leigh Lebos , author of “ Savannah Sideways ,” says O’Connor is synonymous with Savannah and wonders what might have been had O’Connor not died of complications from lupus at age 39. “We lost her too soon. Who knows what kind of wonderful, eyebrow-raising Southern gothic stories she would have given us? But as a southern woman she really paved the way for all of us to be able to express ourselves…to be able to throw a little shade on what southern life really is.”
What is it about O’Connor’s writing that resonates with readers and scholars so many years after she died? Mary Villeponteaux, the president of the Flannery O’Connor Childhood Home Museum Board of Directors, believes it’s the author’s vision but also her craftsmanship. “Her vision was troubling and dark and funny but even if you’re really not sharing that vision, you appreciate the craft because she is such an extraordinary writer. She makes you see what she wants you to see. And her gift of dialog…you hear those voices.”…