Feedback, Comments, Love Letters: 1997
Feedback, Comments, Love Letters
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From: Johanna Ketola
Message-Id: <199701150918.LAA10847@reimari.uwasa.fi>
Subject: About James Jones
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Hi and Greetings from Finland!
First I would like to thank you about your marvellous home page of James Jones which
I saw today for the first time and now it will probably take a whole day of me reading it through.
I am a third year student in the university of Vaasa, Finland, and I am reading English as a
minor subject and yesterday I found out that I have to write a short thesis on something that
I am interested in. So since I read From Here to Eternity a couple of years ago and found it the
best book I've ever read and in last Christmas the movie of it came from the Finnish TV; I decided
to compare how the main characters's relationships develope in the film and in the book, and
are they presented in a different way. Since I also need some background information about the
author and the book too I found your home page very good to this purpose. Thank you again!
Yours,
Johanna Ketola
******************************************
The truth is rarely pure and never simple.
- Oscar Wilde -
Date: Thu, 30 Jan 1997 09:26:38 +0100 (ITA)
To: rking@vunet.vinu.edu
From: guido@pantarei.it (guido calza)
Subject: "Re-Enlistment Blues"
While looking for information on this blues I found your page:
http://rking.vinu.edu/enlist.htm.
Do you know who sang this song and if there is a recording of it available?
Thanks very much,
Guido Calza
Guido Calza
Panta Rei Srl - Piazza Velasca 5 - 20122 Milano - Italy
http://www.pantarei.it - email: guido@pantarei.it
EDITOR'S NOTE: I responded to Guido and told him the only place I
had ever heard "Re-Enlistment Blues" recorded was in the film
version of From Here To Eternity. He responded with some interesting
information below.
Date: Thu, 30 Jan 1997 15:53:44 +0100 (ITA)
To: RKING@VUNET.VINU.EDU
From: guido@pantarei.it (guido calza)
Subject: Re: "Re-Enlistment Blues"
>Dear Guido: As far as I know, the song was written by James Jones
>(or possibly by a bunch of men he was in the army with) for inclusion
>in FROM HERE TO ETERNITY. As far as I can tell it was never recorded
>for release, except in the film version of FROM HERE TO ETERNITY.
>You can hear it sung there
Thanks for your reply.
In the meantime I've found a recent recording of it by Jorma Kaukonen.
>May I ask why you are interested in
>this?
On behalf of a famous Italian singer, Mina, whom you might happen to know.
Ciao and thanks again,
Guido
Guido Calza
Panta Rei Srl - Piazza Velasca 5 - 20122 Milano - Italy
http://www.pantarei.it - email: guido@pantarei.it
Date: Sun, 2 Feb 1997 12:06:28 +0100 (ITA)
To: RKING@VUNET.VINU.EDU
From: guido@pantarei.it (Guido Calza)
Subject: Re: "Re-Enlistment Blues"
>Guide: I am afraid I have not heard about Mina. Can you tell me anything
>about here. Do you work with her? Thanks.
>Richard King (rking@vunet.vinu.edu)
Mina is all-Italian product! She has never wanted to work abroad, although
even Sinatra once invited her to the States for a tour together. Anyway,
she is still Italy's best pop singer, with a unique voice and personality.
Her career started at the end of the fifties (she is now 56), and she soon
became one of the most popular Italian singer/tv entertainer in the sixties.
She gave her last concert in 78, and has never reappeared on tv or live
since, but she has been releasing a double album each year, which instantly
gets into the Italian top 10 without any form of promotion (btw, her
latest cd, Napoli, is very good).
I don't work with her, but I occasionally find records for her.
Ciao,
G.
Guido Calza
Panta Rei srl - Piazza Velasca, 5 - 20122 Milano (Italia)
Tel. 02/86450758 - http://www.pantarei.it - email: guido@pantarei.it
Date: Wed, 26 Feb 1997
To: rking@vunet.vinu.edu
From: "Jim Morse"
Subject: James Jones Literary Society
I finally broke down and upgraded my computer about two weeks ago to get
access to the Internet. (I know...I'm a slow learner.)
I can't tell how refreshing it was to find the WEB Site for James Jones and
the literary society that is devoting the time and expense to keeping his
work alive.
Way back when....70's early 80's.... I was trying to write my own novel set
Vietnam. Got through a couple hundred thousand words that I felt were
worth keeping. No where near completion. But I remember spending umpteen
hours "warming up" by literally copying Whistle by James Jones. I would
spend some time copying this work, as well as Catch 22, just as an effort
to learn the craft of writing, and enjoying the experience of reading the
books once again - one word at a time.
For the last 20+ years I've responded "James Jones" when anyone asked me
about my favorite author. I have yet to find a writer who leaves one with
a better sense of reality than Jones, regardless of the topic. (Although
Pat Conroy just did a nice job with Beach Music.
Anyway, it was a wonderful experience to stumble across this WEB page. You
will be hearing from me soon in terms of joining the Society. I don't know
if it is possible, but I would very much like to attend the next
meeting....apparently in Springfield.
I haven't reviewed everything on the Site, but I hope you have some
reference to Willie Morris' book, "A Friendship. After studying Jones for
many years, I found Willie's homage a source of sanctuary. Another
antidote to despair, as they say.
Thank you again for the WEB Site. I'm sitting hear printing out the piece
on Guadacanal, and will read it tomorrow. (With copies to friends who give
a damn.)
More later, I'm sure.
Jim Morse
3310 River Drive
Plover, WI 54467
(715-345-9805)
EDITOR'S RESPONSE:
Dear Jim:
Thank you for a wonderful letter! It really keeps me going. Since
I was the only person who knew anything about creating Internet
home pages, the James Jones Society (of which I am proud to be a
charter member) let (drafted) me set up the Web site. I consider this to be
my contribution to the Society and the memory of a great man. I live
in Vincennes, Indiana, (I am a librarian at Vincennes University),
about 40 miles from Robinson, Illinois, where Jones grew up. I always
had an affinity with Jones simply because of this geographic
proximity. I first read THE ICE CREAM HEADACHE when I was 18, and
was very disturbed by the stories about a different side of mid-America
than the one I inhabited, and any time a writer can disturb an
18-year-old, well, he/she is doing something right. I read some of
Jones's other works when I was older, and came to appreciate them very
much. I would like to read THE ICE CREAM HEADACHE again some time and
see if my take is different now that I am 41.
Willie Morris has been the principal speaker at two of the
Society's annual meetings, and I am privileged to have met him.
Two (or was it three) years ago he drove up from Mississippi to
Robinson, where the meeting is often held, and he left on
a blustery November afternoon during a blizzard. I got the impression
he was going to flee to the southland as fast as he could, since
he had not experienced very cold weather in quite a while. He told
some wonderful stories about Jones (and a couple of them are recounted
in the Newsletter on the WWW pages--have you found these yet?--what
a treasure-trove!) which you may have heard (the Ted Kennedy/Morris/
Jones/Bartender story, the Eudora Welty/bourbon/dinner story, etc.).
Well, thanks for writing, and I'm glad you are interested in joining
the Society to help keep Jones's work and name alive for a new generation.
Sincerely,
Richard L. King
rking@vunet.vinu.edu
http://rking.vinu.edu/j.htm
Sun, 06 Apr 97 10:49:22 EST
From: Jim Malachowski "71414,1277"@compuserve.com>
To: rking@vunet.vinu.edu
Subject: Linking from the 27th Infantry Web Site
Hello,
My name is Jim Malachowski, I am the Webmaster for the 27th Infantry
"Wolfhounds" web site.
May I link to your site from our Wolfhound Who's Who page?
Jim
EDITOR'S RESPONSE:
Subject: Linking from the 27th Infantry Web Site
Jim: We of the James Jones Literary Society would be honored to have
you link to us. Just for personal interest, what can you tell me
about the Wolfhounds? Also, can you send me your WWW site and I'll be
glad to crosslink it to the Jones page. Best wishes,
Richard King
http://rking.vinu.edu/j.htm
rking@vunet.vinu.edu
NOTE: The Wolfhounds WWW address mentioned in the letter above is http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/wolfhounds/.
Date: Fri, 13 Jun 1997 15:08:33 -0500
From: Kip.Stratton@natinst.com (Kip Stratton)
Subject: K.C. Constantine
To: rking@wabash.vinu.edu
Hello --
In the Fall 1994 newsletter, Judith Everson makes reference to
novelist "K.C. Constantine," in which she discloses a good deal more
information about the reclusive writer than I knew before. I'd like to
find out where she acquired that information. Any way I could contact
her? Or she me?
Many thanks. And I enjoyed your site a great deal. Of course I liked
Jones a great deal. And Gloria Jones took a bit of an interest in a
woefully immature novel I wrote in the early '80s while she was an
editor at Doubleday. I remember her kindness in making suggestions for
getting my book in shape, though to no avail (except that I was able
to use it as a creative thesis for my M.A., so I guess there was some
good to come out of it).
Many thanks...
W.K. "Kip" Stratton
kip.stratton@natinst.com
Editor's Note: I forwarded Judith's address to Kip and discussed Jones a bit in
an email note, and he responded below.
Subject: More on Constantine, Cont.
Date: Mon, 7 Jul 1997 15:13:35 -0500
From: Kip.Stratton@natinst.com (Kip Stratton)
Hi Richard -
[...]
Thanks for the response. Yeah, I read TOUCH OF DANGER years ago, about
the time WHISTLE came out. I don't remember much about it, except that
I thought Jones was having some fun when he wrote it. Was that the one
that had the scuba diving stuff in it or was that GO TO THE
WIDOWMAKER? For some reason, I always get those two titles confused.
I basically read all of Jones in a short time frame after WHISTLE came
out and after I read Willie Morris's wonderful piece in the ATLANTIC
(except for SOME CAME RUNNING, which I still haven't tried; too many
pages). ETERNITY, PISTOL, RED LINE, WHISTLE and some parts of VIET
JOURNAL have hung with me as much as anything I've ever read,
including Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Faulkner, Welty, Mailer, and so on.
I was a grad student in English at the time I read all of that,
hanging around with a lot of Vietnam vets going to school on the GI
bill, and Jones gave me so much goddamned pleasure. DANGER, HEADACHE,
WIDOWMAKER and MERRY MONTH have faded away on me, but I guess that's
sort of a given.
By the way, what's the verdict on SOME CAME RUNNING these days? Is it
the monumental flop it was considered at the time it came out or is it
the towering accomplishment Willie Morris says it is? Or is it
somewhere in between?
Also, is your group in touch with John Bowers? He was one of the New
Journalists I liked quite a lot. I remember a collection of his called
something like THE GOLDEN BOWERS that I'd like to get my hands on
again. I also have a copy of his COLONY memoir and his first (and
only?) novel, REUNION.
[...]
Best...Kip
Editor's Note: I responded to Kip and we discussed Bowers and SOME CAME RUNNING and a few
other things. Thank you for the interesting letter, Kip.
Subject: Piece on James Jones
Date: Sat, 30 Aug 1997 23:56:41 -0600
From: Jim Hazard
To: rlking@marsh.vinu.edu
A very nice piece on James Jones. I enjoyed it very much, having been
touched so deeply by the man (his writing I mean) from his earliest days
as a figure in my parents' household: I heard and felt the excitement he
made in our house when I was a boy -- much the way Jack Teagarden or
Fats Waller or Django Reinhart did. I started reading him very young,
astounded at the sheer physical weight of the book (FROM HERE TO
ETERNITY). Once, many years later, I was in the hospital having
cervical spinal surgery and wanted to reread it there and was again
struck by the weight of the book. That time it was too much for me and
the reread had to wait till my hands could support the book. Often I
teach Elderhostel courses that touch on WWII and have reason to mention
him -- always there is this serious groan of affirmation at his mention
-- he's one of them, one of their generation and no one told about their
lives better they say.
Editor's Note: Thanks, Jim, for the wonderful comments!
Subject: The Ring of Books - James Jones
Date: Sat, 06 Sep 1997 15:47:33 -0400
From: Shannon Wendt
To: rlking@marsh.vinu.edu
Hello. I just visited your site and I enjoyed your page design and your
James Jones content.
I recently founded a webring, The Ring of Books, and I have been looking
for sites that would be a great addition to the ring. I think that your
site would be a perfect candidate.
If you are interested, please visit the ring's homepage at
http://members.aol.com/thquillpen/ringbook.htm
If not, thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Shannon Wendt
Editor's Note: We are now a member of the Ring of Books. Thanks, Shannon!
Editor's Note: A comment from a friend concerning the Jones home page:
Subject: Re: Re: James Jones
Date: Mon, 8 Sep 1997 19:25:40 -0400 (EDT)
From: Debah@aol.com
To: rlking@marsh.vinu.edu
...I like the optimism...
That site has a flair about it, too--haven't checked it in awhile, but it's
looking good. It has substance.
Deborah
Date: Fri, 12 Sep 1997 08:28:56 -0700
From:
To: rking@indian.vinu.edu
Subject: Unit Pride
Dear sir,
Can you help me with a query I have, I am trying to locate a book that I
believe was written by jones called "Unit pride". I am unable to find
anything about the book but I have definately read it.
Thanks
Boris Watensky
Date: Mon, 15 Sep 1997 13:07:32 -0700
From:
To: RKING@VUNET.VINU.EDU
Subject: Re: Unit Pride
RKING@INDIAN.VINU.EDU wrote:
>
> Dear Boris:
> I have never heard of this book you are talking about, but a search
> of the Library of Congress catalog pulled up the following:
> The Library of Congress Experimental Search System
> Item 1 of 2
>
> Unit pride
> John McAleer and Billy Dickson.
> Garden City, N.Y. : Doubleday, 1981.
> 515 p. ; 22 cm.
>
> Can this be the book you are thinking of? Best wishes,
> Richard King, Webmaster
> James Jones Literary Society
> rlking@indian.vinu.eduRichard,
> rlking@indian.vinu.edu
Richard,
many thanks for taking the time to respond
Boris
Comments from a friend who goes by the name "Poco"...
Subject: Curious after 30 years
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 1997 21:30:07 -0500
From: "Poco"
I read James Jones first in the '60's. I was drawn to his style. But I
don't agree that "Some Came Running" was not good. The subject was one
that he intentionally used to create controversy. I thought it was an
important addition to the portfolio of his career. Now, 30 years later,
I looked this title up on the internet.
I'm glad he is not forgotten.
Subject: None
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 18:13:43 -0500
From: poco@wir.net
>Dear Poco (feel free to sign your name if you want):
>Thanks for the nice note. If you can believe it, SOME CAME RUNNING is
>one of Jones's works I have not read yet. I live only about 30 miles
>from Robinson, Illinois and think it is high time that I read the book
>based on this town. Are you going to be able to attend the annual
>conference in November at Springfield, ILL? Best wishes,
>Richard King
>
Richard King -
I live too far from Springfield to attend the conference -
I believe you will like Some Came Running, and it certainly is a must-read
if you are interested in his work. I thought it was as good in its own
right as "From Here to Eternity". (Critics notwithstanding) It is about
two brothers, very much alike, really. One thinks he has finally found the
High Road, and the other - the black sheep - reappears from a stint in the
Army determined (it seems) to embarrass him.
Everyone knows, or knows someone who knows, a Dave Hirsh. You don't have
to move in the same catastrophic social circles as he does, to have seen
his story.
The tale is full of distinct, often distasteful, but always interesting
personalities, and their ambiguities.
Actually, that's what I found strangely appealing in Jones' work. He
pulled the subjects out of the background and plopped them in your face.
Take it or leave it. He often straddled two social levels and managed to
make it work. I always found the sudden starts and stops in his sentences
to add emphasis, although some may say it was improper use of grammar.
His work was a signature.
Thanks for the opportunity to speak of him.
Subject: None
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 18:17:08 -0500
From: poco@wir.net
It has indeed been a lot of fun to correspond with you about this
author. You have a nice page and will undoubtedly gain more readers in
the future. How long have you had the page up?
Let me know how you assess "Some Came Running" after you have finished
it. I was amazed when I read the comments from the critics - I had not
seen those reviews when the book came out, being too young at the time
to pay much attention to critical acclaim.
If you want to post my previous letter, please do so. I'll go by "Poco"
for awhile.
I wish you success in this project.
Poco
Subject: James Jones Literary Society
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 14:30:04 -0500
From: "Robert L. McMahon"
To: Richard_L_King/VUMAIL@indian.vinu.edu
To whom it may concern:
In 1988 I wrote my Senior Project on James Jones trilogy:
>From Here to Eternity, The Thin Red Line, and Whistle. My mentor suggested
that I get this paper published because the insights were new, unique, and
compelling. They may really add to the pool of analysis on Jones works.
I have sent this old paper to Col. David Hackworth for his review and
assistance as well, but he is traveling. I really do want get this paper
out there for all of you to read. What are the steps?
Regards,
Robert L. McMahon
Subject: Jones Essay
Date: Tue, 4 Nov 1997 15:10:43 -0500
From: "Robert L. McMahon"
To: Richard_L_King/VUMAIL@indian.vinu.edu
Dear Mr. King:
I went back and read the print-out I did of the Newsletter, Vol. 6, No. 5
Fall 1997 by Vanessa and Ray.
The last article deals with the two female characters of "Some Came
Running" by Marlene Emmons. She writes about the "paralleling two
characters whose devotion to maintaining society's standards is equal, even
though their interpretations of those standards is not." As well as Jones
"smarting" from the criticism of Eternity that he "couldn't do women". He
did do women, two women in fact in Eternity. One was in Army Khaki, 1st
Sgt. Warden, and one in a dress, Karen Holmes.
Again, this is a tale of paralleling women that JJ incorporated into his
Evolution of a Soldier concept.
Best regards,
Bob McMahon
bmcmahon@mindspring.com
908.359.8718
Subject: David Hackworth & Wolfhounds homepages
Date: Wed, 5 Nov 1997 13:08:54 -0500
From: "Robert L. McMahon"
To: Richard_L_King/VUMAIL@indian.vinu.edu
Mr. King:
You may be interested to have the following web addresses:
www.hackworth.com - Former US Army Colonel, highly decorated, Korea &
Vietnam, author, correspondent for Newsweek, and syndicated columnist on
military affairs.
While in Korea was with the 27th Infantry Regiment.
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/wolfhounds - Web site for the 27th
Regiment of the 25th Division, Schoffield Barracks.
I will send you my paper today. I am glad you find the analysis
interesting. The more knowledge that is put out there about JJ will serve
American Literature for the better.
Thank you again,
Bob McMahon
209 Brookside Lane
Somerville, NJ 08876
Business - 212.333.9252
Home - 908.359.8718
Subject: james jones
Date: Wed, 5 Nov 1997 16:34:51 -0500
From: Fred Palmer
To: Richard_L_King/VUMAIL@indian.vinu.edu
I first read "The Thin Red Line" in 1963 and have read it twice since
then. I had largely forgotten about James Jones, until recently I was
glancing through an article about the filming of that novel and wondered
if I even still had my old copy. After finding it in an old shoe-box in
the basement, I hit the web to see what, if anything, I could find about
the author. To my amazement, I found your site and now I'm almost
fanatical about finding Jones' works. Your one-page briefs with the
book jacket graphic are terrific. I scoured a few local bookstores to
no avail, and finally located most of his novels in a new/used store
downtown. I especially wanted to assemble the trilogy and was lucky
enough to find "Eternity" and "Whistle" to add to my volume of "Thin
Red Line". I bought "The Pistol" as well. His other novels were of the
mini-font paperback style, so I'm going to continue searching until I
can find some decent hardbacks. I am a Viet-nam vet and I also want a
copy of "Viet Journal". Your site is one of a kind (I could find no
others) and I hope to follow it regularly.
Fred Palmer
Salt Lake City
Subject: James Jones, Col. D. Hackworth, and 27th Wolfhounds
Date: Mon, 10 Nov 1997 10:43:48 -0500
From: "Robert L. McMahon"
To: Richard_L_King/VUMAIL@indian.vinu.edu
Mr. King,
Hope all is well and went well for you while away. I have some good and
new news for you re: JJ and the paper I sent to you.
Col. David Hackworth read it and liked it very much. He and I got into a
little discussion about Jones and his lack of acceptance by the "east-coast
literary" etc...and how the names of the 1stSgt. was very clever on Jones
part. He said that he knows the son of Jones CO - "TNT" - the basis for
"Dynamite Holmes. This gentleman has all sorts of pictures and other
varied memorabilia from that time in Hawaii. You my want to contact him
through Col. Hackworth. Hackworth himself is a veteran of the 27th
Wolfhounds and finds James Jones to be one of his favorite authors.
So please look up his web-site at www.hackworth.com and in a previous
e-mail I sent you the web-site of the 27th Wolfhounds.
My paper should be arriving shortly. Thanks for all your help Mr. King.
Best regards,
Bob McMahon
212.333.9252
Subject: book search
Date: Wed, 12 Nov 1997 18:15:18 -0500
From: Fred Palmer
To: Richard_L_King/VUMAIL@indian.vinu.edu
Dear Richard
Thanks for the info - I've already ordered a used copy of the James
Jones Reader. I'm finding many of his other works are availble on your
reference list of bookstores.
Thanks again
Fred Palmer
Salt Lake City