Editor’s Introduction

Abstract

Eventful times for McCarthy scholars! In the midst of preparations for our June 2022 conference at Trinity College, Dublin, and our September 2022 conference in Savannah, Knopf announced in March that it will publish not one but two new McCarthy novels in October and November 2022—The Passenger and its companion novel, Stella Maris. McCarthy has been working on this project since at least 1980, and its publication has seemed imminent for a long time. (Writing in issue 1.1 of this journal way back in 2001, Dianne Luce mentioned waiting for the “new, New Orleans novel.”) McCarthy had new author photos taken in 2014 in anticipation of the novel’s completion . . . but it took just a little bit longer. And now, in 2022, that novel has become two novels that are finally about to be in the hands of an eager readership.In recognition of this exciting event, this issue of the Cormac McCarthy Journal publishes a number of interviews with and about McCarthy. First, internationally renowned author portrait photographer Beowulf Sheehan talks about the art of capturing images of writers, and what it was like to work with Cormac McCarthy in the summer of 2014 on the grounds of the Santa Fe Institute and in McCarthy’s home. Next, Dianne Luce and Zachary Turpin have gathered together a number of early, obscure interviews that McCarthy gave to Tennessee and Kentucky newspapers between the years of 1968 and 1980—several of these have been unknown even to scholars and disabuse the notion that McCarthy has always been deeply reluctant to grant interviews. Sheehan includes one of his photographs of McCarthy as well as one of himself with the author during their photo session, and many of the short newspaper interviews also ran with photos, some of which are included here.Continuing the issue are articles by Ian Gibson and Heath Wing. Gibson uses information about the composition of the Border Trilogy to illuminate the appearance of uncanny foreknowledge in the texts, and further to explore the supposedly contradictory influences of the scientific and the religious. Wing reads Blood Meridian as an allegory of the politics of sovereign power, focusing particularly on the relationship of the sovereign and his jester-fool. The issue concludes with Craig Warren’s review of the new anthology Approaches to Teaching the Works of Cormac McCarthy, co-edited by Stacey Peebles and Benjamin West.Finally, a bonus attraction! Lydia Cooper, longtime McCarthy scholar and book review editor of this journal, gives us a few first thoughts on The Passenger and Stella Maris. This issue had already gone to press when advance review copies became available, and so we had a classic “Stop the presses!” moment. As always, Lydia delivers in fine form, and kicks off a new conversation that will certainly be rich and ongoing for years to come. Many thanks to Amanda Urban for helping us secure the review copies.Enjoy, and keep in touch!Stacey Peebleswww.cormacmccarthysociety.com