Emory University in Atlanta purchased and made public in 2014 the personal letters, private journals and literary drafts belonging to author Flannery O’Connor (1925-1964). It was enough to fill thirty boxes. One researcher said the disclosure would open new territory. Boy, did it! Two new horizons were laid bare to Flannery’s readers. First, her views on race were confusing and troubling. Private letters to a friend in New York City reveal the use of racial slights and stereotypes. The controversy went public in an article published in the New Yorker with the provocative title, “How Racist Was Flannery O’Connor?” Loyola University in Baltimore removed her name from a dormitory in response to the adverse publicity. A group of sympathetic writers and readers rushed to her defense, referencing her evolution over time in writing about race. Second, her perspective of Christian faith was striking and insightful. A prayer journal Flannery kept was also found among her papers. Several entries in her journal reference her attendance at a writer’s workshop in Iowa. Although she had just turned 21, her prayers display remarkable depth as she wrestles with issues related to God, self and her writing. There is an urgency in her prayers as she contemplates a looming diagnosis of lupus, threatening to cut short her life (which it did).
What are we to make of these new revelations? News flash–Flannery O’Connor is both flawed and virtuous. While we don’t excuse her failings, we also exercise restraint in condemning someone who is not around to represent herself. Let’s just say, it’s complicated. Let her prayer from her journal lead us into God’s presence: