Talk:John Kennedy Toole

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This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the John Kennedy Toole article.

Contents

[edit] Adding a new section?

Do contributors to this page think it's appropriate to add some sort of section regarding Toole's influence on popular culture and music? Perhaps such a section would be more appropriate on the A Confederacy of Dunces page?

I recently added a link in the Bibliography "Works about Toole" section but it was removed because it was deemed out of place in the list of otherwise scholarly works (sorry if I made a faux pas – newbie here).

I wouldn't press the point except for the fact that the work in question is a song by the late Jimmie Spheeris, who knew Toole in New Orleans and included a song entitled You Must Be Laughing Somewhere on his final album. Jimmie's final album was completed on the night he died and not released publicly for 16 years. There are some striking parallels between the publication of Toole's novel and the release of Jimmie's final album — I can't help but think readers would find this interesting. Again, I don't want to press this and would appreciate comments.

Jimmie was a friend and I've been making updates to his Wiki page lately. He and I had several conversations regarding Toole over the years. Documentation would be difficult to prove, but the song lyrics speak for themselves.

Thanks, Art101 18:33, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Yes, the biggest problem which got your addition to the article removed is that the "works about Toole" section you added it to was part of the "Bibliography" section, where it didn't fit in with other biographic reference books.
While in some cases references in other media have been added to articles (sometimes under a "trivia" section-- a practice some editors disparage), in this case I'd lean towards not adding it to the article. Your information is interesting, but I see the reference is already explained on the Jimmie Spheeris article while I don't see it adds much to the understanding of John Kennedy Toole. Furthermore, the song lyrics you link don't mention Toole by name, and a quick google search for the song title + John Kennedy Toole or Jimmie Spheeris + JKT both only got me one link, to the same NPR story-- this suggests that the reference to Toole in the song is not famous. Thank you for asking. Cheers, -- Infrogmation 20:15, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Thanks for your clarification

Thanks, Infrogmation. I'll refrain from the temptation to add anything to the Toole page and concentrate on expanding Jimmie's Wikipedia page.

Art101 23:27, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Flannery O'Connor?

I was wondering how Toole could have met up with Flannery O'Connor the night he died (in 1969) when she had died in 1964? Clearly there's something wrong.

Sontag12 —Preceding comment was added at 19:13, 30 January 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for catching that! I'll go back and see where that came from. How strange. Brandoid (talk) 00:16, 6 February 2008 (UTC)
I did a little more research. I believe that I misinterpreted a text. I have reviewed several others, and it appears that John Kennedy Toole visited the home of then deceased writer O'Connor. I will revise my addition. Brandoid (talk) 00:25, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Succumbing to Deafness?

Toole's father worked as a car salesman and mechanic before succumbing to deafness and failing health...

He succumbed to deafness? Wow, must have been a particularly malignant form of deafness.... And, if he "succumbed" to it, then "failing health" might be a bit of an understatement.... rowley (talk) 20:35, 9 June 2008 (UTC)