Pat Conroy Literary Center – Beaufort, SC

Beginning in April 2019, the Pat Conroy Literary Center Book Club will read and discuss all twelve of Pat Conroy’s published memoirs and novels in order of publication. Each monthly session will be led by a guest discussion leader and held at the Pat Conroy Literary Center. These events are free, but advance registration is required and seating is limited. Participants are asked to read the books before the meetings and to come prepared for discussion.

The third Pat Conroy Book Club meeting will be led by poet and retired educator Tim Conroy as we discuss Pat Conroy’s first novel, The Great Santini, published in 1976 and later adapted for film.

Please register here: www.brownpapertickets.com/producer/2564858

Website: Facebook Event Page

About THE GREAT SANTINI

The Great Santini takes us into the family life of a fighter pilot. Bull Meecham is the epitome of the Marine officer—as tough a disciplinarian at home as at the base. Rebellion, or even difference of opinion, is not tolerated. Objections are met with the statement “The Great Santini has spoken.” As the oldest child, Ben takes the brunt of his father’s criticism. His attempts to stand up for himself or his mother and sister are contemptuously dismissed. His feelings for his father are a mixture of hate and fear, reluctant pride in his prowess, and unacknowledged love.

This is the story of a boy’s determination to be himself, whatever that may be. It is violent, shocking, funny, moving, and overwhelmingly real. From the early pages, with Bull’s wife and children waiting at the airport to welcome the Great Santini back into their midst, to the bittersweet ending, the reader’s interest and emotions are fixed upon the fluctuating fortunes of the Meecham family.

About Tim Conroy

Tim Conroy is a poet and former educator. His work has been published in literary journals, magazines, and compilations, including Fall Lines, Jasper, and Marked by Water. In 2017, Muddy Ford Press published his first book of poetry, Theologies of Terrain, edited by Ed Madden, poet laureate of the City of Columbia. A founding board member of the Pat Conroy Literary Center, established in his brother’s honor, Tim Conroy is a contributing writer to Our Prince of Scribes: Writers Remember Pat Conroy.

This program and others like this would not be possible without your financial help for which, as always, Pat Conroy Literary Center gratefully thanks you.