Small Conversation in the Afternoon with John Fante
Small Conversation in the Afternoon with John Fante - meaning Summary
Admiration, Regret, Survival
A brief, anecdotal exchange captures the tensions between talent, self-destruction, and choices. One man recounts helping an alcoholic Faulkner through Hollywood days and admits staying put instead of leaving; the narrator responds by insisting the man writes as well as Faulkner. The poem compresses regret, survival, and a gentle moment of recognition at a hospital bedside, suggesting compassion and the complicated costs of artistic life.
Read Complete AnalysesHe said, "I was working in Hollywood when Faulkner was working in Hollywood and he was the worst: he was too drunk to stand up at the end of the afternoon and so I had to help him into a taxi day after day after day. "But when he left Hollywood, I stayed on, and while I didn't drink like that maybe I should have, I might have had the guts then to follow him and get the hell out of there." I told him, "You write as well as Faulkner." "You mean that?" he asked from the hospital bed, smiling.
Feel free to be first to leave comment.