Foote's Greenville
Will Percy, formally known as William Alexander Percy, was a poet, lawyer, and author.[1] He graduated from the University of the South and Harvard Law, received a French Croix de Guerre for his service in World War I, and held significant roles in the town of Greenville where he influenced many writers.[2] Shelby Foote, one such writer, claimed, “If Will Percy had grown up and lived in Greenwood, it would have been Greenwood where the writers come from.”[3] Percy’s library, which consisted of thousands of books, was the largest library in Greenville, and his home became the town’s literary and cultural center.[4] Famous writers who came from Greenville include Walker Percy, Ellen Douglas, and Beverly Lowry.[5]
Will Percy influenced Foote in a number of ways. Foote met Percy in 1930 at the Greenville Country Club.[6] Soon after, Will Percy introduced Foote to his future lifelong friend Walker Percy.[7] (Will Percy was Walker’s cousin and was the household guardian of Walker after the death of Walker’s father LeRoy.) Will Percy served as a great teacher to Foote, firing his desire and passion to read, and proving by example that writing was a noble profession.[8] Specifically, Percy’s library influenced Foote, as Foote would spend much of his time at Percy’s library and was “dazzled” by the number of books in the library.[9] Additionally, Percy’s large music collection inspired Foote’s lifetime interest in classical music.[10]
Will Percy’s cultural sophistication and tolerance in some ways reflected Greenville’s unique role in the Mississippi Delta. In the early history of Greenville, Jewish groups from Austria, Poland, and Russia including Foote’s maternal grandfather entered the town.[11] In fact, the first mayor and first school in Greenville were Jewish.[12] A considerable number of Syrians entered the small town as salesmen.[13]Similarly, a great number of Chinese men, who had a substantial impact to the town, came as railroad workers but soon opened up businesses such as grocery stores.[14] Will Percy carried a “heightened worldliness” to the town due his unique culture and his extraordinary library.[15] Percy’s cultural perspective played a significant role in Greenville, as he went against the tide of racism by inviting blacks into his household.[16] By accepting the racial and religious diversity (primarily Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Jews, and a Catholic congregation), Percy and Greenville were able to keep the Ku Klux Klan under control.[17]
Footnotes
[1] Julia Reed, “The Greenville Factor,” in American Homer: the reflections on Shelby Foote and his classic The Civil War: A Narrative, ed. Jon Meacham, (New York: Random House, 2011), 73.
[2] Ibid., 73-74.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Julia Reed, “The Greenville Factor,” 74; C. Stuart Chapman, Shelby Foote: A Writer’s Life, (Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2003), 40.
[5] Greenville and Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Greenville Writers, (Greensville and Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau, 2011), web.
[6] Stuart Chapman, Shelby Foote, 32.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Julia Reed, “The Greenville Factor,” 74; Shelby Foote, William C. Carter, Conversations with Shelby Foote, 40-41.
[9] Julia Reed, “The Greenville Factor,” 74.
[10] Stuart Chapman, Shelby Foote, 39.
[11] Ibid., 77.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Ibid., 77-78.
[15] Julia Reed, “The Greenville Factor,” 74; Shelby Foote, William C. Carter, Conversations with Shelby Foote, 40.
[16] Julia Reed, “The Greenville Factor,” 78.
[17] Ibid.