I wrote to my favorite author in 2008, Barry Hughart - he wrote back

Happy Birthday to the late Barry Hughart, author of Bridge of Birds (1984) who was born March 13, 1934, and passed August 1, 2019. My letter to him in 2008 follows his response. RIP Mr. Hughart.

Hi Raleigh,

When I was a lad I thought of reference librarians - when I did so at all - as rather romantic figures of the ancient sage variety: creaky-jointed, rheumy-eyed, bits of old manuscripts clinging to their clothes and silverfish slithering through their scraggly hair, coughing up clouds of dust as they turned huge keys in rusty locks so vast doors could open with the screeching sound of the one guarding Jack Benny's vault (that should date me), and then fumbling through stacks of manuscripts encrusted with green and yellow mold and coming up with the one copy the world possessed of the cabalistic creed containing the information (unwisely! dangerously!) sought. Now, however, I simply think of doomed creatures clinging desperately to plunging desks amid the howling storm of an untamed internet that stretches obscenely infinite claws toward the cringing creature we once called God. That prose needs work and a lot more purple, but it'll do for now.

 

Anyway I'm glad to hear from you, and glad you like my stuff. It was hard work at times, a tightrope act without a net, or, as Huckleberry Finn summed up Pilgrim's Progress, "The statements was interesting, but tough." Still would have preferred to continue but the books just didn't sell and the publishers weren't interested, so when my income reduced me to near beer and watery gruel I ventured to L.A. and knocked upon a designated door which opened to reveal a gentleman blindingly resplendent in a silk suit, boots cut from unborn llama hide to cover his hooves, and a bejeweled turban to hide his horns. Clouds of flies circled his head in worshipful circles, and at first it was difficult to disentangle the words from the buzzing.

"WORM, I COMMISSION GRADE F REWRITES OF GRADE Z SCREENPLAYS! " he roared. "MY SCRIVENERS ARE GRANTED UNLIMITED TACOS, WEEKLY JUGS OF GALLO'S REMAINDERED RED, AND, EVERY OTHER FRIDAY, HALF-PINT BOTTLES OF OLD TENNIS SHOE!"

"Sold!" cried I, accompanied by a disgraceful spew of saliva.

So here I am, comfortably ensconced in a packing crate and required only to send weekly pages of crap to La La Land were they will sink into the smog and be seen no more, and on every other Friday I luxuriously sip Old Tennis Shoe and  gradually ascend toward nirvana.

   

Hoping that you and yours enjoy a similar enchantment, and that your son reads the great Lampedusa's "The Leopard" and figures out what the other ingredients probably were and how to make the awesome pasta dish at the (engagement?) party,  

 

Barry

ORIGINAL MESSAGE FROM ME TO BARRY HUGHART:

Dear Mr. Hughart,

I'm an active wikipedian and have just read the brief, yet intriguing, wikipedia entry about yourself. First, I'm a reference librarian (claiming that usually gives me a certain credibility). As someone who found your writing brilliant (compliment) I was always mystified as to how and why you dropped off the literary radar. Jerry Kuntz interview (2000) explained a lot.

To cut to the chase. Yes, I think you're brilliant, I own 1st editions of all of your books, and even bought on ebay an inscribed copy of Bridge of Birds (1st ed.) as a 20th wedding anniversary gift for my wife. Should you ever come to St. Louis, I would be happy to give you a (humble) place to stay and guarantee that my 16 year old son (chef to be) will prepare a sumptuous pasta feast.

And will you be wise? Better, you will be Italian! Confession: I have zero Italian blood in me, but having traveled extensively have become a bilingual italophile. I imagine Marco Polo might have brought Master Li and Number Ten Ox to visit Venice.

Cheers! You are a great artist and I am unambiguously proud to be a fan of yours.

P.S. I have in-laws in Arizona (Phoenix and Flagstaff and my wife attend U of A in Tucson)