09 Jan What Barbara Streisand had to say about our friend Pat Conroy
Posted at 15:11h
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by BillyK
The Pat Conroy Literary Center is off to a very strong start with programs planned for 2017 and beyond. Under the leadership of Board Chair Dr. Jane Upshaw and Director Jonathan Haupt (who came to use from being Director the USC Press) and a burgeoning board and advisory board composed of family, friends, literary notables and many Beaufort volunteers, we continue be graced by the goodwill and notoriety that Pat Conroy brought to our home town. While we are up and running, financial contributions and volunteer time will be required to fulfill the dream of the new very special place in Beaufort, SC.
Barbra Streisand on Pat Conroy
“I fell in love with The Prince of Tides the first time I read it, and as soon as I finished all 567 pages, I went back to the beginning and started it all over again. I responded to the theme of forgiveness, of being able to accept people with all their flaws, and that includes accepting yourself. Do you know how you just feel comfortable with some people immediately? That’s how I felt with Pat. I wanted to hear his stories: about his father, his mother, his family, his whole life. I was greedy for any detail that would help me flesh out the characters and understand his world. After I showed the movie to Pat, he wrote me a long, beautiful letter that I will treasure forever, and one of the lines was, ‘You gave me my book back to me.’ At the very end, he said, ‘Let me tell you this: I love the movie version of The Prince of Tides. I simply love it. The book has many flaws based on basic flaws of my character. But the movie sings and soars.'”
Streisand directed, produced, and starred in the Oscar-nominated 1991 adaptation of The Prince of Tides. Conroy died in Beaufort, S.C., on March 4 at the age of 70.
As told to Tina Jordan.
