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Was Flannery O’Connor a Fan of Teilhard de Chardin? Setting the Record Straight

Tradition and Sanity

Was Flannery O'Connor a die-hard fan of Teilhard de Chardin? If you look around, you can find people who assert this as an indisputable fact. Ralph Wood, a prestigious O’Connor authority and a Catholic-loving Baptist, refuted that notion already long, long ago, first in a 1979 article (about which more anon), and in his 2005 book from Eerdmans, Flannery O’Connor and the Christ-Haunted South. What is the basis for the myth that Flannery was (and her works are) Teilhardian? Quite simply this: she started off as an enthusiast of the French paleontologist, intoxicated as were so many others with his heady potion of prose-poetry-science-mysticism. But she lost her enthusiasm as the liquor wore off. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.traditionsanity.com/subscribe