Coen Brothers are moving quickly

I just read that the Coen Brothers have asked Matt Damon and Josh Brolin to star with Jeff Bridges in the remake of True Grit, the film. Evidently, Bridges is set to star as Rooster Cogburn, Damon would take the role of the Texas Ranger (played by Glen Campbell in the original) and Brolin--who's making quite a name for himself playing bad guys--would take the role of the murderer. Scott Rudin, who produced "No Country for Old Men" for the Coens is set to produce. The really wild thing is they are hoping to start production this Spring. Those boys move quickly.

More news on all this, and on the events for Spring, soon. The picture that accompanies this blog entry is of True Grit wine, btw.

Well, time gets away from you when you're supposed to be keeping up with a blog. I think part of the problem that took me away from the blog for the last 10 days was that I was trying to figure how to embed a video into the blog. We'll, I'll get back to that. Aha, just as I was posting this I figured out how to add the video bar--scroll down to the bottom of the page for True Grit videos!

In the meantime, I think it's time to remind everyone (is there an everyone? is anyone reading the blog?) of exactly where we are:

1. Let me remind everyone that we are not "officially" reading True Grit until next semester. That is, the students in ENGL 1213 will be reading it next semester. The rest of us may, of course, go ahead and read the novel now and reread it in the Spring or just work from memory.

2. There will be an opening event of some sort to launch "the Spring of True Grit" but no concrete plans have been made. Still, there will be an opening event in January or early February with an open invitation to faculty, students, and the community. This might happen on campus, or we could do something down at the National Park. No concrete plans yet.

3. One idea I've had came from talking to a delightful woman who lives at the Methodist Home. We really should have students and older folks read and discuss together--perhaps even have students read aloud to the older folks who might have a problem reading the print. As far as reading groups, there will be at least one official reading group in the college (maybe more) that anyone can join. I'd like to see mixed groups as much as possible, though. Wouldn't it be nice to see faculty, staff, students, administrators, and people from the community discussing the book together? I believe that Lifelong Learning is planning a reading group. The library needs to be contacted, too.

4. Someone also suggested that the group that does gun-slinger reenactments could be involved somehow--maybe reenact the trial or something. This might be good for the closing event.

5. In fact, I hope that there can be a big closing event--a celebration of sorts--where students could exhibit the projects that they've done in conjunction with the book (speeches, papers, posters, artwork, dramatic enactments, etc.)

The main thing is that YOU, yes YOU, should make this stuff happen. Don't wait for me to do it. Get faculty in other disciplines involved. Talk to the community. At the very least post your ideas as responses to the blog--and by all means keep reading the blog. Help make this happen; it's up to you!

By the way, the daffodil picture is the True Grit daffodil. Yes, there's a whole industry grown up around the phrase. I've found True Grit boats, wine, a kennel, several restaurants and saloons, a tire store, True Grit Jeans, and lots of other stuff.

Keep on reading, Pilgrim.

Been on the road for a few days, so haven't had a chance to report on the gathering on Wednesday night at the Varsity. So the report is: we had a rousting good time. About a dozen folks showed up, including people from all over the campus. Good job. The rest of you need to make it next time. We talked a little about possibilities for the Spring, but mostly we just talked among ourselves. One of the issues was whether it mattered what portion of the semester most of the activities took place in. In the end, it probably doesn't matter, since folks will be reading with their classes at various times. April is always a very crowded month, so we'll probably do lots of things early on. We definitely want to blend the discussion groups so that community readers are interacting with students and faculty.
We also talked a bit about how to approach Charles Portis, which must be done with caution. We don't want to scare him.
We also talked about lots of interfacing we need to do: with the city, with the Marshall's museum people, with the library. Guess we'll have to get to work on that.
In the meantime, it's been a great week. The newspaper coverage was a real shot in the arm and the project moves forward.

Jeff Bridges at the Varsity

Well, ok, Jeff Bridges will not be at the Varsity with us tomorrow, but he does talk about True Grit in this news release.

Don't forget to make plans to be at the Varsity on Wednesday at 5:30.

The Times Record Has Definitely Got Grit!

We were extremely pleased this morning to see the very thorough and interesting reporting about our little project on the front page--yes, the front page--of the Times Record. Thanks so much to their intrepid reporter Amy Sherrill (that's two r's and two l's) for the coverage. Thanks also to Dean Rinne for his support, to our current favorite graduate, Jacqueline West, for her input, and, of course, to Professor Kelly Jennings for doing the "smart part" of the interview. We are pleased to see that Fort Smith and the region's best newspaper have, in fact, Got Grit.
Don't forget--and you won't 'cause I'll remind you--about our gathering on Wednesday evening at 5:30 at the Varsity. All interested parties from both the campus and the community are invited to attend. We'll just get acquainted with each other and share ideas in an informal atmosphere. After all, this should be fun, right? By the way, the picture accompanying the blog post this morning is of Charles Portis with John Wayne on the set of the movie.

Let's get together

Excitement is really, really building about this project. This weekend we should receive some press; I'll report about it when I'm sure. One thing we're learning: this idea has some real wheels on it.

In the meantime, we'll propose a little get-together. If you are interested in reading with us or possibly using the book in a class (if you're a teacher) then come join us at 5:30 at the Varsity in downtown Fort Smith--just a few hundred yards from where some of the book takes place--on Wednesday, September 30th. We'll meet, have a libation, and share some ideas.

Put this on your calendar. You are going to want to be on board for this ride. It's going to be fun. More later. Remember to respond to the blog. That's the thing about blogs--they can be two-way. Write something in the comment section. Show your grit and be brave.

Phrase Origins

So our fellow traveler and Chair of Art stopped by today to pick up his copy of the novel. He asked about the history of the phrase "true grit." I had actually wondered the very same thing only this morning. Someone needs to do some more research, but here's what I found when I consulted the great god Google. This comes from a site called "Word Wizard."

"In the early 19th century, perhaps because ‘grit’ provides traction when something is slippery, such as an icy road, it came to be associated, as a colloquialism, with firmness or solidity of character, indomitable spirit, stamina, braveness or strength – to have genuine spirit or pluck. The expression 'to be clear, hard (etc.) grit' or ‘to be the grit’ meant to be the ‘right sort,’ the genuine ‘article.’

1825 “Proper fellow he was too; ‘cute enough, I tell you— sharp as a razor—CLEAR GRIT.”—‘Brother Jonathan’ by John Neal, III, page 386

1843 “If he hadn't a had the CLEAR GRIT in him, and showed his teeth and claws.”—‘Attaché’ by Haliburton, II. i. page 13

1863 “His main deficiency was a lack of GRIT.”—‘Our Old Home’(1883) by Hawthorne, I. 322

Shortly after the appearance of ‘grit,’ TRUE GRIT meaning “unfaltering courage; devotion to what is right; indomitableness; of a solid character” became a common expression in the western United States to define one who is devoted to doing what is right regardless of the danger involved.

“We don’t like to leave a real true grit American . . . among a lot of cowardly Diegos.”—‘The Knickerbocker, 1846.

Note: In the above context the Spanish and Portuguese given name Diego’ is being used as a slur for the Spanish or Mexicans.

In 1969 John Wayne won Academy Award for portraying Rooster Cogburn, the old, one-eyed reprobate, who discovers that he has hidden courage, in the motion picture True Grit and as a result the expression enjoyed a revival in popular use. Upon being diagnosed again with cancer it was reported in Time:

“John Wayne . . . accepted the news with true grit. "‘I've licked the Big C before,’ he said.”