Talk:J. R. Ackerley

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Comment[edit]

_TOC_ I revised the blurb about My Father and Myself because it was not quite accurate. The book is not an autobiography of either Ackerley or his father. It's Ackerley's own selective musings about his father and himself, with deftly written passages on his brother, mother, and others. Not only is the book more accurately described as memoir, the claim that Ackerley "discovered that his father had had a number of gay relationships, including one with the wealthy Count de Gallatin" is false. Ackerley suggests a relationship may have commenced between the two; however, he is ultimately unable to verify this possibility. (See pages 261-262 of the book as published by New York Review Book Classics.) Also, it seems most helpful to tell folks not only what the "J" stands for in Ackerley's full name, but the "R" as well. I was unable to verify whether the author's full "legal" name was "Joe Ackerley", though I performed an electronic search of the full text of the book using various keywords and nothing definitive came up. In any case, I deleted the word "legal" as I feel the identity of the initials is of more importance in the introductory matter of an encyclopedic entry, than the specificity of whatever the author's legal name was. 68.160.193.57 16:12, 23 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Apparently I was wrong about where I got the information about Ackerley's legal name. It could have come from the Parker biography (though why I would trust Parker I don't know) or from My Sister and Myself. Aha! It could be in Braybrooke. I'll look for it. Thanks for correcting the description of My Father and Myself. Don't know why it never occurred to me to correct it – maybe because there was a lot of wrangling over that section at the time it got added. I do think a man's name is relevant to him, though. John FitzGerald 16:29, 24 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Absolutely, John. I didn't mean to imply that Ackerley's legal name was not of importance. One of the great qualities of this resource is the freedom to mention unique facts that one might have to dig for in longer texts elsewhere -- like the Tulip/Queenie controversy. I removed the word "legal" to justify including the middle name, but feel that if it could be verified he was known as "Joe Ackerley" in the legal sense (and that Randolph was added as a tribute to his uncle), adding such a note would be a fascinating contribution to everyone's understanding of the man.
I think I was just being a smartass there. I couldn't find any reference in Braybrooke, so I'll have to get my hands on a copy of Parker. What's most important, and what I'm grateful for, is that you corrected the misinformation about Count de Gallatin and Roger Ackerley's supposed other gay relationships. John FitzGerald 17:04, 27 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Some sources give 1965 as the date for My Dog Tulip, including the copyright notice in my American edition. However, Ackerley's letters (ed. Neville Braybrooke) make it clear the book was published in 1956.Jfitzg

Hephaestos -- According to Ackerley in My Father and Myself, his full legal name was Joe Ackerley, so I changed it back. If you've got evidence to the contrary from Somerset House or some similar source change the name back and please let me know about it.Jfitzg

I was quoting a source from the University of Tulsa [1] - Hephaestos
Well, the R stands for Randolph, but according to Ackerley he added it as a tribute to his uncle Randolph. On the other hand, he never seems to have anything nice to say about Uncle Randolph. Maybe we could get a grant to unearth the true story.Jfitzg
Heh, maybe so.  :-) When in doubt, though, best to leave as-is. Thanks for the info. - Hephaestos

Schools[edit]

I moved the following from the article to here, where it seems more appropriate:

[clarification needed; in the UK preparatory schools and public schools are two different things]

I'm looking into this and into the question of Ackerley's legal name.

Name/school[edit]

Peter Parker states that Ackerley's name was registered as Joe Ackerly in his biography. Ackerley's prep and public schools were the same school -- Rossall. John FitzGerald 12:41, 23 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Age at enlistment[edit]

This question about Ackerley's age when he enlisted was inserted in the text, so I moved it here:

[could someone chefck this, please, as Ackerley would have stopped being 16 on 3 Nov 1913, according to the date of birth above, which is nearly a year before World War I started?]

And I removed the obviously incorrect assertion about his age; I intend to include the year of enlistment once I get my hands on the parker biography again. John FitzGerald 22:24, 21 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Merging the article[edit]

About the only difference between this article and the one which is supposed to be merged with it is that the other article claims that My Father and Myself was a fantasy. Well, I could believe that, but before the assertion goes in the article some evidence of it should be provided. Whatever happens, the other article should become the redirect because this article is better wikified and has a correctly punctuated title. John FitzGerald 11:58, 30 July 2006 (UTC) Italic text[reply]

Fair use rationale for Image:Mydogtulip.jpg[edit]

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BetacommandBot (talk) 21:21, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Railing against homophobia; impenetrability[edit]

I added a fact tag to the assertion that Ackerley's circle railed against homophobia because I don't think that's an accurate general description. Forster certainly stayed quietly in the closet all his life. As for Ackerley's claim of impenetrability, I recall him admitting in ''My Father and Myself'' that that he had had "anal clap." Didn't tag that one because the statement in the article is true enough, but if someone else wants to check the issue and modify the article that might be a good idea 209.29.107.212 (talk)

Move quotes to Wikiquotes[edit]

There were too many quotes- move them to Wikiquotes.Parkwells (talk) 17:31, 4 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

  • "About all I knew of [India] when I sailed for it was what I had been able to recollect from my schooldays—that there had been a mutiny there, for instance, and that it looked rather like an inverted Matterhorn on the map, pink because we governed it." (Hindoo Holiday)
  • "How arrogant people are in their behaviour to domestic beasts at least. Indeed, yes, we feed upon them and enjoy their flesh; but does that permit us to make fun of them before they die or after they are dead? If it were possible, without disordering one's whole life, to be a vegetarian, I would be one." (My Sister and Myself: The Diaries of J. R. Ackerley)
  • "I had gone with him as far along that road as I intended to go; I had indulged in front of him a coarse appetite; it was quite another matter to share with him my satisfaction." (Hindoo Holiday)
  • "It is spring, it is winter, it is summer... Through twilight darkness, through the rain, through sunshine, frost, or heavy dew, I make my way with her across the plateau to the birch woods to give her everything she wants, except the thing she needs." (My Dog Tulip, referring to his dog's frustrated instinct to mate and have a litter.)
  • "If Johnny came at all he was always late, and today was no exception; half-past two struck, and 'Not this day,' I said aloud, as though someone stood beside me under the great arch of the sky. 'Take all my other days, but not this one.'" (We Think the World of You)
  • "I distrust myself so deeply, that is what I mean. How does one know what one is like? I hide from other people. I hide, too, from myself. The savage, the monkey within me, it cleverly conceals itself. That is civilization, of course. But not cleverly enough. Crises occur, and the façade breaks..." (My Sister and Myself)
  • "The rich are very strange." (My Sister and Myself)

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