The Curious Mind

From my previous blog, you will know that David Manners wrote Convenient Season, published by EP Dutton in 1941.

As described on the web site (davidmanners.com),

“Convenient Season recalls his youth in the community of Centrelea where David’s aunt and uncle, the Chadwicks, had a beautiful Summer home. Convenient Season echoes David’s love of nature and depicts the home and community through the eyes of a young man who has returned to Nova Scotia from the United States hoping for fulfilment.”

I was interested in the origin of the title. So I went online, and typed it in:

Acts 24:25

“And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance and judgement to come, Felix trembled and answered ‘Go your way for this time, when I have a convenient season, I will call thee’ “

or

“This hour is your convenient season for that which is best worth your attention and doing”

Having read the book, I started online with Wikipedia ‘David Manners’

“He was born Rauff de Ryther Duan Acklom (April 30,1900 – December 23,1998).

Born in Halifax, moved to New York where his father was a literary advisor at EP Dutton.

Manners studied Forestry at the University of Toronto, where he got into acting and drama. In the late 1930’s he was best remembered for his role in Dracula with Boris Karloff (movie to be shown, by the way, on February 23rd  7 pm at Centrelea Movie night).

In 1940 he officially changed his name to David Joseph Manners (his mother’s maiden name). He later purchased a ranch in the desert at Victorville, California, where he lived with his partner, Bill Mercer.

He wrote a second novel, Under Running Laughter in 1943. In his later life, he published several non-fiction works, The Soundless Voice, The Wonder within you, and Look through: an evidence of self-discovery.

This week, I contacted Jaki at the Lawrencetown library and have requested these books through inter-library loan.

The curiosity for myself is to imagine Manners (and Towne see below)  describing the local landscape and lifestyle eighty, or a hundred years ago. How would we try to describe our landscape and lifestyle today? Fortunately, we are surrounded by talented, creative artists and writers. And we have access to the wonderful resources in our libraries, and online.

Postscript

As part of the Winter 2019 Speaker Series at the new Annapolis Royal Library on February 10th 2-3:30 pm. It began in a Library talk by Joan Francuz author of Press Enter to Continue. Scribes from Babylon to Silicon.  A History of Technical Writing.

Acknowledgements.

To Anne Crossman who first send me down this path. Edward Wedler for his continued technical support.

References

Check out the davidmanners.com web site for more detail on his movies, books and a full life.

David J. Manners 1941 Convenient Season. EP Dutton

David J. Manners. 1943. Under Running Laughter. EP Dutton.

Charles Hanson Towne. 1923. Ambling through Acadia. Crowell Publishing Company