The Questions of Tennessee Williams
"Is faith a gift, or can it be sought, coaxed, seduced? How would you define your faith?"
I was given an assignment by Tennessee Williams in 1982. Tennessee wanted me to travel to New York and to begin asking particular questions of people whose names and addresses and phone numbers he would supply to me. The primary question was “Did I matter in your life?” The remaining questions had to do with faith; inspiration; resilience. Tennessee wanted stories from these people about what the theatre or writing had meant to them. “If they consider themselves survivors,” Tennessee said to me, “I want to know how they became survivors, and how they think I might become one.”
I was not comfortable—at the age of twenty-one—with coming to New York and staying with Tennessee and making appointments with those with whom he had worked and those he admired and asking what I felt was a very needy question. I felt that Tennessee was performing for me, and for those he sought out, and while I respected him and wanted to be helpful, I did not have any faith that I could satisfy him.
I did not accept the assignment.
After Tennessee’s death in 1983, I felt tremendous guilt about not being there for this man who clearly needed to be comforted by the acknowledgment that he and his work had mattered. With the help of Marian Seldes and my father, I got to New York in 1989 and began asking the questions. While I ultimately spoke of other things with the subjects of what became Follies of God, these were the questions I asked of each subject before anything else was allowed. The questions are from Tennessee.
As odd as this question may appear, did I—as a person or a writer—matter in your life? Can you say why? Can you say if I have lost anything? Can you tell me when I might have gone astray? Can you tell me where I might find the strength to again write with the power I once felt I had?
In your experiences in the theatre have you felt there were times when you forgot how to do what you do? Were there times when you felt you had wandered into a foreign land? Have you experienced trust in the theatre?
Do you have faith? Would you say you had a particular faith? A system of beliefs?What has helped get you out of the blind alleys?
When did you first dream of being what you now are? Has the dream come true? Are you still reaching? How do you hang on?
Are you able to maintain the young enthusiasm you had when you first began to dream? How do you maintain it?
Has luck visited you, or have you gone out and sought it? Can luck be sought?
Who gets you up and motivated and feeling young? Who are your influences?
Can you recall a time when I was of any help to you? Did I help you? Was I a good experience for you?
What will become of the theatre? All of the arts? All of us? I think we are caught up in a time knot. Time knots. I feel that a very important bone or muscle within us has snapped or atrophied or become infected. Do you feel this way? How do we fight it?
How actively do you plan your work? What has worked for you?
Is faith a gift, or can it be sought, coaxed, seduced? How would you define your faith?