A Throttled Peacock: Observations on the Old World by C.W. Smith

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About the author

C.W. Smith is the author of nine novels, a collection of short stories, and a memoir. Aside from a long career in teaching, he has worked as a musician, a newspaper reporter, a swamper on a pipe truck, a roustabout, a paper delivery boy, oil field hand, frame carpenter, and roofer. When he's not teaching, writing or reading, he likes to be in his kayak or on his bike accompanied by his wife, Marcia. He has received a long list of awards and accolades including the Jesse H. Jones Novel Award from the Texas Institute of Letters, twice; the Southwestern Library Association Award for Best Novel; the Dobie-Paisano Creative Writing Fellowship from the University of Texas; National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowships in 1976 and 1990; the Texas Headliner's Feature Story award; the Frank O'Connor Memorial Short Story Award from Quartet magazine; the John H. McGinnis Short Story Award from Southwest Review; a Pushcart Prize Nomination from Southwest Review; Special Merit Award for Feature Writing from the Penney-Missouri Foundation; the Stanley Walker Award for Journalism from the Texas Institute of Letters; an SMU Research-Travel Grant; an award for Best Nonfiction Book by a Texan in 1987 from the Southwestern Booksellers Association; and an award for Outstanding Book of the Southwest from the Border Regional Library Association. The Texas Institute of Letters named him a Lon Tinkle Fellow for, "sustained excellence in a career," and gave him the Kay Cattarulla Award for Best Short Story of 2009. He belongs to PEN, The Authors Guild, Writer's Guild of America West, and the Texas Institute of Letters.

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A Throttled Peacock

Observations on the Old World

by C.W. Smith

Overview

C.W. Smith's essays take a droll look at the antics of Europeans at home and Americans abroad. In an Oxford lecture hall, a mayor wearing a flamboyant ceremonial necklace sets off Smith's meditation on the English love of tradition; in Geneva, Smith learns that a companion with whom you travel can be your best friend or your worst enemy; in an ancient French village, Smith learns that pride can lead to hubris when he and his wife introduce multi-national tourists to Texas chili. With an underlying theme of misperception and the surprise of upended expectations, these essays form a singular vision that entertains even as they slyly instruct.

Description

In the mode of such humorists Bill Bryson and David Sedaris, C.W. Smith's essays in A Throttled Peacock - Observations on the Old World take a droll and ironic look at the antics of Europeans at home and Americans abroad in this off-beat memoir that gently mocks both traveler and host. In an Oxford University lecture hall, a local mayor wearing a flamboyant ceremonial necklace sets off Smith's wry meditation on the English love of tradition; in Geneva he learns that a companion with whom you travel 24/7 can be your best friend and your worst enemy; in an ancient French village he learns that pride can lead to hubris when he and his wife introduce multi-national tourists to Texas chili. With an underlying theme of misperception and the surprise of upended expectations, these essays form a singular vision that entertains even as they slyly instruct. As one reader reports, "One glory lies in experiencing a deepening emotional and intellectual perspective as both narrator and reader discover more about the people and places. This shifting perception keeps the tales dynamic, almost like detective stories that present a mystery that becomes ever more complex before we reach a resolution."