Vincenzo, people are upset because you refuse to address the false claims you/Augusta made, which throw the veracity of your entire article into question. What makes it worse is that you're gatekeeping, manipulating, and hiding the real story/information to drive book sales for your book with Augusta, which I assume will double down on these false claims.
So, Vincenzo, I've asked you plenty of times, but are you ready to comment on the Guy Davenport letter? The one that Davenport wrote in 1974 about McCarthy
"Cormac McCarthy has just run off to Mexico with a teenage popsy, abandoning a beautiful British ballerina of a wife; somehow this negates all the critical thunder he boomed at Tatlin."(Questioning Minds, page 1,508)
So was Augusta 14 (instead of 16) when she went to Mexico with Cormac? Your article said they met in 1976. Or did Cormac habitually take young girls to Mexico (which would ruin your whole "Augusta is Cormac's Muse" angle)?
While discussing your false claims, are you willing to comment on the fake origin story you made up about Augusta meeting Cormac? The Orchard Keeper did not have an author photo on the back of the Ballantine paperback edition (the only paperback edition available during that time). In 1976 (or 1974??), when Augusta met Cormac, he had only sold 5,000 book copies. There was zero way in hell, an orphaned girl had come across one of those copies. And if she did, she wouldn't know what he looked like! So, did Cormac approach her???
If he did approach her, and we're going with your muse angle, are you willing to comment on your claim that Wanda is based on Augusta? McCarthy had written that scene into an early draft of Suttree over a decade before he met Augusta (when she was six or four, lmao)
Or how about your main claim that she inspired All the Pretty Horses? McCarthy had worked with John Cole on a movie set when he was a teenager and was indebted to him for getting him into film. When he wrote his screenplay in the mid-1970s, "Cities of the Plain," he named one of the characters John Grady Cole in honor of him. Not Augusta's fake stuffed animal named "John Grady Cole."
Do you have any proof she worked for Jim Anderson or in any way resembled Alicia Western?
Why have you personally tried to position yourself as an authority on Cormac and diminish scholar's work because you know Augusta by claiming McCarthy didn't know about Focualt or Gnosticism when I've read handwritten notes he's made about them? What about some of the other reaching claims you made on your recent Patreon Podcast?
Why would you do that other than to manipulate ethos for future book sales?
I could go on for days, Vincenzo, with more false claims, but stop playing the victim and start taking some accountability!
It is YOUR fault Augusta Britt is getting hated on. An hour of sitting on Google would lead you to all the information I stated above. You decided to publish the article (that you were paid for per word) without checking any information or at least telling the audience that her claims may be false.
You now have another paycheck coming down the pipeline with your new book with Augusta, and I assume we will hear nothing but silence from you about these claims because it would kill your potential to make money in the future.
I'm in the real streets of Tucson, and when you're ready to come down from the Catalina Foothills for an interview in the Escalade Cormac gifted Augusta, the literary renaissance will be waiting.
Wrong edition. She didn't have a hardcover. Vincenzo states she had a paperback (“It was this beat-up old paperback.") which would have to be the Ballantine rerelease. There is no photo anywhere in that entire edition. Go look that up! I love how Vincenzo liked your comment because he thinks it's helping him, but he is so lost in the lies that he still hasn't looked any of this stuff up!
I am not being proven wrong. The paperback edition, which Vincenzo states she had (“It was this beat-up old paperback.") would have to be the Ballatine rerelease of "The Orchard Keeper." The edition Crunch links above is a hardcover. Type in "The Orchard Keeper Ballantine edition" on Google, and look at the photos. You will see no author photo in the front, back, or on the inside/black flap. I have also verified with someone who has a copy of the that version that a photo isn't included anywhere in that edition.
In no way is Ian being proven anything other than correct. Vinnie's article states “It was this beat-up old paperback."...furthermore it states "this was 1976. The era of McCarthy’s handlebar mustache", and the Orchard Keeper hardcover mentioned shows him cleanly shaved, making him virtually nonrecognizable. But all that is a LOT of maybes we're putting in place to try to make Vincenzo's original "meet cute" story make sense.
Ian Cattanach, the 100% unpublished self-proclaimed literary star is flayling to figure what is going on with Vincenzo Barney and why he didn't know any of this. Caught flat-footed he attacks the messenger like a baby. He does a half dozen videos and countless posts trying to make money off a story he was incapable of breaking or understanding. Come to grips with it and thank the man that gave you all this new content and if you had a brain a new deeper understanding of Cormac's work.
This chump has no class, a trolling attack machine desperate for views despite the consequences. Making charges about thing she doesn't have any facts about and tossing about loaded words as if they didn't matter. Show some poise asshole.
of course the details are going to be inaccurate, McCarthy's books are filled with tall tales. You might as well fact check the height and melanin content of Judge Holden.
You have to admit though that story was the literary scoop of the century.
Ian Cattanbach has plenty to say. As a highly regarded author (he simply must be!) who god-like teaches people how to write absolutely brilliant novels -- for a reasonable monthly fee, his word is gold. I was dying to learn more about this fascinating cat, credit card at the ready.
Turns out his client's bulbs are even dimmer than his. This troll hasn't been paid to write a damn thing – ever! Novels? Not a one. Articles published by someone other than his own vain narcissistic self? Nope. Letters to the Editor? No chance. A Christmas card? Maybe.
But what about his bold comments his salivating dupes greedily lap up? Palaver.
A blithering idiot when it comes to writing and literary criticism but clever enough to sucker a bunch of no talents into paying him for his bullshit.
Lazy? Afraid to write? His writing sucks canal water? My guess is this dope is all three.
Ian is a talentless moron. Please Ian. Share links to any of your published works. Why should people pay you to teach them about writing when you seem to have never made a penny actually writing something. Grifter.
Your VF article was amazing and sent me back to my bookshelves (yes, BOOKSHELVES) to reread McCarthy’s works with Augusta in mind. Fuck all the people who would deny her truth and words and tell us all how to rethink McCarthy and to erase him and his work—and Augusta. Thank you for writing this and the VF article. People out there in the blovisiphere should STFU.
Was always humbled by McCarthy prose. I was moving fast and it needed to be savored slowly so I’m not Kormac scholar. But I like the muse story even if it’s fiction. The blank page is a lonely place.
Nothing is nuanced about fucking a 16 y/o traumatized teenager. He could have helped and befriended her without the fucking part. But alas that’s not part of most men’s nature.
She was not 16. She was 17 and was of age of consent. Perfectly legal. When I was a teenager I could not date girls my own age. They were all dating older guys. Several years or often more. It seemed to be in their nature to prefer older men. My response was to date older girls.
because the older guys were grooming them. I understand there are evolutionary pressures for males to find females of childbearing age attractive. But that pressure (selectionism) would not have been particularly toward teenage females because a somewhat older female (20s) is more likely to have a healthy baby and to raise it to adulthood and further reproduction. The preference of some men for really young females seems more cultural, more about having control, feeling superior. It’s contemptible.
They chose the older guys over guys there own age. It was rampant. The girls and even the parents always said girls mature earlier than boys. We were too immature to date girls our own age. What about debutante balls? Girls of 16 introduced to the sucessful MEN of society.
Thank you for publishing Augusta’s story: she is essential to understanding Cormac, one of the greatest, if not the greatest, writer of American fiction. That anyone would denigrate you, Augusta or Cormac for illuminating their story is the angry beast threatening our story - all of ours. Richard
Ian is taking rumors as fact and damaging Cormac's reputation. This wad posted a video claiming Cormac had sex with a 14 year old. Malicious, maligning and untrue, Yet this wipe complains about the accuracy of the VF article? Hypocrite. Unpublished dip shit.
This self appointed Cormac guru and literary genius is spouting off about shit he knows nothing about. Are you one of the saps that pays this non writer for advice about writing? Where is his novel or even article? Shyster.
Debra, I don't have a problem with Vincenzo, and I did enjoy how he wrote the article. As a Tucson local, his descriptions of Tucson were beautiful, and I'm glad he took a more maximalist approach to the work. I also believe that Cormac and Augusta did have a deep connection and romantic relationship that lasted decades.
I also support him as an independent scholar/researcher in the scene and believe he could be a leader in pushing back against the tyranny of logic bros and scholars. Before Vincenzo, I was the most hated person in the Cormac McCarthy space and had similar logical takedown comments done on my work/persona. Most of the time, those logical comments came out of a place of ignorance, and Vincenzo validated many of my theories about McCarthy doing psychedelics, his connection to Jeffrey Epstein, how the institute killed his creativity, and so much more. And so I am also thankful for that and resent that I had to come on here and do this, but Cormac McCarthy's work has a transformative ability that few modern authors have.
How Vincenzo wrote the article helped preserve McCarthy's reputation, and I commend him for showing that compassion. But, as young writers and creators, we shouldn't be scared of making mistakes. I always exaggerate and mess things up, and I have ruined my reputation with certain groups because of it. However, Vincenzo's article directly and canonically impacted how the public will perceive Cormac McCarthy forever. 99% of the millions who read the article will never know the mistakes he made or the resolutions he may bring to light. And that's fine! I'm happy and grateful for his personal sacrifice to get a primarily intact article into the ether and shine a light on McCarthy's hidden persona. I am also thankful for Augusta Britt for sharing her story.
I am not insane, and I understand that people remembering things from 50 years ago will get some stuff wrong. However, I am trying to help Vincenzo, and I may need to be gentler. So, I will speak to him directly now because I know he will read this
Vincenzo, it doesn't matter if Augusta was 14. Most people don't care! If she was 16, and he was taking harems of girls to Mexico Carlos Castaneda style before he met her, you still found the person he fell in love with and talked to until the day he died. You don't need to make a castle made of sand. Your book may sell better if the reality of the situation is darker 😂
You have 47 letters, which I'm sure can prove your claims about John Grady Cole, the stuffed animal, their origin story, Wanda, and all the stuff above I am saying you're wrong about in the letters. You providing those snippets of information are a teaser to your book and a kick in the ass of people like me.
I would rather not hate on you. I would rather elevate you and your story. And, even if everything I said above is right, I will still support you if you say you got it wrong. Because before you and I started making content, we were Cormac McCarthy fans. Maybe fanatics? That dude changed our life. You and I have the opportunity to turn millions of more people onto him. If you were watching this happen, you would understand the call for accountability because your silence makes it seem like you're hiding and manipulating the story so you can cruise into the publication of your book. Silence is the right move from a PR perspective, but if you want to walk in the spirit of your Italian ancestors, if you want to Christopher Columbus this shit, if you want to hit a Luigi Mangione on the McCarthy logic bros, then fuck PR, fuck your plan, and either double down on your claims or address your mistakes in a 10,000 word Vincenzo Barney style explosion. Both would be a win. Your silence hides your true light.
I think it is wrong to misinform and mislead people. Especially when it has the potential to change the literary outlook of an important American author.
That was a great VF article. Reaction like that, as painful as it may have been, meant you must have done at least something right. Respect. 👊Appreciated being able to read this follow up too.
Freud said men don’t like it when you “spit in their soup”, ie spoil their pleasures by making them think about the realities of what they do to people.
Insanity. I’m not a man-hater either, but sometimes when trump supporters talk crap about Kamala Harris being a whore and stuff, I definitely hate those sexist pigs.
I’m a big reader and a small commenter. I would just like to say…I like your style! My sincerest thanks for reminding me that beautiful and vulnerably honest writing is alive and well and can live on the same page. I wish you all the best in your career and life.
I don’t understand the new trend of being unable to separate the artist from the art. Cormac McCarthy had a 16-year-old muse when he was 42. Ok. Fine. But my issue is deeper than art/artist separation. It brings to light the question: Are artists (writers) supposed to be “good” according to some arbitrary societal standard? If so, why, and who makes those calls? Don’t people understand that writers have always been the freaks, weirdos, intense individuals, rebels, etc? Just like painters and all other artists. Look at Hemingway or Van Gogh or Dostoevsky. I think people like to project, like to point the finger of blame, like to be part of a mob. But the deeper truth is that we know writers are human, just like everyone else.
It’s worth noting this, too, from the young woman he was involved with (from USA Today): “Of course, the age gap concerns remained, and as the pair took off to Mexico, Britt told Vanity Fair that McCarthy was wanted for statutory rape and the Mann Act. She maintains that the relationship was not inappropriate though, telling the magazine, "One thing I'm scared about is that he's not around to defend himself. He saved my life."
"I loved him. He was my safety," Britt told Vanity Fair, "I really feel that if I had not met him, I would have died young. What I had trouble with came later. When he started writing about me."
Yes! We must permit there to be a separation between the artist and the art. Yet our idol culture tries to possess the artist and make them who we see them to be, not who they actually are, an artist. A creator. A person who imagines things outside our ordinary understanding. Casting things in new lights, sometimes to amaze us, sometimes to warn us, and sometimes to love us. And conformity is not what we need from artists. Just the opposite. Zappa, Pollock, Bach, McCarthy--all creating what had never existed before, but revealing what was always there but never seen or heard or understood before.
It's a legal standard and that bar, generally, is very low. "Don't have sex with underaged girls" should not be considered optional. And yes, if you think it IS optionsl you are a criminal and should be judged accordingly, no matter how "great" your fiction is. When we put art above human beings, we become loathsome creatures.
I just wrote about the McCarthy controversy in a short story for my debut collection: is gloriously vivid --- glazed, folded, built, haptic plentitude and a resplendently muscular formal vocabulary situate serious propositions against despair. A 18 minute ride from that glowing rectangle in your hands! Would love to hear your thoughts A passionate, tender work. Titled "The Fig and the Wasp." https://open.substack.com/pub/hillkeith636/p/the-fig-and-the-wasp?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=3i3u03
I came across your story after having to Google about it after seeing what seemed like an incredibly reductive post on Bluesky calling Cormac a child molester. After reading a chunk of your article I was feeling like the online discourse surrounding it were people telling this woman what she was supposed to think and taking things out of context like "in foster care and he trafficked her to Mexico, it's not great." I avoided arguing with people that clearly wanted to argue when I replied to someone asking about it with the article saying they should just read it for themselves. It just seemed so wild they were taking her agency as you said and suggesting I guess she should have stayed in foster care and continue to get beaten? People calling him a groomer but their meeting seemed like such a chance of fate.
If she was a minor, she can't legally consent. She was not a woman, she was legally a CHILD. He was 42. It concerns me how many men responding to this article either don't understand that or frankly don't care. I hope no one trusts you around their minor children.
I enjoyed your profile and shared it around with a bunch of my friends. My favorite part was the exchange between you about how Augusta sees the letters in retrospect. She seems like an amazing person with many great stories to tell.
Having read The Orchard Keeper earlier this year, finding a 16 year old girl who enjoyed TOK is in itself worth an article. The idea begs a million questions about Augusta’s early childhood, about which the details are understandably scant. Her personality and sense of humor, the urge to cut tension with dark humor, all of the qualities you’ve described so carefully for us, is consistent with what I’ve seen in people whose childhood memories—for good reasons—end up blurry.
Protecting Augusta is a heavy responsibility. McCarthy bore that weight for many years, I suppose because he loved her. :)
As the first writer to pick up where he left off, you’re taking up that same responsibility, but without the benefit of the years they spent together. What a disadvantage!
I can tell you’ve taken it seriously, but part of protecting her story is taking the time to verify anything you can. Others have pointed out inaccuracies—those make it harder to trust you, and the version of Augusta we meet through your voice. It’s unfortunate, for example, that the anecdote about the TOK author photo is so close to the top. You’re 100% right, Augusta deserves our trust about her version of events. Sometimes things get blurry, but that’s also part of the story!
I hope you’ll take the time to dig a little deeper and help us see the fog with clarity. You’ve got a real gift in this opportunity. I’m sure some of the pushback is envy.
Your words were seductive in their limited telling of Augusta’s plight. As a closet writer, I often remain catatonic with my inability to stop overthinking/critiquing/editing every word I attempt to convey.
The fear of judgment and rejection is so paralyzing on any given day that it totally incapacitates me. And yet, every now and then, I attempt to express my longing for the deep, unfathomable truths and understanding of the human experience in this lifetime.
When will the beauty of this existence be truly appreciated and celebrated as it should be? Is it better to be just energy in the dark, emptiness of The Universe?
Thank you, Vincenzo Barney. You ignited a few dying embers of my Soul - I will celebrate that warmth.
Thanks for this additional backstory and support for Augusta’s agency in this…her story. Our book club just finished reading Consent by Jill Ciment an eerily similar tale (16-17 and 42), though she married her older artist and they stayed married for over 50 years. I admit conflicting feelings over both stories - mostly as the mother of a 15 year old and fear for their future. But also remember clearly that young adult desire and sense of self knowledge. Every human has a different energy and history. We can’t presume to know one’s heart and mind - better off not attempting to.
I publish a Substack called David's Lists 2.0. Every so often I have occasion to say that SUTTREE is my favorite novel [of anyone's]. But I don't proselytize about McCarthy--he's simply not to everyone's taste. I also posted on my three favorite reads of the past year, one of which is STELLA MARIS. It's an amazing artifact, utterly one of a kind. It no doubt creeps out some readers (and, well, it should), but you have to marvel at the imagery, the unfolding of her story, the pathos. I couldn't get enough of her. And Ioved that it was entirely dialog--a quality I learned to see the beauty of when I read Wm. Gaddis's J. R.
Anyway, I bumped into your post today and wanted to tell you how strongly I liked getting to know Augusta's story, Augusta & Cormac's story, and how sorry I am that we live in an age of trolls. Some people never learned the wisdom encapsulated by a saying my father often directed at me: You just missed a golden opportunity to keep your mouth shut.
Vincenzo, people are upset because you refuse to address the false claims you/Augusta made, which throw the veracity of your entire article into question. What makes it worse is that you're gatekeeping, manipulating, and hiding the real story/information to drive book sales for your book with Augusta, which I assume will double down on these false claims.
So, Vincenzo, I've asked you plenty of times, but are you ready to comment on the Guy Davenport letter? The one that Davenport wrote in 1974 about McCarthy
"Cormac McCarthy has just run off to Mexico with a teenage popsy, abandoning a beautiful British ballerina of a wife; somehow this negates all the critical thunder he boomed at Tatlin."(Questioning Minds, page 1,508)
So was Augusta 14 (instead of 16) when she went to Mexico with Cormac? Your article said they met in 1976. Or did Cormac habitually take young girls to Mexico (which would ruin your whole "Augusta is Cormac's Muse" angle)?
While discussing your false claims, are you willing to comment on the fake origin story you made up about Augusta meeting Cormac? The Orchard Keeper did not have an author photo on the back of the Ballantine paperback edition (the only paperback edition available during that time). In 1976 (or 1974??), when Augusta met Cormac, he had only sold 5,000 book copies. There was zero way in hell, an orphaned girl had come across one of those copies. And if she did, she wouldn't know what he looked like! So, did Cormac approach her???
If he did approach her, and we're going with your muse angle, are you willing to comment on your claim that Wanda is based on Augusta? McCarthy had written that scene into an early draft of Suttree over a decade before he met Augusta (when she was six or four, lmao)
Or how about your main claim that she inspired All the Pretty Horses? McCarthy had worked with John Cole on a movie set when he was a teenager and was indebted to him for getting him into film. When he wrote his screenplay in the mid-1970s, "Cities of the Plain," he named one of the characters John Grady Cole in honor of him. Not Augusta's fake stuffed animal named "John Grady Cole."
Do you have any proof she worked for Jim Anderson or in any way resembled Alicia Western?
Why have you personally tried to position yourself as an authority on Cormac and diminish scholar's work because you know Augusta by claiming McCarthy didn't know about Focualt or Gnosticism when I've read handwritten notes he's made about them? What about some of the other reaching claims you made on your recent Patreon Podcast?
Why would you do that other than to manipulate ethos for future book sales?
I could go on for days, Vincenzo, with more false claims, but stop playing the victim and start taking some accountability!
It is YOUR fault Augusta Britt is getting hated on. An hour of sitting on Google would lead you to all the information I stated above. You decided to publish the article (that you were paid for per word) without checking any information or at least telling the audience that her claims may be false.
You now have another paycheck coming down the pipeline with your new book with Augusta, and I assume we will hear nothing but silence from you about these claims because it would kill your potential to make money in the future.
I'm in the real streets of Tucson, and when you're ready to come down from the Catalina Foothills for an interview in the Escalade Cormac gifted Augusta, the literary renaissance will be waiting.
- The Cormac McCarthy Renegade Scholar Collective
Brilliant takedown, Ian. This guy is a complete hack.
These are indeed the questions we need answers to.
you ought to do a full writeup on this — would be interested in hearing the true extent
If Vincenzo fails to address all these points then I will take it as an admission of guilt
same here. Facts do not lie.
It has an author photo inside the dust jacket of the random house 1965 1st edition hardcover.
Wrong edition. She didn't have a hardcover. Vincenzo states she had a paperback (“It was this beat-up old paperback.") which would have to be the Ballantine rerelease. There is no photo anywhere in that entire edition. Go look that up! I love how Vincenzo liked your comment because he thinks it's helping him, but he is so lost in the lies that he still hasn't looked any of this stuff up!
https://www.abebooks.co.uk/first-edition/Orchard-Keeper-Cormac-McCarthy-1965-1st/32049597840/bd
Ian, you are also being proved wrong.
I am not being proven wrong. The paperback edition, which Vincenzo states she had (“It was this beat-up old paperback.") would have to be the Ballatine rerelease of "The Orchard Keeper." The edition Crunch links above is a hardcover. Type in "The Orchard Keeper Ballantine edition" on Google, and look at the photos. You will see no author photo in the front, back, or on the inside/black flap. I have also verified with someone who has a copy of the that version that a photo isn't included anywhere in that edition.
In no way is Ian being proven anything other than correct. Vinnie's article states “It was this beat-up old paperback."...furthermore it states "this was 1976. The era of McCarthy’s handlebar mustache", and the Orchard Keeper hardcover mentioned shows him cleanly shaved, making him virtually nonrecognizable. But all that is a LOT of maybes we're putting in place to try to make Vincenzo's original "meet cute" story make sense.
That is not the case in any shape or form
On the hardcover, you fucking stone
Well put, Ian.
Vincenzo --- for truth, historical record, and your credibility as a writer, please answer Ian. Work with him on this.
Ian Cattanach, the 100% unpublished self-proclaimed literary star is flayling to figure what is going on with Vincenzo Barney and why he didn't know any of this. Caught flat-footed he attacks the messenger like a baby. He does a half dozen videos and countless posts trying to make money off a story he was incapable of breaking or understanding. Come to grips with it and thank the man that gave you all this new content and if you had a brain a new deeper understanding of Cormac's work.
This chump has no class, a trolling attack machine desperate for views despite the consequences. Making charges about thing she doesn't have any facts about and tossing about loaded words as if they didn't matter. Show some poise asshole.
of course the details are going to be inaccurate, McCarthy's books are filled with tall tales. You might as well fact check the height and melanin content of Judge Holden.
You have to admit though that story was the literary scoop of the century.
Ian Cattanbach has plenty to say. As a highly regarded author (he simply must be!) who god-like teaches people how to write absolutely brilliant novels -- for a reasonable monthly fee, his word is gold. I was dying to learn more about this fascinating cat, credit card at the ready.
Turns out his client's bulbs are even dimmer than his. This troll hasn't been paid to write a damn thing – ever! Novels? Not a one. Articles published by someone other than his own vain narcissistic self? Nope. Letters to the Editor? No chance. A Christmas card? Maybe.
But what about his bold comments his salivating dupes greedily lap up? Palaver.
A blithering idiot when it comes to writing and literary criticism but clever enough to sucker a bunch of no talents into paying him for his bullshit.
Lazy? Afraid to write? His writing sucks canal water? My guess is this dope is all three.
Loser.
in the real streets, my dude !!
6th and Stone may be my bones, but Vincenzo Barney will never fool me!
Ian is a talentless moron. Please Ian. Share links to any of your published works. Why should people pay you to teach them about writing when you seem to have never made a penny actually writing something. Grifter.
Nailed it, Ian. Good on you, man.
Your VF article was amazing and sent me back to my bookshelves (yes, BOOKSHELVES) to reread McCarthy’s works with Augusta in mind. Fuck all the people who would deny her truth and words and tell us all how to rethink McCarthy and to erase him and his work—and Augusta. Thank you for writing this and the VF article. People out there in the blovisiphere should STFU.
Amen.
Was always humbled by McCarthy prose. I was moving fast and it needed to be savored slowly so I’m not Kormac scholar. But I like the muse story even if it’s fiction. The blank page is a lonely place.
It is not fiction. Didn't you see the letters? The quotes from people close to Cormac?
I am glad you respect her truth.
Personal histories are complicated. Life is nuanced. Comment sections are wild.
Preach it.
I came here for the Comments
Nothing is nuanced about fucking a 16 y/o traumatized teenager. He could have helped and befriended her without the fucking part. But alas that’s not part of most men’s nature.
17 and meets the age of consent.
Your fucking point-?
She was not 16. She was 17 and was of age of consent. Perfectly legal. When I was a teenager I could not date girls my own age. They were all dating older guys. Several years or often more. It seemed to be in their nature to prefer older men. My response was to date older girls.
because the older guys were grooming them. I understand there are evolutionary pressures for males to find females of childbearing age attractive. But that pressure (selectionism) would not have been particularly toward teenage females because a somewhat older female (20s) is more likely to have a healthy baby and to raise it to adulthood and further reproduction. The preference of some men for really young females seems more cultural, more about having control, feeling superior. It’s contemptible.
They chose the older guys over guys there own age. It was rampant. The girls and even the parents always said girls mature earlier than boys. We were too immature to date girls our own age. What about debutante balls? Girls of 16 introduced to the sucessful MEN of society.
Thank you for publishing Augusta’s story: she is essential to understanding Cormac, one of the greatest, if not the greatest, writer of American fiction. That anyone would denigrate you, Augusta or Cormac for illuminating their story is the angry beast threatening our story - all of ours. Richard
Did you take the time to read Ian's comment? Please point out where he is wrong...
Ian is taking rumors as fact and damaging Cormac's reputation. This wad posted a video claiming Cormac had sex with a 14 year old. Malicious, maligning and untrue, Yet this wipe complains about the accuracy of the VF article? Hypocrite. Unpublished dip shit.
This self appointed Cormac guru and literary genius is spouting off about shit he knows nothing about. Are you one of the saps that pays this non writer for advice about writing? Where is his novel or even article? Shyster.
Debra, I don't have a problem with Vincenzo, and I did enjoy how he wrote the article. As a Tucson local, his descriptions of Tucson were beautiful, and I'm glad he took a more maximalist approach to the work. I also believe that Cormac and Augusta did have a deep connection and romantic relationship that lasted decades.
I also support him as an independent scholar/researcher in the scene and believe he could be a leader in pushing back against the tyranny of logic bros and scholars. Before Vincenzo, I was the most hated person in the Cormac McCarthy space and had similar logical takedown comments done on my work/persona. Most of the time, those logical comments came out of a place of ignorance, and Vincenzo validated many of my theories about McCarthy doing psychedelics, his connection to Jeffrey Epstein, how the institute killed his creativity, and so much more. And so I am also thankful for that and resent that I had to come on here and do this, but Cormac McCarthy's work has a transformative ability that few modern authors have.
How Vincenzo wrote the article helped preserve McCarthy's reputation, and I commend him for showing that compassion. But, as young writers and creators, we shouldn't be scared of making mistakes. I always exaggerate and mess things up, and I have ruined my reputation with certain groups because of it. However, Vincenzo's article directly and canonically impacted how the public will perceive Cormac McCarthy forever. 99% of the millions who read the article will never know the mistakes he made or the resolutions he may bring to light. And that's fine! I'm happy and grateful for his personal sacrifice to get a primarily intact article into the ether and shine a light on McCarthy's hidden persona. I am also thankful for Augusta Britt for sharing her story.
I am not insane, and I understand that people remembering things from 50 years ago will get some stuff wrong. However, I am trying to help Vincenzo, and I may need to be gentler. So, I will speak to him directly now because I know he will read this
Vincenzo, it doesn't matter if Augusta was 14. Most people don't care! If she was 16, and he was taking harems of girls to Mexico Carlos Castaneda style before he met her, you still found the person he fell in love with and talked to until the day he died. You don't need to make a castle made of sand. Your book may sell better if the reality of the situation is darker 😂
You have 47 letters, which I'm sure can prove your claims about John Grady Cole, the stuffed animal, their origin story, Wanda, and all the stuff above I am saying you're wrong about in the letters. You providing those snippets of information are a teaser to your book and a kick in the ass of people like me.
I would rather not hate on you. I would rather elevate you and your story. And, even if everything I said above is right, I will still support you if you say you got it wrong. Because before you and I started making content, we were Cormac McCarthy fans. Maybe fanatics? That dude changed our life. You and I have the opportunity to turn millions of more people onto him. If you were watching this happen, you would understand the call for accountability because your silence makes it seem like you're hiding and manipulating the story so you can cruise into the publication of your book. Silence is the right move from a PR perspective, but if you want to walk in the spirit of your Italian ancestors, if you want to Christopher Columbus this shit, if you want to hit a Luigi Mangione on the McCarthy logic bros, then fuck PR, fuck your plan, and either double down on your claims or address your mistakes in a 10,000 word Vincenzo Barney style explosion. Both would be a win. Your silence hides your true light.
Peace out brotha, and have a good weekend!
I think it is wrong to misinform and mislead people. Especially when it has the potential to change the literary outlook of an important American author.
and your expertise is what?
That was a great VF article. Reaction like that, as painful as it may have been, meant you must have done at least something right. Respect. 👊Appreciated being able to read this follow up too.
Thanks for the backstory and sorry about the negativity you endured. The hypocrisy in the culture is often difficult to navigate.
Hypocrisy yes, and meanness.
and jealousy
Freud said men don’t like it when you “spit in their soup”, ie spoil their pleasures by making them think about the realities of what they do to people.
Of course, they don't, it would force the men to consider how it feels for a woman to be the victim of their abuse.
They’d rather call us manhaters, which I’m not - usually
Insanity. I’m not a man-hater either, but sometimes when trump supporters talk crap about Kamala Harris being a whore and stuff, I definitely hate those sexist pigs.
Dear Mr Barney,
I’m a big reader and a small commenter. I would just like to say…I like your style! My sincerest thanks for reminding me that beautiful and vulnerably honest writing is alive and well and can live on the same page. I wish you all the best in your career and life.
I don’t understand the new trend of being unable to separate the artist from the art. Cormac McCarthy had a 16-year-old muse when he was 42. Ok. Fine. But my issue is deeper than art/artist separation. It brings to light the question: Are artists (writers) supposed to be “good” according to some arbitrary societal standard? If so, why, and who makes those calls? Don’t people understand that writers have always been the freaks, weirdos, intense individuals, rebels, etc? Just like painters and all other artists. Look at Hemingway or Van Gogh or Dostoevsky. I think people like to project, like to point the finger of blame, like to be part of a mob. But the deeper truth is that we know writers are human, just like everyone else.
It’s worth noting this, too, from the young woman he was involved with (from USA Today): “Of course, the age gap concerns remained, and as the pair took off to Mexico, Britt told Vanity Fair that McCarthy was wanted for statutory rape and the Mann Act. She maintains that the relationship was not inappropriate though, telling the magazine, "One thing I'm scared about is that he's not around to defend himself. He saved my life."
"I loved him. He was my safety," Britt told Vanity Fair, "I really feel that if I had not met him, I would have died young. What I had trouble with came later. When he started writing about me."
Finally, I have to add a link to my essay on McCarthy’s NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN: https://michaelmohr.substack.com/p/no-country-for-old-men
Yes! We must permit there to be a separation between the artist and the art. Yet our idol culture tries to possess the artist and make them who we see them to be, not who they actually are, an artist. A creator. A person who imagines things outside our ordinary understanding. Casting things in new lights, sometimes to amaze us, sometimes to warn us, and sometimes to love us. And conformity is not what we need from artists. Just the opposite. Zappa, Pollock, Bach, McCarthy--all creating what had never existed before, but revealing what was always there but never seen or heard or understood before.
You have to understand many people live in a fantasy world where all behavior must conform to some [nonexistent] standard.
Seems MOST of those "Liberal" 'standards' are very restrictive once one is 'accepted' into the 'Liberal Sphere'...
The group as a whole, although it SCREAMS tolerance ... was quite the opposite, short sighted, and mentally inflexible
... from personal experience...
I get what you’re saying but I think it is valuable to have some moral restrictions when it comes to adult men pursing minors.
It's a legal standard and that bar, generally, is very low. "Don't have sex with underaged girls" should not be considered optional. And yes, if you think it IS optionsl you are a criminal and should be judged accordingly, no matter how "great" your fiction is. When we put art above human beings, we become loathsome creatures.
Jessica:
Moral restrictions seems what separates civility from animalistic behaviors, one must be taught to learn to exercise self control...
Social Lines in the sand, must be drawn and not moved to identify and explain social behaviors that can either benefit a society or tear it down.
Men and Minors imply one thing, and it is NOT 'friendship'
Tears at the fabric of society...
"Yes, today's written discourse is propagated mostly by thumb wars, a child's game. And it shows." Murdered by words, lol. But well said.
So well said!!!!
I just wrote about the McCarthy controversy in a short story for my debut collection: is gloriously vivid --- glazed, folded, built, haptic plentitude and a resplendently muscular formal vocabulary situate serious propositions against despair. A 18 minute ride from that glowing rectangle in your hands! Would love to hear your thoughts A passionate, tender work. Titled "The Fig and the Wasp." https://open.substack.com/pub/hillkeith636/p/the-fig-and-the-wasp?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=3i3u03
I am still thinking about your article and sharing it around with others. Britt deserves her own story and I think you told it well.
I came across your story after having to Google about it after seeing what seemed like an incredibly reductive post on Bluesky calling Cormac a child molester. After reading a chunk of your article I was feeling like the online discourse surrounding it were people telling this woman what she was supposed to think and taking things out of context like "in foster care and he trafficked her to Mexico, it's not great." I avoided arguing with people that clearly wanted to argue when I replied to someone asking about it with the article saying they should just read it for themselves. It just seemed so wild they were taking her agency as you said and suggesting I guess she should have stayed in foster care and continue to get beaten? People calling him a groomer but their meeting seemed like such a chance of fate.
It seems women are not allowed to have agency. They can only be victims in this pseudo-religious orthodoxy we are beset by.
If she was a minor, she can't legally consent. She was not a woman, she was legally a CHILD. He was 42. It concerns me how many men responding to this article either don't understand that or frankly don't care. I hope no one trusts you around their minor children.
Yeah, I read an article on him on Book Riot and it was bizarrely slanted.
Uhm - he could have helped her without fucking her, no?
THANK YOU
I enjoyed your profile and shared it around with a bunch of my friends. My favorite part was the exchange between you about how Augusta sees the letters in retrospect. She seems like an amazing person with many great stories to tell.
Having read The Orchard Keeper earlier this year, finding a 16 year old girl who enjoyed TOK is in itself worth an article. The idea begs a million questions about Augusta’s early childhood, about which the details are understandably scant. Her personality and sense of humor, the urge to cut tension with dark humor, all of the qualities you’ve described so carefully for us, is consistent with what I’ve seen in people whose childhood memories—for good reasons—end up blurry.
Protecting Augusta is a heavy responsibility. McCarthy bore that weight for many years, I suppose because he loved her. :)
As the first writer to pick up where he left off, you’re taking up that same responsibility, but without the benefit of the years they spent together. What a disadvantage!
I can tell you’ve taken it seriously, but part of protecting her story is taking the time to verify anything you can. Others have pointed out inaccuracies—those make it harder to trust you, and the version of Augusta we meet through your voice. It’s unfortunate, for example, that the anecdote about the TOK author photo is so close to the top. You’re 100% right, Augusta deserves our trust about her version of events. Sometimes things get blurry, but that’s also part of the story!
I hope you’ll take the time to dig a little deeper and help us see the fog with clarity. You’ve got a real gift in this opportunity. I’m sure some of the pushback is envy.
Your words were seductive in their limited telling of Augusta’s plight. As a closet writer, I often remain catatonic with my inability to stop overthinking/critiquing/editing every word I attempt to convey.
The fear of judgment and rejection is so paralyzing on any given day that it totally incapacitates me. And yet, every now and then, I attempt to express my longing for the deep, unfathomable truths and understanding of the human experience in this lifetime.
When will the beauty of this existence be truly appreciated and celebrated as it should be? Is it better to be just energy in the dark, emptiness of The Universe?
Thank you, Vincenzo Barney. You ignited a few dying embers of my Soul - I will celebrate that warmth.
Thanks for this additional backstory and support for Augusta’s agency in this…her story. Our book club just finished reading Consent by Jill Ciment an eerily similar tale (16-17 and 42), though she married her older artist and they stayed married for over 50 years. I admit conflicting feelings over both stories - mostly as the mother of a 15 year old and fear for their future. But also remember clearly that young adult desire and sense of self knowledge. Every human has a different energy and history. We can’t presume to know one’s heart and mind - better off not attempting to.
(Also, tiny typo after oeuvre 😎)
I publish a Substack called David's Lists 2.0. Every so often I have occasion to say that SUTTREE is my favorite novel [of anyone's]. But I don't proselytize about McCarthy--he's simply not to everyone's taste. I also posted on my three favorite reads of the past year, one of which is STELLA MARIS. It's an amazing artifact, utterly one of a kind. It no doubt creeps out some readers (and, well, it should), but you have to marvel at the imagery, the unfolding of her story, the pathos. I couldn't get enough of her. And Ioved that it was entirely dialog--a quality I learned to see the beauty of when I read Wm. Gaddis's J. R.
Anyway, I bumped into your post today and wanted to tell you how strongly I liked getting to know Augusta's story, Augusta & Cormac's story, and how sorry I am that we live in an age of trolls. Some people never learned the wisdom encapsulated by a saying my father often directed at me: You just missed a golden opportunity to keep your mouth shut.
I wish you well, sir.