“One of the reasons that we grieve famous persons we have never met is because of how much they have given us.” – Candace McKibben (in her tribute to Buechner after learning of his death)
One of the joys of a lifetime of reading is discovering a writer whose words are so powerful that you decide you must buy and read, and look forward to re-reading, every one of his/her books.
Another joy is knowing that such a writer is still alive and still writing. That’s happened for me with only a very few writers, and Frederick Buechner was one of them.
“Was” instead of “is,” as Buechner (pronounced BEEK-ner) died this past week.
Much to my chagrin, considering for how long and how profoundly I love this man’s work, I don’t remember how I first discovered it. I don’t think any of my university mentors mentioned him, so it must’ve been the 1970s or 1980s that I picked up his first book. (All I can glean from my sketchy reading notes is the fact that I purchased over a dozen Buechner’s books before 1986.)
To the everlasting gratitude of his numerous and enthusiastic readers, Buechner was unusually prolific. He wrote thirteen novels – four of which I own copies of, but have not read. What I have read, some more than once, are many of Buechner’s memoirs and collections of essays, sermons, and lectures.
I’ve told friends over the years that Buechner is probably the only writer who could conceivably re-convert me to Christianity. (The other writers are C.S. Lewis and G.K. Chesterton.) My agnosticism was/is sorely tested by the sheer beauty of Buechner’s prose – and especially by his unexpected (and persuasive) metaphors combined with his humility and sense of wonder – and sense of humor – that I find unusual in religious writings, especially Christianity-based ones.
Buechner is the only author I ever seriously considered sending a fan letter to, and more than once I fantasized showing up at his door should I ever venture into the New England town where he lived for many years. (I just wanted to thank him personally for writing so many honest, beautiful, thought-provoking books.)
One of my peak book-related memories is standing in a gay bookstore in New Orleans sometime during the 1990s after finding on a paperback bookrack there a memoir written by poet James Merrill, and discovering as I was skimming through it the astounding fact that Merrill’s roommate at college had been his childhood friend Frederick Buechner. Already smitten by an longstanding admiration of Buechner’s books, I longed to find in Merrill’s memoir confirmation that Buechner and Merrill had been sexually intimate during their college days. (Alas, apparently not, although, as I learned later from a biography of Merrill, they remained close friends and lifetime correspondents.)
I also remember how thrilled I was to find out, in the late 1980s, that one of my Arkansas relatives (who had moved to Louisiana in the 1950s to raise her and her husband’s kids, my cousins) was also a long-time lover of Buechner’s books.
I don’t know that any of my Atlanta friends (or, for that matter, my non-Atlanta friends) enjoy and revere Buechner as much as I always have: I don’t remember any of them mentioning him to me, although I’ve certainly made a point of preaching the Buechner Gospel to many a reading friend over the past thirty-something years since I’ve been smitten by his work.
I regret the inevitable disappearance of this gifted, honest writer, I envy the people who listened to his unusual sermons, and am so glad I decided years ago to begin collecting his books so I can conveniently re-read them from time to time in what remains of my own life.
Fortunately for anyone curious enough to see them out, many of Buechner’s books are available in public libraries. For anyone who might consider purchasing one or more of Buechner’s books (and,as I can testify, none of the nonfiction is less than excellent), below are links to Amazon.com for each of them:
Finally, a gallery of the covers of the nineteen titles by Buechner that I own copies of – one of only three authors whose books my home library devotes an entire shelf to:
Kris, you won’t be disappointed! And you’re welcome to borrow any of the 19 books of Buechner’s that I own. In fact, I have duplicates of one that I’ll be glad to give you.
Cal Gough's Blog 
Cal: I will follow up by reading some works by this author. I clicked on a link for some of his quotations, and they were wonderful.
Kris, you won’t be disappointed! And you’re welcome to borrow any of the 19 books of Buechner’s that I own. In fact, I have duplicates of one that I’ll be glad to give you.
Thanks! I will look over the list of his books for one or two to borrow.
thank you for sharing him with us
Sorry for your loss Cal.
Beautiful tribute, Cal. Thanks for sharing.