John Howard, The Same Language: A Memoir by Ben Duncan

On November 2, 2005, John Howard spoke at Outwrite Books in Atlanta about the new edition of The Same Language, a memoir written by Alabama native Ben Duncan. First published in England in 1962, The Same Language chronicled Duncan's life from his birth in Birmingham through his experiences as an orphan in Depression-era foster homes, his military service, his education at Oxford University, and his career as a writer and commentator in England. As a gay man living in Great Britain at a time when homosexuality was aggressively prosecuted in the courts, Duncan was unable to tell his whole story when his memoir first appeared. Prof. Howard, who edited the new edition (University of Alabama Press, 2005), and wrote the Afterword, talks of working with Duncan on this project and reads excerpts from the memoir. Shifting from past to present and using italicized passages to indicate new additions, The Same Language now includes Duncan's account of his evolving sexuality, the many masks he was forced to contrive for survival and acceptance, and a vivid rendering of the underground world of gay life in 1950s and 1960s Britain.

John Howard reads from his Afterword to Ben Duncan's The Same Language, discussing how the book is not just a revised edition but an "accessible postmodern experiment in memory" and in the memoir or "life-writing" form. Duncan's themes include the complexities of the idea of "home," his restlessness and geographical migrations, his search for friendship and love, and his encounters with England's Home Office.

"Who on earth is that young man, and what is he doing here?" Howard reads the short opening chapter from the original edition of The Same Language.

An example of the material Duncan was unable to publish in the early 1960s is his account of meeting Dick Chapman. "The single moment in your life which most changes all that follows should be easy to record. But . . ."

Excerpts from the Question and Answer Session:

"So I plunged back into the Deep South where I was born in 1927." Prof. Howard discusses Ben Duncan's Alabama boyhood. Both parents died when Duncan was young, but he writes of the camaraderie he found in foster homes.

"What an unburdening and a joy it was to feel free, at last, to tell the truth." John Howard discusses the catalyst for Duncan's revisiting and revising The Same Language.

A native of Mississippi, John Howard is an alumnus of the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, where he received an MA in American Studies. He completed his PhD at the Graduate Institute of Liberal Arts at Emory University. Prof. Howard currently teaches in the Department of American Studies at King's College, University of London. He is the author of Men Like That: A Southern Queer History (University of Chicago Press, 1999) and editor of Carryin' On in the Lesbian and Gay South (New York University Press, 1997).

About Ben Duncan:
A native of Alabama, Ben Duncan is a writer and broadcaster based in England. He is the author of the novel Little Friends and numerous articles in The Guardian, New Society, Punch, The Spectator, and The Times Literary Supplement.

	Part 1 (6:14 min.) RealMedia \| Windows Media \| QuickTime John Howard reads from his Afterword to Ben Duncan's The Same Language, discussing how the book is not just a revised edition but an "accessible postmodern experiment in memory" and in the memoir or "life-writing" form. Duncan's themes include the complexities of the idea of "home," his restlessness and geographical migrations, his search for friendship and love, and his encounters with England's Home Office.
Part 2 (4:40 min.) RealMedia \| Windows Media \| QuickTime	"Who on earth is that young man, and what is he doing here?" Howard reads the short opening chapter from the original edition of The Same Language.
Part 3 (8:35 min.) RealMedia \| Windows Media \| QuickTime	An example of the material Duncan was unable to publish in the early 1960s is his account of meeting Dick Chapman. "The single moment in your life which most changes all that follows should be easy to record. But . . ."

		Part 1 (2:45 min.) RealMedia \| Windows Media \| QuickTime "So I plunged back into the Deep South where I was born in 1927." Prof. Howard discusses Ben Duncan's Alabama boyhood. Both parents died when Duncan was young, but he writes of the camaraderie he found in foster homes. Part 2 (1:45 min.) RealMedia \| Windows Media \| QuickTime "What an unburdening and a joy it was to feel free, at last, to tell the truth." John Howard discusses the catalyst for Duncan's revisiting and revising The Same Language.