Dream of a House

The eye is sovereign in every art but music. Reading, writing and painting are all but soundless deeds of sight."" These are the words of Reynolds Price (1933-2011), one America's greatest writers. In his novels, short stories, poems and plays - forty-one books in all - Price renders with keenness, clarity and profound eloquence the experience of life, both the visible and invisible, the outward and the interior. What is not well known is that Price was also a visionary collector. In his modest North Carolina house, nestled among southern pines and hardwoods, Price - confined to a wheelchair for the last three decades of his life - curated and arranged his books, photographs, paintings, sculptures, masks, religious icons, and objects he collected, purchased, or was given over the years, creating a visual environment that directly reflected his life, his experiences, his passions and preoccupations. After his death in 2011, Price's family invited acclaimed photographer, Alex Harris to photograph the house. In this remarkably intimate and revealing book, Harris and his wife, writer Margaret Sartor, pair sixty of Harris's color photographs with excerpts from Price's fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and interviews. As longtime neighbors and friends who spent time in his house over many years, they show the ways in which the art and memorabilia Price collected inspired his writing and illuminates connections between the visible world he constructed and the creations of his mind. As we turn the pages of this book, it is as if Reynolds Price himself takes us on a guided tour of his home. And as we walk through his rooms, he reveals his private world, recounts significant episodes in his life, and speaks with wisdom and humor about the people, ideas, and beliefs most important to him. As readers we follow, we listen, and we see. Reynolds Price's connection to his house - where he lived and worked for over four decades - offers insight into our own lives and loves, teaches us about the importance of place, shows how to be fully engaged in the world, how to strive to live a meaningful life.