E 1000 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks May 11, 1995

myths or Irish literature or work of C.S.

Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and their fellow Oxford Inklings that people thought of as his

special province. It encompassed virtually

the whole of English literature, early American literature (James Fenimore Cooper was

a Brady specialty; minor Twain was a Brady

weakness), all American fictional modernism

and, late in life, Yiddish and Jewish literature, for which he developed an entirely

unpredictable fondness.

We disagreed strongly on some writers, but

he was the sort of man with whom disagreement was one of the friendliest experiences

you could have. If he never quite subscribed

to all the hoo-ha about Jorge Luis Borges

from me and others, he would, with impish

geniality, point out how much he liked Anthony Burgess, and what was the name

Borges, after all, but the Spanish version of

Burgess?

It’s also true, I think, that he was doing

some of the best journalistic work of his life

in his final decade. In the place of earlier reviews that could sometimes be constricted

by myth (it’s tempting to call such prose

‘‘myth-begotten’’ and hope he’d approve), his

work in the past decade was informed by

marvelous wit, total scholarship and a glorious new clarity. I could delude myself into

thinking that our unspoken communication

had something to do with it, but I know it’s

not the case.

I think what his readers read in the past

decade was the work of a man who, besides

being loved at home, had finally thrown off

all the vestiges of professorial presentation.

To be as great a teacher as so many generations of Canisius College students say that

Charles Brady was requires a certain theatricality—a well-communicated sense of literary passion and identification, an exaggerated self-definition.

You can’t just commune with the avid

young scholars in the front row. If you have

any honor at all, you have to communicate

something to the deadheads in the cheap

seats. Even if they don’t understand a word

you’re saying, you have to give them some

sense of the bardic and of the glory of a life

spent in literature.

It made some of this ’70s and early ’80s

journalism operatic in its mythology, I

think. In his final decade’s work, he had

stopped composing operatic arias and started

composing magnificent chamber music. It is

then, I think, that we heard his truest

voice—just as passionate as the Yeatsian visionary his students knew, but wittier, more

Edwardian and seemingly effortless.

Wonderfully apropos quotes from the

Alexandrian library inside his head would

find their way into his work, but so would

the damnedest, spot-on references to the society around him.

Anyone who thought that he resided in a

1940s Oxford of his own devising would be disabused of that notion on encountering an upto-the-minute and unfalsified Brady take on

academic gender wars or a perfectly appropriate reference to gangsta rap. (I must confess, the day I first encountered the phrase

‘‘gangsta rap’’ in a review by the 82-year-old

Brady, I threw my head back and roared with

pleasure.)

He was, in that great Henry James phrase,

a thoroughly independent and aware man

‘‘on whom nothing was lost.’’

I remember seeing Dr. Brady on an old ’50s

Buffalo television show called ‘‘The University of Buffalo Roundtable.’’ The subject of

Beat poetry came up. The acceptable cant

from the Professoriat of the ’50s—and certainly from those on that show—was that

the Beats were, to a man, hairy and filthy

overhyped pretenders. Brady listened patiently to it all and said, ‘‘I don’t know, I

haven’t read all of them, but I’ve read some

(Lawrence) Ferlinghetti and I think he’s

pretty good.’’

Lest one think that his tower was totally

ivory, he was also, without fail, the most

journalistically current book reviewer we

had—right to the end. It never ceased to

amaze me that an old valiant man in failing

health was, without question, our greatest

sprinter. His reviews of major books would

continually precede and presage major treatment in the New York Times and the newsmagazines, often by several weeks. In such

matters, his instincts were impeccable.

When longtime readers lose a voice like

Charles Brady’s it is always a personal loss,

even for those who never knew him. But at

the end of his life, I think, he was teaching

us all some life lessons that were infinitely

greater than he ever taught in the classroom—that the life of the mind can not only

survive intact to the very hour of our death,

but can, until the moment one is visited by

what James called ‘‘that distinguished

thing,’’ actually increase in acuity, understanding and grace.

The world is full of people whom Charles A.

Brady taught how to read and write and

think.

At the end of his life and bedeviled by illness, he taught us something even richer—

how to be.

COAST GUARD AUTHORIZATION

ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 1996

f

SPEECH OF

HON. NANCY PELOSI

OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, May 9, 1995

The House in Committee of the Whole

House on the State of the Union had under

consideration the bill (H.R. 1361) to authorize

appropriations for fiscal year 1996 for the

Coast Guard, and for other purposes:

Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to

offer my support for H.R. 1361, the Coast

Guard Authorization Act of 1996.

Since 1915, the Coast Guard has played a

critical role in the protection of life and property on the high seas and in the enforcement

of all applicable federal laws on, over, and

under our oceans. The Coast Guard has

maintained coastal navigation aids, engaged

in icebreaking activities and has protected our

fragile environment. The Coast Guard is also

responsible for the safety and security of vessels, ports, waterways, and their related facilities.

Mr. Speaker, in addition to these maritime

safety responsibilities, the Coast Guard also

performs drug interdiction for the entire U.S.

coastline, responds to all coastal oil spills, protects U.S. fisheries, and responds to human

migration crises.

H.R. 1361, which reflects a slight increase

over this year’s funding level, recognizes the

enormous responsibilities performed by the

men and women of the Coast Guard every

day and it deserves our bipartisan support. I

urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation.

SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE BY

SPRINGFIELD, VIRGINIA’S LEE

HIGH SCHOOL CHOIRS

HON. HENRY J. HYDE

OF ILLINOIS

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, May 10, 1995

Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, once again a magnificent performance by the Lee High School

Madrigal Singers and Ladies’ Chamber Choir

earned them ‘‘Superior’’ marks in the April 22

Boston Festivals of Music Competition.

Schools from the United States and Canada

were competing for the honor of being judged

‘‘Superior’’ by receiving the highest numerical

score in each category of competition within

their division.

In addition to capturing the ‘‘Superior’’ title

within their division, the Madrigal Singers were

awarded the ‘‘Grand Champion’’ trophy for receiving the highest scores of all choirs competing in the 1995 ‘‘Boston Festival.’’ Five

scholarships to a choral summer camp were

presented to the group.

The Singing Lancers, five separate choirs in

all, are a terrific group of teens with many

proud accomplishments. The choral program

is directed by Mr. Lindsey Florence who has

been with Lee since 1978 and directed numerous choirs whose efforts have resulted in

award-winning performances in North America.

This special group of young vocalists love to

touch the world with their songs, and that is

exactly what they did yesterday. The five

choirs entertained the young patients at Children’s Hospital where they brought some of

the children’s favorite songs to life in a program they choreographed themselves. Selected choirs have performed at the White

House, Drug Enforcement Administration, Virginia Music Educators Conference, and numerous civic organizations. I am very pleased

to recognize the Singing Lancers and the positive image they project to their community.

I want to once again offer my personal congratulations to Mr. Florence, an exceptional

music teacher, and to the following young men

and women who experienced the rewards of

their hard work the night they were chosen

‘‘Superior.’’ Members of the Madrigal Singers

are: Pam Albanese, Gretchen Arndt, Andy

Barrett, Steph Daniels, Alisa Ersoz, Craig

Goheen, Steph Hawk, Heidi Hisler, Jen Holder, Matt Horner, Cathy Javier-Wong, Robbie

Johanson, Emily Mace, Tanya Moore, Scott

Niehoff, Ty Oxley, Corey and John Perrine,

Joe Steiner, and Becky Whittler. The members

of the Ladies’ Chamber Choir are: Beth

Brown, Alison Cherryholmes, Rebecca Dosch,

Randa Eid, Stephanie Evans, Katie Farrell,

Kelly Good, Emily Henrich, Nadiyah Howard,

Amy Huntington, Mary Kim, Christina Lewis,

Jenn Montgomery, Sara Nahrwold, Nicole

Orton, Courtney Parish, Jenny Platt, Laura

Scheip, Damara Thompson, Nhien To, and

Marika Tsanganelias. My very best wishes to

this very special group of teens.