Tempest In A Fleshpot

irst he was on the program. Then he was off the program. Now he's back on it.

"We got it all straightened out," says local author John Fergus Ryan of the fiasco surrounding his appearance at the Friends of the Library Book and Author Dinner scheduled for October 2nd. He now says he will appear "as scheduled."

Last week, the news was that he had been disinvited to the annual event because of the controversial nature of his forthcoming novel, Watching. The novel, Ryan's third, follows its senior-citizen protagonist, Billy O'Leary, through the world of Times Square peep shows in graphic detail.

Ryan allegedly received a call from Martha Little, a member of the Book and Author Dinner Committee, suggesting he drop out of the event, which Ryan did, thinking that Little spoke for the entire committee. Everyone else involved -- from Bobbie Drobeck, chairman of the author search committee, to Phoebe Copeland, president of the Friends of the Library -- denied that any such suggestion represented the view of their organization and said that Ryan's invitation stood.

But even after it was clear that the invitation hadn't been rescinded, Ryan was still out, as The Commercial Appeal reported late last week, followed closely by fellow author Steve Stern, who told the daily, "If John is excluded from the dinner, I'm not sure I want to participate."

Everyone's back on the schedule now, but things have worked out pretty well for Ryan. "John's been dying for controversy to swirl around this book. He wanted it to be the Naked Lunch of 1997," says Corey Mesler, manager of Burke's Book Store and an active participant in the local book community.

"John was hoping for something like that. This vaguely fit the bill," Mesler says, adding that Ryan had joked "in his sort of ironic way" about how controversy would help the book.

Two weeks ago, the Flyer ran an item about Watching in "Fly On The Wall" that quoted Ryan saying, "It's so dirty, I will probably have to move to Millington after it comes out." While some speculated that the item was the origin of the concern over Ryan's book, Little -- who resigned from the Book and Author Committee Monday -- says she had heard about the book from someone who had read the galleys. Little says she never claimed to speak for any organization, but only as a friend, when she called Ryan.

"I was leaving this up strictly to his discretion," she says, "and he expressed to me some doubt as to whether or not he should appear."

Little says she was surprised to discover that the author had decided to withdraw, and takes issue with Ryan's account of their conversation which appeared in The Commercial Appeal. "I hate to say it," she says, "but I think maybe he was looking at the bottom line, trying to sell the book."

And even now that the dust has cleared to reveal nothing more than a mix-up, the pseudo-controversy surrounding the event will no doubt help the book and Ryan along. "It might succeed in turning a somewhat predictable event into a special occasion," says Stern, "and I think John will be the man of the hour."

There could have been even more hubbub, and the delay between the Friends of the Library making their position clear and Ryan deciding to return to the event suggests more was being anticipated.

While a censorship story involving a well-known author might be expected to be picked up by the national press, it hasn't been, although you can bet it's not due to lack of trying. "We faxed a press release to some national papers," says Henno Lohmeyer, publisher of United Publishers Group Inc., the company that includes Rosset-Morgan Books, Watching's publisher.

United Publishers dispatched a press release to eight national media outlets -- including The New York Times, the Associated Press, and The Washington Post -- with the headline "Book Censorship Memphis Style: Watching Author Unwelcome at Hometown Book & Author Dinner." So far, no nibbles, perhaps because what is dubbed "censorship" turns out to be little more than a miscommunication.

"That apparently never did get off the ground," says Ryan of the hype-that-could-have-been. "It would have been great to get a little controversy, but nothing came of it."

AS RYAN'S PUBLISHER LABORED unsuccessfully to make a mountain out of a molehill, the Third Annual International Conference on Elvis Presley -- under way this week at the Memphis College of Art -- was hit with a genuine controversy and opted to back-pedal rather than take advantage of a rare situation in which the high ground and the publicity whirlwind appeared to coincide.

After irate reactions and threats of protests from Elvis fans arose around three pieces in the "Elvis 20/20" art exhibition, which was to be up for the duration of the week-long conference, James Patterson -- president of Delta Axis Contemporary Arts Center, a co-sponsor of the academic conference -- opted to remove the show from public view. The show did appear in its entirety at a private opening reception for the conference Sunday.

"We can't protect the artwork, and the artists are concerned about that too," says Patterson in support of his decision. "We also have to be sympathetic that some people feel very close to Elvis." Patterson stresses that this is not a case of censorship since the show was exhibited in its entirety on Sunday.

Special circumstances notwithstanding -- the exhibit was hung in a hallway difficult to avoid for those offended by the paintings -- the decision to take the show down still raises concerns about free expression, especially for an academic event held at a college of art.

"They were not only angry, they were distraught," says Suzanne Henley, director of development for the college. "It was not the situation to talk about the First Amendment or artistic freedom. I think this was a special situation."

One wonders what better situation there is to talk about the First Amendment and artistic freedom than at an academic conference at an art college. Nevertheless, the most surprising thing about the show coming down is seeing the International Conference on Elvis Presley, which has reveled in and benefited from controversy in the past, shy away from it this time.

Maybe they should get in touch with John Fergus Ryan's publicist.