501 Minutes to Christ

by Poe Ballantine

Libro usado en buenas condiciones, por su antiguedad podria contener señales normales de uso

Genres: Essays, Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography

224 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 2007

About the author

Poe Ballantine is a fiction and nonfiction writer known for his novels and especially his essays, many of which appear in The Sun. His second novel, Decline of the Lawrence Welk Empire, won Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year. The odd jobs, eccentric characters, boarding houses, buses, and beer that populate Ballantine’s work often draw comparisons to the life and work of Charles Bukowski and Jack Kerouac.

One of Ballantine’s short stories, The Blue Devils of Blue River Avenue, was included in Best American Short Stories 1998 and one of his essays, 501 Minutes to Christ, appeared in Best American Essays 2006. [wikipedia]

Reviews

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm giving this collection of personal essays 5 stars because I absolutely loved it. To be honest though, a big part of what I loved about it is that It made me believe that Ballantine and I are kindred spirits. The way he sees and describes common, rural America, and those human beings and events that are often overlooked is reminiscent of what I think is in my own mind- especially when I travel by bus or look back on my days of working hard to get out of a small town or my visits back, and the good times and good people I've encountered along the way. What shines through as he looks backwards on periods of depression, indifference, spiritual and physical homelessness, caring too much about people everyone else hates, and hating the things that everyone else loves, is persistent but low-key faith and optimism. He imparts a constant feeling of going nowhere while simultaneously loving everything that nowhere has to offer. Even though it's likely due to hindsight being 20/20, it serves as a great reminder of how to get through life in a very "if this guy did it, I'm gonna be ok too" way. Additionally, these stories have a lot of parts that made me smile or chuckle a bit. He's witty in that cynical bastard way, but it's just sort of inserted in a few places where he kind of goes off on mini one sentence rants about how effed up things are. Since I completely agree with most of his world view I appreciate that these comments are short and to the point, and I think they do a perfect job of helping to describe the character, or at least meet the image I have of him in my mind, which is really just like the image I have of many of my friends or other characters I love. I recognize that this review is useless to anyone who reads it and doesn't know me that well. This is a tiny book of essays, and so you should probably just read some and decide for yourself.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is something about Ballantine's style that is so honest and refreshing. These essays get repetitive, and tend to blend together, but they are good short examples of the impressive gift that Ballantine has for making his life's mundanity interesting. He continually astonishes with his colorful and inventive way of describing the most minute details of daily life. I had read all of these before in some form or other in the magazine the Sun, and perhaps they don't hold up quite as well to a second reading, but the heart is there and Ballantine's existential angst remains poignant. I've discussed him with a friend as one of the authors whose works might age very favorably after his death. He certainly portrays better than almost anyone the absurdity and pointlessness of 21st century man's existence in a world overrun by materialism. These portrayals could very well provide an important clue for future generations to the underlying dissatisfaction of a society that had everything but still wasn't happy.

@pointblaek

[M.R. Dowsing · Rating 5 out of 5]

This follow-up to 'Things I Like About America' is essentially more of the same but none the worse for that as it's equally good. Again, it's both very funny and very moving, and it's seldom a writer lets you in on their life with such a degree of honesty. In this one, we're brought more or less up to date and discover what happens when he first begins to gain some notice as a writer. You feel as if you've come to know him quite well by the end of these two books, and it's wonderful to learn that he does finally achieve some kind of stability and fulfilment in his life.

The novels next!

[Práxedes Rivera · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the Poe Ballantine I know and love! Witty, profound, self-deprecating, with an unusually oblique perspective on life. Mr. Ballantine is a walking testimony to the virtue of reflection and honesty. I dog-eared so many pages on this book I'm not sure if the Library will take it back!

[Geeta · Rating 4 out of 5]

The essays were not as uniformly good in this one as they were in the first collection I read, but it still merits four stars. Ballantine is a precise writer, and he manages to invoke empathy for himself and the other fringey people he finds around him. Moving from one small town to another, he spends a lot of time on Greyhound buses and in dirty motels. The two best essays are about his writing--in one, a story in Best American lands him a book contract and the editor from hell; in the other, he plots to punch John Irving (instead of Norman Mailer, who totally deserved a punch) at a literary conference. Some people may find Ballantine's insistence on independence a bit childish, but as a slave to the academy he mocks, I find it enviable.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can I say about Poe Ballantine. If you are a reader, then read Poe. If you are a write, you should DEFINITELY read Poe. Poe is a writers, writer. His choice of words remind me of warm, honey swirling around in my mouth and head. This collection of short essays do not have happy endings and not everything works out like other novels. Nothing is tied up in with a pretty bow at the end but I was left wanting more anyway.

I didn't read this in a day. I took my time and savored the stories like a fine wine. I just can't say enough good things about his writing. I am eager to read his other book and essay collection. I'm not looking forward to the day when I have finished all his books.

Please sir....may I have some more?

[Fawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd never heard of this fellow. Turns out he has a bit of a cult following. This is a book of personal essays and while I found his writing to be really refreshing, I was vaguely uncomfortable by most of his subject matter. Meth, homelessness, suicide, etc. Maybe being uncomfortable by writing is a good thing or maybe I just don't want to read about this stuff in my "off-time" since it's all a part of my "on-time". That it took me less than a day to read this book says something, I suppose.

Either way I will likely read more of his writing. Reminds me of Bukowski.

[Aaron Ritchey · Rating 5 out of 5]

More fabulous essays from itinerant writer and all around genius Poe Ballantine. His first collection, Things I Like About America was good, but in some ways, this collection is better, more personal, with more engaging writing. But both books showcase this superstar's talent. Striking, haunting, insightful. To echo Sy Syfransky, some of the best prose I have ever read.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read, though Poe doesn't remind me at all of Bukowski. What I liked best was in "Bleesed Meadows for Minor Poets" Ballantine, after winning a BASS award and getting himself a contract from a big time publisher, decides, because of artistic integrity, to cancell the contract and try another publsiher, even when it meant having to going back to factroy work.

[Stephen · Rating 2 out of 5]

travelogue of an american travelling and drifting around america and writing about his experiences felt the book was okay nothing special

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the 3 Ballantine books I've read, this is the best. It's less depressing,for one thing, but I feel like this book's essays are more thought out; they are more thematic.
I like how he describes things so that there are humorous elements, even though I would not describe his writing as comedic.
I like that he is an "everyman" character who chooses to live a nomadic lifestyle, relying on himself to keep it together; it is a thin thread that keeps him tethered.
My Favorites: World of Trouble, Advice to William Somebody, Realism, The Irving.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm glad I stuck it out to the end - that's where I started enjoying his stories. I read the first hundred and something pages out of a weird sense of duty (the book had been recommended and lent to me by a trusted source, and I also just hate leaving books unfinished), but I can only handle so many tales about meth and restlessness. The last few stories ("God's Day," "Blessed Meadows for Minor Poets," "Wide-Eyed in the Gaudy Shop," and "The Irving") made me despise him less.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of short stories is somewhat dark, and tracks the edges of society in the vein of Kerouac or Bukowski. My favorites were "Methamphetamine for Dummies", "Wide-Eyed in the Gawdy Shop", and "The Irving." My first impression was that the stories were that they were a touch repetative - until I realized the stories were personal essays and not all fiction. woah.

[Lark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love his style of writing, his personal stories, so heartfelt and accessible. I've finished 3 of his books and ready to start the fourth. He has been writing and drifting from small town to small town, supporting himself as a chef until he has enough money to live on the edge while he writes. This has been his life for 20 plus years. I can't recommend him highly enough!

[Sutter Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

As in all collections, some are better than others. I just like HIM so much. Someone noted he's a writer's writer.
Someone else said something about a cult following.
I like looking through the world through Ballantine's eyes.
I need to thumb thru this again to note my favorites.
I do not care much for his fiction, however, altho better than most crap that's out there.

[John Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Suffers mostly in comparison to its predecessor (Things I Like About America) - the prose here is not as consistently sparkling and the stories from the same time period are not as much fun. It's still good (and the two essays that mostly focus on the publishing industry are a hoot), just not up to his high standard.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

The first few essays were outstanding and very reminiscent of Bukowski, but after that they became somewhat rehashed. I thought the last two were terrible. Overall, I am glad i read this book.

[John Grochalski · Rating 5 out of 5]

there are those writers that i've been lucky enough to have found in this world or had suggested to me: Kerouac, Bukowski, John and Dan Fante, Hunter S. Thompson, Mark SaFranko, Dave Newman, and Henry Miller to name a few.....add Poe Ballantine to that list!

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of the jokes are kinda cheesy, but misleadingly so. The essays aren't cheesy they are nice.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not enough people have read Po Ballantine.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Poe Ballantine, and subscribe to The Sun mostly in the hopes of getting to read his work.

[Owain Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad, beautiful and also very funny.

[Sidd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poe's amazing writing; heat-breaking and hilarious at the same time.

[Shulem · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a trip. This is what great writing is all about. I would give it six stars, if I could.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

As good as "Things I Like About America".

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

" I was in no hurry to get to my destination, to that job that nobody else wanted, to that settled feeling that would just make me want to pick up and go again, like I was now, so why not keep on this way, a new place every two or three days, stations, rain, old age, deep-fried pollock in paper envelopes with french fries and a carton of coleslaw that tastes like it has two drops of furniture wax in it?

But I have to settle. I don't have the money to be a bus-and-motel drifter, and I don't want to be one of those guys on the side of the road with a blanket roll and leathery brown skin and no teeth, completely knocked out of the loop, maybe happy, maybe free, surely independent, but knocked completely out.

And anyway, no matter how you look at it, good or bad, magic or drab, futile or purposeful, the time passes, everything passes, and the bus comes and it's dark and still raining and you get on, not too many people, and it scoots on up the road, the heater on, the wipers banging, the poor people dozing off or eating their Doritos or listening to one another's stories on this long strange trip that will one day end, that will one day no longer exist, even in memory, unless you believe George Berkeley, who said that all creation exists in the perception and memory of God, which is why the tree does not cease to exist when you turn your back and beautiful children sitting out in front of a laundromat can break your heart...


.....I must not be far from the railroad tracks. Yet within four blocks I pass four churches. Unlike the surrounding bars, liquor stores, massage parlors, crack houses, and porno motels, all crumbling in their definition of man as pork chop, these Roman Catholic, Gothic First Methodist, Byzantine Baptist, and Greek Orthodox structures appear built to last (even if their doors are locked, their mad and destitute turned out onto the street). In the doorway of the Greek Orthodox church stands a lone sentry in a filthy robe and a gold Burger King cardboard crown, the smoky stump of a candle burning at his feet. Under his shabbily bearded and thickly lugubrious face he holds a sign that reads: 501 Minutes to Christ.

I've seen Christ twice in my life: once while stoned and all alone in a flea-ridden Mission Beach bungalow; the other time, not long ago, while praying out of the depths of my despair. On both discussions the darkness parted, and my heart was lifted with awe. In clear and sane seasons I understand that Christ is merely a refined cultural label for spirit, an archetype who will not return like Superman to save the world in its final chapter of time. But, the smell of my old life still in my nostrils, I also know that spirit (and all its archetypes and guises) is all that I will ever possess of worth."

[Timons Esaias · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I'd read a couple of Ballantine's pieces, a story and an essay, in Best American anthologies, I hadn't focused on his name. A review brought me to Love & Terror on the Howling Plains of Nowhere, and that put him on my List.

This collection of essays feels like the backstory to many of his stories in the memoir. In particular we have the painful details (with names changed to protect the perpetrators from harm) of his Big Five book contract, and the editor who had to change everything.

The title, which I found both interesting and slightly off-putting, but it comes from this brief Louisville encounter:

In the doorway of the Greek Orthodox church stands a lone sentry in a filthy robe and a gold Burger King cardboard crown, the smoky stump of a candle burning at his feet. Under his shabbily bearded and thickly lugubrious face he holds a sign that reads: 501 Minutes to Christ.

There is speculation as to the meaning of the sign, but that is one of life's unknowns.

The first essay records the events of his first flight from his family life, ending up homeless in New Orleans. This produces a view of my favorite city that I had not experienced before. "Methamphetamine for Dummies" is unsparing, and very effective. But my favorite piece is perhaps a little frivolous. Poe is invited to a big-deal Authors Reading at which an elderly Norman Mailer is a featured part. Poe decides to start the Revolution against the stale stalwarts who are hogging the Literary limelight by publicly punching Mailer in the nose. Plans change, however, when he discovers he'll be reading with John Irving.

And there it is. John Irving in the crosshairs of literary history.

I'm finding it hard to describe how these essays work. Some folks compare him to Hunter S. Thompson, which is accurate as to interest level, but not as to tone. The vocabulary is high caliber but the lifestyle is often hobo. The essays are confessional in that they list his many poor life decisions and problematical urges; but they don't romanticize them, or wallow in victimhood, or otherwise dress them up. It's refreshing, is what it is.

Too bad he didn't get his shot at Mailer, though. He had it coming.

Recommended.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first came across his writing in the Sun magazine, the story was God's Day, which is also included in this book. He became one of my favorite authors that day. I just relate to him somehow, how he's always looking for the worthwhile moments in everyday living, the humanity amongst all the drivel and greed. I am currently re-reading all his books that I own, during this coronavirus meltdown, they're helping me regain some sense of belonging in this topsy-turvy world.

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

if you want to know how someone lives free of commitment on close to minimum wage while soul searching, written in the very most descriptive,apt and beautiful prose, then do what i do, and read everything this man has ever written.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this author so very much. His sarcastic wit! His honesty. I’ve sent his books off to friends. My intent is that everyone I know, has read at least one of his stories!