As his new memoir The Death of Santini floods bookstores nationwide, we bring you a free-style, freewheeling, unabridged conversation with the man whose life has been an open book.

By Margaret Evans, Editor

If you've lived in Beaufort for any time at all, you probably have a Pat Conroy story. Maybe you played basketball together as teenagers, or he was your high school English teacher. Perhaps you were in his writers' group, or he was your neighbor on Fripp, or you still smoke cigars together on his back porch every Sunday afternoon. Maybe your association is more ephemeral – you ran into him once at Publix, or at the old Bay Street Trading Co., or in his favorite restaurant, Griffin Market. But you really connected. Or maybe you've just read his books, and you feel like you've known him forever. No matter how fast or loose the relationship, we Beaufortonians all think of Pat Conroy as ours. He belongs to us. He's part of our mythology. Heck, he wrote our mythology.

The historic Penn Center's York W. Bailey Museum presents The Art of Cassandra M. Gillens— a spectacular collection of art depicting Lowcountry living at its best and the Gullah lifestyle. The collection will be on exhibit November 7th through the end of December. Cassandra Gillens was chosen to be the 31st Heritage Days Celebration Featured Artist and was commissioned to create a work of art depicting the Penn School story and the rich heritage of the Gullah people. She created "Teaching the Trade," beautiful rendition of the Penn School era. Penn Center cordially invites the public to attend this free art event opening—a meet the artist wine and cheese reception from 8-10 pm on Thursday, November 7th.