Living and writing Costa Rica- with a children's book,...

The Journal of The Alabama Writers' Forum

Living and writing · Costa Rica- with a children's book, R Bobbity Is Missing*

I NS ID E From the Executive Director 3 Alabama Literary News 4 From the Field 6 Bookstore Spotlight 8 Alabama Presses 10 Thank.You 12 1996 Literary Arts Awards 13 Remembering Two Alabama Poets 17 Talking with Mark Childress 18 Literary Magazines in Alabama 20 Reviews 22 Calendar of Events 24 Vital Contacts 25 Back Page 26

Vol. 4, No. I Fall 1996

Samford University Library

The history or the South

history written in the blood.

RF.wt'<iG Ora LaVES, funded by The Nalional Endowment for the Humanities, is a free reading/discussion program for Alabama public libraries and d tizens focusing on the works and lM!s of those who lum! lived in and lmown the South, including Mark 1\\'ilin, Maya Angelou, Eudora Welty, Frederick Douglass, Harry Crews, and Rlcbard Wrigbt. Sessions on personal and famil)· history are available for those interested in beginning or continuing their own writing. If you are with a lihmry intereslt.>d in hosting READING OUI Lms or an individual who would like to have sessions offered al your library, calllhe Au hum lfniversil\' Center for the Arts & Humanities at3341844-4946 or write CAll, Pebble Bill, Auburn University, AI. .\6849; FAX: 3341844~4949; e-mail: [email protected]

~lrltrk your t•ale~:Jdar! January 25, 1997

Auburn University

Inaugural Associates Meeting of The Alabama Writers' Forum ,.\-.-.octate-. of The Alabama Wri ters ' Forum. and anyone interested in becoming an associate,

arl' im 1ted to .\uhurn L ntversity for a one-day conference. Featured writers include Judith Hillman l'ater'ion. Frye Gailla rd, Dennis Covington, Wayne Greenhaw, Anthony G rooms, William ('ubb. Donald 'oble, and James White, & publishers Ra nda ll Willia ms (Black Belt Prl•,,), Ellen Sullhan (Crane Hill Publishers) in panels on the rapidly growing genre of creatiH• nonfiction and \\Orking with litera r y agen ts. ALSO: exhibits about Alabama publishing and literary activities. a hook sale. and opportunity for networking.

On Friday night • .January 2~. those who arrive early are invited to dine at Behind The Glass Book-.tore and Cali: and hear readings by Alabama writers. Details in registration materials.

Complete information about the meet ing will be mailed to associa tes in October a nd '' ill he anailahle as it de\'elops at: www.auburn.edu/""'cahawf. Or call 334/844-4947.

l


Till

ALABAMA W RI T E RS' F O R U \1

Board of Dircclors, FY 1997 Prr,ult'nt

'lORMAN Me \1111 "~ IMont.,.,.llo)

l"ict"-Prrtrdo•t Nt<OU M il< IIIII

(Tu..:aiOOQ)

&<rrton M1'~ Boot 'IIA\ia "

(1100\er)

Tffafurc•r SIIIRll\ Ft ORA

(Opelika)

Wrlf('T_f ' Repr(•Stn tat n ('

LYN'<I Btnll R (Flore nce)

Wr~t(•r,f' Rcprtft,latlw: JIMWIIITI

(Montrose)

Bon Cot t t~' (B1rrmnghom)

Rllfu B1 Al'\10'I:T too ...

(Biffmngham)

P RI'>l HIA Coor1 R (B1rnungham)

BRI vt DAVIS

(Tuscaloosa)

W IIUA\i Gooosc'l '. JR (llunts,llle)

Pl TtR ltt (I(JI'\ (Auburn)

liA' M<IHR (Mob1le)

P1111 NORRI\ (Fa1rhope)

KlllH R£1"1ART (Tuscaloosa)

FRA" TOlAND (Thskcgcc)

R AS OAll W UIIA\tS

(Montgomery)

Ll x Wn u t oR.o (Tuscaloos.)

E.uc-mn t Dlrt>t'Wr J fA"'l ll T!tO\i~"'l

( Auburn)

ASCA L101<nn

01(" Ml'tll~ (Montgomery)

EJ1tor ) fA , ,F Tlkl\iNl ...

Contnhutmg £J11or CAflll "''' IIA\ia.l(...:

Prmtml( WAa -..t R Pkl'fl'Ct

(MontgOmcf))

First Droft ts a •ehtcle for commumcauon 31ll0ng " nters and lhose mterestcd m hlcrnture publtshtnjt 1n Alabama and elsewhere We encourage publtcatton news. events mfonnauon. and ~tory ~ugge,t1ons f ir<t Dro(t wtll grow as the needs ofwnte" m Alabama arc tdentlfted Contact The Alabama Wn tc rs' Forum. Center for the Ans & llumamtte\, Pebble lit II. Auburn Umvers1ty, Auburn, Al 361!49-56J7. 1441!44-4947, fax 334 1!44-4949. c-matl cahawtra mat I auburn cdu

l . t111 1~'1f• -o IIR\1 llR \II .. I ----FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

ou open thl\ '" ue ol / 11 1t aft . the an ' m Alabama .trc .r healthtc.!r. In the Al.tham.t\ 1997 cducat1on hudgct . the

Alabama State Counc tl on the An~

(ASCA), the Alabama l lumanll1c., Foundation. and Alabama Publll Te levision rccei' ed a wtal o t .tlmo't $ 10 mill ion. ASCA\ mcrea'e of S I million over FY 1996 mean' adthtroll al dollars to all an~ genre'. \Hih a generous increase to the an' pannc1 ships. These panner' h'P'· funded through statewide 'pccial 'erv1cc .... include the African-American An' Alliance of Alabama. the Alliance lm Arts in Education . De,1gn Alahama. and The Alabama Wnte r' · Forum. All four of these have worked m~rack' on very small budgch tor 'evcral ) car,.

The cardinal rule of :.ucccs.,ful fund-raising and good manner-. is to always say thank you Plca'c write or call your state lcgJ..,Iator .. and express your apprec1allon for thcrr vote of confidence m Alabama\ an .. and humanities programs. Your local library or newspaper should ha\ e the legislative dclegauon 's addressc' and phone numbers.

Once again we offer a slight I) new, improved First Dmjt to a ..... oclates of The Alabama Wnters · l·orum

We continue the column~ Fmm the Field with two personal ob:.en at1on' about the publishing mdu, tr) from Charles Me a ir and Kay C'ornciJu, In Bookstore Spotlight Kat1c l .amar visits Roots and Wmgs. a luerar) gathering place m Montgomcr) that fearurcs the best selecuon of Afnc<~n American litera ture m the Southe<l\l

Our CO\ er mten 1e\\ '' uh ))()\ cli't Mark Childress comctdes " nh the publicauon of h ,.., children\ book Henry Bobbtf.t' l \ \lmmg• b) ( ra11c Hill Publishers (B~rmmgham ). <~nd we proudly announce 1/ahama Voices II. the second year of our writer scholar program' 10 Alabama public libranc'i. funded by the Alabama Human111es I oundatwn

We hope you' lltake a moment to adm ire the youn g v. nter' honored through the Lrterary Arts Awanh <~nd Scholarshtp Compc1111on. our tlag.,h1p

\rh Ill I du\.'.lltllllJ'Itl£1.1111 llnhku,, thl.' \ l,rh.llll.l 1\l\\l'l I<•IIIHf.ttHlll ltu. .rnd tht..• Blnu111 I nu11d.t!IOn In, '' ,, !!" ''' pr'-'"· "'-' hnJX' tlu' lrtcr.u\ lrts pm~r.un h•r ~·•unf,: JX't>plc '' 111 rc,crh .ttlurd \t..'.tr \ ullp<•r.llc lumltn•

\\ 1.' rl.'llh:mb,·r '"'' \l.tb,tmr,ms ' ' hn P·'""'" ,1\\ ·'~ r~:":nt 1\ P•lC 1 < ''-'lll~l.' \ t.rrhud.: ol h"~·tl''"'"' .md \uburn l Ill\ l.'l,ll\ proll'""' tlld

pol.' I \\ .tr rl.'ll \\ ~, rnl.'r \nd lhl.'rl.'\ llHHt..' 1111.'1.11\ IIC\\\

thl' ~:ak11d.u .• 111 uptl.lll'd li't ,, lucr "'> 111.1 ~.1/ l lll.', 111 tht..• ''·Ill' ,,,.'"'I'< ,rll of thl.''l.' .m.: ll'l:lultn ''"' ·" '' nl '-''' .1nd rl.'.llkr' l tn.tlh. ~" ·,,. lllllt.ll Ill!! /h, //tic J.. l 'cll!t' .md .Ill' tllll'tC,tt•d 1n ~our t..lllllllll.'llh 1111 th~S k,tllllc

\ lllllll111Celllt..'llh ol , <ltiiC,Is tlld ""tll.l.rll.'' Ill.'\\' "rll b,· , ,uned on our "~:b " ' '-' I rom llo\\ "'' (" ' ' " ·auhurn.edu - cah ,l\d) ' ,rlhm li l.'qUI.'nt upd.um 1 d Jll.' ' pat.. I.' \\ 1.' \ \ .Ill! ·''''''-'l,ttcs to Cllll

unul.' to -.end puhlr,Jung .111<1 honor

"'-'" '· .r11d \\C 'tr11ngl~ en <~ura •c m' tll utlon' 'Poll,llrtng rl.'admgo; tnd I.'OIIII.' rl.'nt:l.'' l(l p11'l tl11· d.llc' on the " cb ' ttc ·" '"o11 ,,, the' .uc hooked I \ elltualh \\I.' hop..: out litera" c.tl endar ' ' Ill become d..: I lllllt\C h11 111 er ,tr) .rrh 111 \l.rh.un.1

1\ 1 the l llllllll \ ''unm~:r l'<l,trd mceltng . . 1 ,1,11..: ot ho.ud 111 du..:t..hll'i " '" apprmed lo r I' 1'1'17 :"\ollll,lll \lc\ldla11 h.r, g1.tuou'h .rg,,•cd l•l ' l.'f\ 1.' ,) WUllld \e,lr '" Jlll'"<kllt, \\llh "<ICIIk \ Jut.. hell (llllllllg llllhlthc C\ l.'t.. Ul l\1.' t..Oilllllllh:<.: ,1\ \ I~C J!IC'il dent Our t\\o n..:" h<•.ud na:mbc" .rre Ruth Bc.llllllolll C ook I B1rnllngh rm 1 .rnd l',·tcr l lu • 'Ill' I \uhurn J, .tnd we \\Ch;umc them Pk.t'c h•ok "' ..:r the mJ thcad to 1: •

\duch ~>.trd m-:mhcr "close t to~ lll ,rlld (llllllllll lllt.',llC ) <lUI flic,l'i lt>r th l·orurn to thl ~•.trd

,\nd pk r .c m.u k )"'" c.tlendar for J,mu.rr~ 24-:?" the ln.mgur.ll \ "ocl,tll.'' \kctmg ol I he ~l.tbama \\ rtter' I orum ,11 \ uhurrt l 111\CJ'itt) Dct.ul-. \\Ill bt..· m.ulcd to .tl tSSOCI· ate' ' oon

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I -o I II< S I I >I< \ I I -<> I .111 I'J%

LITERARY NEWS

Look •vho ~~ talking now

Alabama Voices II again brings writers to communities

A lohcmlct I"'' c ' II . .1 'err e ... of free ll".tdiiH' dr,l ll"mn progr.un' rn \ l .th.uno~ puhhL l r h~;ute'. '' II I

k .tllll l' J>ultlll'l Pr 11e "111111ng no,el-" ' .111d ' ht•rl ' 10' \ '' l lll'l Shrr k) Ann

< ir.tu .md 'e' L'll other \lah;una '' rller .... The

l11l'l ar~ 'L'IIL''· '' htch parr ' .1 \\ 111er and 'L hol;u lor .1 Lommunit\ progr.un .thou t rhe .nil hor ·' \\mi... '"" hl'J.! Ull 111 1995 \\ rth

( tiT/11 lundlll).! frnm the

\l,th.rm.t l lum.Hlllll'' hltlnd.tlron. 1/o/•,""'' \ "'',' "'' funded .rgam for 1111111 117 h~ the l lum.rnrtte' l·otll td.tl ton

I\\,, ''·''L'\1 rtk pt~•lc"tonal organt/,ttlnrh, thl' \ lah.llll.l ( (l\llll' li or k.tl'hl:l' ••I I ll)! lr'h <tnd the \lahama t \•lkgl' I n)! lt'h kad1er ... \"ncla

ll<lll. \\ di.Jlllll the progr.rm \ ongmal ' P<llhor' th" year.

1/ahcmw I n1n' \

"a' or1g1nated by I he \l.rb.una \\ rrtcr' · I <lltlln. a ,t,lle\\ rdc lrtL'I,tl\ ar h adHlcacy

/~111 I \till "'!!·'""·llwn. m pan

lllr,hrp ''l th the \uhurn lnl\er"t) ( l'llll'l h•r thl· Arh <\,;. I htnl<lllltre,, '·"' .k.tllll' llll'llllhOll. pro.Jelt drree'"' .md l' \ l'L' tlll\ e d11cctor ol I he \l,th.rrtl.l \\ llll'l '' I orum

\ t:L'••Illrng to I homp,tm. the frr't I lab,""'' I"",., \\ ·'' dc,rgncd to

rrt tr nducl' ,\l,rh.tmr.rn' to thc \\ rdc r. rrrgl· nl I IIL'r .u ~ t.tknt 111 thcrr home ' I Ill'

\t L'.tl'lt P•••gr.rmthe 'Lhol.u rrllrodul·l·, tlw .rutl1111 "horl'.lth a ... clet:tu•rr ,,J' hr ' 111 hl'l \\I ll Ill)! I he 'c:holar '"II L'ng.tgL' thc .ruthor llll'Oil\ cr,atH•n . . rnd .urdtL'Ill'L' p.utrupatronr' L' lln•trr .tgL·d CoptL'' ot thl.' auth01\

bool..s \\ Ill be gi, en to the library's permanent collection, Thompson says.

In addition to Anniston Public Library. community libraries in Demopolis. Florence. Greenville. Gulf Shores, Leeds. Tuskegee, and Winfield\\ ill partic ipate in Alabama I bices II.

According to Jay Lamar, assistant director of the Auburn University

Behn

Cente r for the Arts & Humanities. the first Alahama Voices reached a wide audience from high school students to senior citizens. 'They were eager to hear the write rs read." Lamar

notes. ··and e,·cn more eager to really ta lk with them."

Four of the eight Alabama Voices If writers now live out of state, Lamar says. ··w e arc looking forward to bringing these Alabama natives back home." Lamar notes that Grau and African-American writer John l lenrik Clark, no,·elist Charles McNair. and autobrographer Judith Paterson will be returning for vis11s.

Short

Four in-state write rs \\til round out . 1/ahama I (nces fl. Lamar contmues. They are poet Robm Behn (Tuscaloosa). young adult \\ nter Ste\ e Gresham (Auburn). no, elt~t Carroll Dale

Shon {[3trmmgham ). and children's author !·aye Gtbbons (Deatsville).

l-or more mfom1atron about .·llahama I (nces II. 1ncludmg a list o f progmm sties, dates, and times. call 334 84-t-4947. or "lew the schedule on I he Alabama Wnte rs' 1-o rurn home page· www auburn tdu/-ahawf. •

Writers Harvest: The National Reading Figlrtlumger COIIllllll ll i fy 011

SOS (Share Our Strength), a Washington, D.C.-based organization dedicated to preventing hunger and poverty in the U.S. and around the world, will hold its fifth annual Writers Harvest: The National Reading on Thursday, November 14.

Rita Dove, former poet laureate and national chair of the Writers Harvest, calls on writers nationwide to stage simultaneous readings in bookstores, community centers, and college campuses. Proceeds will be given to local antihunger organizations, enabling an ists to directly benefit their local areas.

In 1995 the program raised $ 132,000 for distribution to hunger relief organizations and involved over I ,000 writers.

"As writers and concerned individuals. we have a special opportunity to use our talents to benefit those who need our help." says Rita Dove.

The Writers Harvest will take place in more than 450 locations across the country. If you are interested in organizing a reading in your community, call 800/969-4767; or fax 202/347-5868. •

Charles Kuralt keynotes at Alabama Humanities Foundation luncheon

Charles Kuralt, author and longtime television journalist, will be the keynote speaker at the eighth annual Alabama Humanities Foundation (AHF) Award Luncheon at noon. October 25, 1996, at the Wynfrey Hotel in Birmingham.

The AHF Award annually honors an individual in Alabama who has made an exemplary contribution to the public understanding and appreciation of the humanities.

Tickets for the luncheon cost $25 each or $ 100 for a VIP ticket. Tables for eight arc available for $200, VIP tables for $700.

For information, call 205/930-0540; or fax 205/930-0986. •


he ;\uhurn l 111\C:..'II) Cemc:r lo1 tlw \11, ,\.

ll umaniiiC\ I\ contmumg 1h '\.111nn.ll EndO\'. ment lor the ll umaniiiC:' luntkd Rc·ctc/lllt: r 1111

Llll'.\ Soutilnn \1/tohtor.:roJIII\ 'enc' 111 puhll~ llhl.lll<'' around the \ tate.

For program~ Ill your area. cal l your local llhrar) \pcu.tl programs include:

~ Kathryn Tucker Wind ham (pictured above) talking about her new book Tll'ice Blessed at the Opp Public Library on September 15. 2:30p.m.; the Corner Library in Sylacauga on October 17. noon; and the Leeds Public Library on November 7. 4:00 p.m.

o ther Center programs this fa ll include the Dra11gilon

Seminars in State & Local History featuring:

~ Dr. Virginia Vander Veer ~ Marianne ~loates ''ill talk Hamilton on her new book Looking about Truman Capote s Solllltl!m for Clark Gable and Otlter 20tlt Years, recently reissued by the Centwy Pursuits at the Huntsville University of Alabama Press. at Public Library on October 26, 2:00 Pebble Hill in Auburn on October 29. p.m. ; Comer Library on November 7, 4:00p.m. noon; North Shelby County Library on November 19, 6:30p.m.; and at the Wilcox County Historical Society meeting in Camden on November 2 1, 2:30p.m.

~ Dr. Harvey J ackson, III on Alabama rivers at the Guntersville Publ ic Library on October 6, 2:00 p.m.

~ The Center's Alabama Humanities Foundation-funded public lecture-discussion series on Native American and early contact history in the Southeast, Visions of Our Past: Natil'e Americans. Naturalists. Soldiers, Seulers will be held at the following:

- The Birmingham Public Library on October 13, 2:30 p.m.

The Enterprise Junior College on October 20, 2:00 p.m.

- The H. Grady Bradshaw Public Library in Valley on November 17, 2:30 p.m.

Finally. the Center will join the Mobile Museum of Art in sponsonng a program on noted Amencan art 1st Rembrandt Peale and Jean Simon Chaudron, a French sih ersmith. writer. and political figure who came to Alabama with other Bonapartistcs in 1819. Scheduled for Saturday. October 12. 2:30 p.m. at Bernheim Hall in the Mobile Public L1br<H). the program wi ll include lectures b)

ational Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian Institution histonan Lillian B. Miller and Auburn U nt\ ersll) Holli field Professor of ll 1stor) Robin F. A. Fabel. Peale. son of artist Charles Wilson Peale. pamtcd Chaudron around 1805. Ills pamtmg. recently rediscO\ered b) Chaudron descendants and restored. ' ' ill be the focal point of an exh1b11 that'' ill include Chaudron's funeral orat1011 for George Washington. letter' from Thomas Jefferson. and Chaudron-manufactured silver.

eo .Judith llillman Patcr\OII \11 '' n ung autoh1ograph) .md hc1 ho11k Sll'£'£'1 lf1 1ten I Bun/.. n/ N, "" m· ha111g at the Comer I 1h1,11 1 1111

October 2-l. noon: the \clm.1 l 1h1.11 ~ on October 2-l. -l no p.m. th.: llnmc· \\OOd Public l 1hrar) on Octnhc1 211. noon: anti the IIOO\CI Puhh~ I 1h1.11) on October 2 ~. 2 00 p m •

Albert Murray Receives 1996 Pioneer Award

Albert \lurra~. a nJII\C 111 ' ot...om1' and no'' ba,.:d 111 '~" '••lk. \las awarded the 1996 P11lllCd \11.1rd for mat...mg maJor eontnhull<llh to the fine arh The .:cremon~ 10111\ pi.K<: ,,, the \ labama Shat...o.:,po.:Jrc I c'll\ .II

\ turr:l} ha' gamed prom1ncnl·.: ,1, a cnt1c. 110\CII't. and b10).!1,1phc1 I k ~ ~ a graduato.: of l u-,t...cgc:c ilhtltutc .11111

e11 Yort... ulll\l!r\11~

Il l' South to a I en 0/cll'/a, c ·. publl,hcd 111 197 1. g11C., ,111 ,1\:t:lllllllol h1~ tcntat11 c return to th.: land 111 lu' vouth It " eons1dcn:d on.: 111 the fine' I e'\amplc-, of tra1 cl '' nllng abt1ut the conh.:mporar~ \ nuth

l\lurra1 \ 1\0rt... , af,n 1n..:luJ,· I he• 8 /tu Dn ;/, of \ ucla /nun II,,,,,,. (J IIIIllr and (Joocl \lonul/~ !Iitie '

Thr.:e other \ laiMml.tn' rc.:cllcd the a11arJ 'cit-taught .1rt1'1 \ to,c l rne't Tolh1er tlf \lontg11111CI) 11110

pamh on man~ 'uri~Kc,, 1nclud111g lumber ' crap' and furnllurc. \ lontl!omen -ba,cd art1'1 B.trh.u.t (Jallaghcr ~~·ho'c \\11rl\ '' C\h1h11cd 111

prl\ ate and coqwratc cnllcdlon~. cmd D\ann Robm\011. a l u-,t...cgc.: 11.111\C ' ' i111 ha' app..:arcd on Bru.1d11,1~ .11111 mm tcachc' dann: directing .. md choreograph: at ,\uhurn l 1111 .:r~11~ •

All Auburn University Center for the Arts & Humanities progmms arc free and open to c1cryonc mtcrc,tcd. Fur nwn: mlcorm.Hu•n about these or other Center programs, call 3341844-4946; or e-mail caha'' fra mad .aubum.cdu.

----------------------~ Samford University Library

T H E F I E L D · CHARLES M ~ N A I R

( llllrlt•' \lc \au. ulw 11011 l11·e, 111 Atla11ta. tells of the writer's life 011 the mad tht' ginn. the drt'am, a11d the reality.

Tales from the writer's tour

(}

nn: upon .1 1111d111ght '~car). I 'llppnlthrough the mountain pa" .11 \lontt.:.1glc. Tenne"ee.

"1th the lull.th)L' hum of 1 -~-1 under Ill) "hcl'l' hOIL'Il hard m a 7 F-Ill).! hi .• t full moon ).!IHhted through bl.1d J1 111L'\ Ollhldt.: Ill) \\ indO\\ . J'd dtt\t.:ll XOO nuJc, this day ... to ~ell 15 boo)..' .tnd ,!!L' l Ill) name in the paper 111 \.t,h\ tile and a hundred mi les 't1ll l.t) bclo1c me.

\n ep1phan) ,true!.. me that icy e\elllng. ,1, I \\'as flylllg the ~parkling darJ..ne'' alone. 'lH11e\\ here between n:khnt~ and obseunt).

later. Every stop but two- Atlanta and Birmingham-{;ame from my own initiative: my o wn persuasio n, cajoling, bartering, begging. That's s ix trips to Ca lifornia, for yo u s tatistical types- or one trip to Vladivostok. Much ofthat mileage ticked past with a newborn baby in the carseat and a tire lessly cheerful and supportive wife at the wheel. Thank goodness for their company.

Oh, and the splendors of the road. In ashville, the proud secretary-treasur

er of a local militia group introduced him

undergraduate I f irst dreamed o f spinning words for a living. That same day, the New York Times Book Review wrote well of my novel. The double rays of limelight felt delicious.

Big crowds appeared to hear me read at Auburn, B irmingham, Atlanta, and in tiny, coal-dusted, and literary Jasper, Alabama. My hometown of Dothan a lso threw a party to celebrate my nomination for the Pulitzer Prize--one of the proud mo ments of my life.

I believe all this work- the hits and even the misses too, in their way- at some point help a rookie novelist achieve the sort of literary critical mass that sells books and

I kit I1J..e I mdbcrgh out there. In \o,cmber 199-1. "hen my first

mn cl. I am/ 0 (,cJ\IIl'll. hll book'torc'. th" foolto.,h head began to "'1m "1th grand 1deas ~trmght from llull: "ood C..,oon I'd be ;ettmg to \l,lllhatt.ln to adm1 re champagne bubble' 111 the gemm) l1ght of \orman \l,uler\ smtlc. I'd discuss 'Pitt 111l1nlll\ cs "llh Jack Upd1ke in thc Ru"1an lea Room. and da/' 1le \lhcrt ~lurra) "llh 111) southcrnboy pedt.:l\\ ood n ll'y-rapp1 ngs on cornpont.:

self. ' 'Oh," said I, brightly. " a militiaman. You 're o ne o f those nuts wh o wants everybody to to te a round A K-47s."

A young writer pays dues-let's face it.

allows a career to flourish. Every t ime my name ran in a newspaper, every t ime the 10 o 'clock news aired a clip, every t ime a bookstore owner taped a Land 0 '

\\ cll. I lea111cd. \ loo,t l1r't no\ cis don·, get much

pwrnot 1011 I hc book companies. (Htd hie" them. '"npl) thro" their lltt.:l.tf) br1.'.1d on the \\'atcr. If f ish bitt.: and b1tl.'. then the) promote. If llll ft,h h1tc. thc bread s1n ks. If the brc,td Jll'l o.,urt o f floats. the" nter gch Ill do h1' lll hl.'r 0\\ n PR. Otht.:n\l,t.:. thcrc\ none

I dnn c a tnt,ll o f ~0.000 miles to pwmotc la11d 0 · (JlJ\hen and 1ts p.1pc1 h.H..k 'er,1on. rclcao.,cd a year

Gradually, the rewards conze.

The man 's eyes telescoped out, quivering, on red stalks. S lobber flecked his purple lips. He raised a copy o f Land 0 ·Goshen like a bludgeon over my head. ' ' I could KILL you with this book," he yelled. ''What are you gonna do-outlaw books?"

I measured the distance to the door. " Hmm," I said cleverly, to d istract him, "doesn 't that man over there in the wildlife section look a lot like Janet Reno?"

Another time, another place, I waited through an e ndless signing with I 00 copies o f my book piled around me, s tacks as impressive as the skyline of Manhattan. But in two hours, o nly three people entered the sto re- and they all w anted a copy o f something by Lewis Grizzard.

Like Lindbergh, I tell you. A fi rst-time write r pays dues

let 's face it. Only gradually do rewards and name recognition come. I

Goshen poster in the window--every little victory over anonymity represented, to me, another mile marker on the road to li terary success. I feel like I'm getting there.

This fall I 'm honored to be part o f the Alabama Voices II prog ram. I look forward to coming home and speaking before my home-state admirers and signing a few books. I'm actua lly getting paid for my appearances now. That feels wonderful.

And the truth about book tours? If I'm honest, I cannot think of many more magical hours, looking back, than that one high above the earth at Monteagle.

Everyth ing lay before me then. I hope I always fee l that way.

Touring is not that di fferent from writing- in the end. It 's lonely work. You make mistakes, start over, forge on. You hope the chapters add up to so mething in the end.

~;~~;e;E,il~ remember a wonderful reading at the University o f Alabama, where as an

Sometimes, with luck and determination, they do.

Just ask Lindy. •


. .

THE FIELD· I<AY CORNELIUS

Kay Cornelius of Huntsville chronicles the tale of a West Coast writer and e-mail pal who found fame and fortune at age 50. Luck? Persistence? Perhaps a bit of both.

In the Mailbox: A True Cinderella Story

t veryone knows the story of 1991 and arranged to meet in Lcxing-Cinderella, the mistreated ton, Kentucky, the next year (when stepchild who went from pover- we were both traveling in the area).

ty to the palace. To most writers, the She quit working as a paralegal to notion that they will ever exchange write full-time. I retired from teach-the obscurity of the slush pile (where ing, and Barbour began publishing their brain-children are often treated my books in 1994. Elaine continued like stepchildren by evil , uncaring to send out rather literary short sto-editors) for national recognition and ries, most of which were (nicely) great remuneration seems no more rejected, and she applauded each of than a fairy tale. However, all strug- my book contracts. gling writers will be heartened to In December 1994 Elaine accom-know that such literary "happy-ever- panied her attorney husband to a afters" can happen. legal conference in San Diego. While

Ask Elaine McCarthy of Watson- there, she saw an area falconer ville, California, who wrote The demonstrate his ancient art. In the Falconer, a 134-page first novel, strange way that things occur. the which Random House bought at an grace and beauty of falconry capti-auction arranged by literary agent vated Elaine and inspired the story Sandra Djkstra in May 1995. Elaine that would catapult her to fame. received a startling $250,000 " I've started writing something advance. As of late August 1996, for- that won 't let me go," she reported to eign rights had been sold in 16 coun- me when she returned home. She tries; Dove Audio had brought out a pressed on for three weeks until she taped version; the Book-of-the-Month finished a fi rst draft. Club and Reader's Digest Condensed In February 1995 she mai led me a Books had purchased rights; and copy of the 144-page manuscript, Warner Brothers had asking for my opin-snapped up the movie S ize .\0111/{led calm for someone ion. 1 made sugges-rights. (Sean Connery wlzo Jzad j ust !)Old her f irst boo/.. tions. It was too is interested in playing . . . short. too depress-the lead.) for a quarter-mtllton dollar\. ing: the heroine

McCarthy never dreamed that the was dying at the beginning: and both story she wrote in three weeks in she and the hero were dead by the early 1995 would attract such atten- end of the book. Furthermore. I tion. In fact, other than publishing a didn't like the name " India" for the short story in Seventeen magazine in heroine, since that had been used so the I 980s, she was an unknown. Yet recently in M1: and Mrs. Bridge. I she began writing at age nine and has thought calling the philandering hus-never stopped. band " Dougic" a bit much. The

I first encountered Elaine through hero's name. " Rhodri," was to be pro-an online Prodigy bulletin board nounced "Rory," but I was well into where historical fiction writers hang the manuscript before I found that out. At the time, she was working on out. Still, with Elaine's short. cap-Jerusalem, a book set in 12th-century tioned chapters, well-wrought nash-England. We began an almost daily backs. and passionate writing style. e-mail correspondence in January the book showed possibilities.

Elame cons1dered the chance-. I propo~ed. but she was adama.;t .1hout the characters· name-, . .. lnd1a -.u1h her, and lnd1a 11 '' 1ll be:· I lame \HOte back. '\o" I (..no" -.he d1dn "t change Doug1e ·~ name ell her

In the mean111ne. a fnend ol Elaine ·s kne'' the author olll ho Framed Roger Rahhu' li e ad' 1-.ed her to send the manu.,cnpt to "iandra Djkstra. whose clients mclude \m\ Tan. Elaine printed out a fresh cop~ and sent it to the agent 1n 1\pnl

Two weeks later I rece1\ed tl11-. emai l: "Sandy Djkstra called rne today and asked if anyone else had -.een the manuscript. I told her no. and -.he seemed relieved. She told me. 'I cned when I read 11. and I -,ent 11 to four other readers. and the) all cned too···

Still in a state ofsenmhoc(... Elame made some change-. Sand} recommended. Then -,he returned the manuscnpt to be cop1ed and -.ent to I 0 publishing hou~e~ that had a.,(..ed to take part m an auction on \Ia) 26. I called Elaine that mght to-.~.:~.: ho" it had gone. She sounded calm lor someone who had JUSt sold her l1r...t book for a quarter-million dollar-.

Elaine came to Alabama th1., pa-.t March and brought me a cop~ of the British cover. which is far mor~.: beautifu l than the American \ers1on I rom here she traveled to l e'' Yor(.. and then to Italy. where she '>pent a month gathering matenal for anotht:r boo(.. In July she went to Great Bruam IC.>r personal appearances and s1gnmg' She is going to lnd1a th1s fall. "here she plans to sta} a-. long a-. -.he wants she nO\\ has the lu\ur~ ol domg just about an) thmg 'he de-.1re' to do.

Except for one thmg l lame laments that it 1~ hard to find tune to \\rite these days. gl\ en all her personal appearances and mten Je\\' But at least nO\\ she ha-. the late-.t 111 laptop computers. and her \\Orl-. l.lll go \\ here, er she goe .... And 'he \\t>n"t stop writing.

" It 's somcthmg I need to do:· she tells me. and I knO\\ v. hat -.he means. •


11 -o I IRS'! DRAFr -o !-all 1996

Roots and Wings African-An1erican literature and culture thrive in this Montgomery bookplace b~ Ka11c Lamar

~ C.:\t'r:d \Car' ago 1\\0 "'- Mmllg;lmc.:r~ ~'omen had a

'1'1on to pia~ a major role in nwldln!.! 'oun!.! mind' and buildino p<hill\~ l.ih lill;liOih in the :-.ame c;;nmunlt~ that had nurtured them. De lore' R. Bm d and Vantetta Penn \ kphc•r,on. b(~lh 111 the legal profes'ion. dcc1dc'd a boo!... 'tore "a' the 1dc.:al 'eh1dc· lor 1he1r ambition~ and l''tabiJ,hed Rooh and \\"ino,-A Cultural Boo!... place." hich\a, ... ince lx·uullC one.: olthe linc ... t 'ource' of \lr!l.lll- \mencan luerature and cuitun~ mtllt' Southc.:a't.

··1 he~ "anted to e'tabh:.h an institutiOn 10 lihplre ~ oung people. e~pe

e~.dl~ ~oung \fncan-.\mencans. and pn1' 1de a place "here people could h<J' e e:h~ acce'' 10 African\mencan hl\tOr~ and cul ture. " hich the:- felt "ere not read!l) accessible 111 tlw .. area ... e\pl;un~ G"en Boyd. 'l~ter of Delore' Boyd and manager of Rooh and W1ng~ :-..ince it opened 'e'en year' ago thi~ \Jm ember.

She -..ay ... the "m~t!lution" idea e' oh ed intO the bool...\ tore concept hecau'e both O\\ ner' ha' e a passion for readmg.

··I he~ arc both a' 1d reader\. and the~ rcal11ed !l ''a" not ca~~ to go tO a bool... ... wr..: 111 tht.., area and find a \<.:r~ good collection of book.., bv \ lncan- \mencan "rn..:r ... :· .,he ·.,av'>.

···1 he~ kh that a boo!... \tOr<.: \\Ould ' c<.:rtaml~ cnhanc..: their etron., to mal...c \fncan- \mencan h1~1ory and c.:uhure <Jcc.:e.,\lblc to more people ...

I he boo!... \lore\ name came from a 4uote b) lloddmg C<.~rter: "There arc onl) I\\O la\tlllg beque'>h that we can gl\ c.: 10 our ch!ldren ... onc IS roots, the other i\ "mg..,:· "I he owners felt the \\Ord' reflected their a'pirations for the \tore.

Cw~n Boyd. manager of Roots and Wings, finds great pleasure in introductng wstomers to the works of new authors.

T he vision as rea li ty

The building on 1345 Carter II ill Road (334 262-1700) was designed exclusively to house their vision. It features an educational auditorium (nam~d for Carter G. Woodson. the h1stonan. academician, and publisher " ·ho is credited wi th founding Black H1story Month), office space, an art gallery. and. of course, the book display area. Along two walls in the display area arc 13 wood-and-glass cabmets that pay special tribute to a select group of African-American writers- among them Langston llughes, Zora Nea le Hurston, Frederick Douglass, and Margaret Walker.

" We did this because we fel t that many people might recognize the

names of these authors, but might not be fami liar with their faces," Gwen Boyd says, explaining why the displays hold copies of the authors' works, as well as their photographs. According to Boyd, she and the owners had a difficult time selecting the 13 authors in this permanent display because there are many other African-American writers who have had a profound impact on literature. In fact , customers often question their choices and suggest other authors who should be included in the display. Boyd enjoys these friendly critiques because she fee ls it indicates t~at the display is working-It IS ra1smg awareness about the rich heritage of African-American writers.


Fall 1996 ~ FIRST DRAFT ~ 9

BOOKSTORE SPOTLIGHT

A crossroads for noted a uthors and up-and-comers

Since one of the goals of Roots and Wings is to bring people together, the Bookplacc often hosts writers for book signings and receptions. One wall in the gallery is filled with photographs documenting the many nationally known authors who have visited Roots and Wings, including Alice Walker, Marian Wright Edelman, Rosa Parks, and others.

Regional and local authors also are given special attention at Roots and Wings. An entire section of the store is dedicated to Alabama authors and includes the work of poets Priscilla Hancock Cooper, Willie James King, and D. L. Crocket Smith, as well as prose writers Donald Stone, Carolyn Quick Tillery, Albert Murray, and others.

In addition, Roots and Wings holds a " fifth Sunday" Poetry Reading and Jazz Jam that is a favorite among up-and-coming local authors. "We do this several times a year- whenever a month has five Sundays- and it has become quite popular," Boyd says. "One of the things I like best about those Sundays is that many young people come out to read their work. They have discovered that they can participate in these readings and receive constructive criticism and support. You can literally see some of these young people gain confidence before your eyes as they read."

Roots and Wings also keeps a wide and often lushly-illustrated selection of children's literature from such authors as Eloise Greenfield, Julius Lester, Faith Ringgold, Virginia Hamilton, and Montgomery's own Joseph D. Trimble (author of Marty and the Million Man March).

Diverse clientele shares common love: good books

The reputation and influence of Roots and Wings arc far-reaching. Boyd says their customers represent diverse ages, races, social and

"You can literally see some of these young people gain confulence before your eyes as they read."

economic backgrounds in the Montgomery area and throughout the Southeast. " We have customers from out of state who make it their point to stop here because they too have a difficult time finding a comprehensive selection of African-American writers in their own communities," says Boyd. " We also do a lot of mail order in the region.

"I think the common bond among all our customers is that they arc people who really enjoy reading and who really value books:· she adds.

To meet the needs of this clientele. Boyd takes great pains to ensure that their inventory also is varied. ··we did not want to be a bookstore that carries just a tiny selection of ubject matter and writing genres: · she states. Though Roots and Wings primarily carries books written by African-Americans, it also has books by writers of other ethnic backgrounds if the subject matter relates to African-American culture.

"It's very challenging to keep a good overall selection of books

because so much is being published now by African-American authors: · Boyd says. "You are constantly challenged with the question of 'IIO\\ much can I afford to order from all that is available?' because there \\til always be more books out there than we can afford to carry. It's very frustrating. but I love it at the same time because it is so good to sec the chotces.'' she adds with a genuine smile.

Boyd notes that she docs spcctalorder books. but she prefers to J...cep the in-store collection \\ell stoc!...ed because. she says. many Roob and Wings customers are turned ofT tf they ha\·e to wait \·ery long for thetr elections.

The joy of introducing new writers

Another of the delights G\\en Boyd finds in her job i mtroducmg customers to new or lesser-knO\\ n authors. "I sincerely lo\ e an author named J. California Cooper:· she says with unconcea led enthusiasm. "She is a wonderful storyteller. \\'hen customers ask me to ' uggest an author. I love the opportunity to tell customer about her because I thml-.. everybody can relate to her:·

Boyd. who is herself an asplflng writer and a \·oracious reader. believes that she mu t read to stay abreast of emerging \\ riters and nC\\ works. " It is ea;) f~r all of us to on I) read authors with\\ hom we arc alrcad) familiar." she says. "I \Hlnt to make sure our customers don't m1.,, out on great writers \\hose name'> may not be well known or\\ ntcr' who arc being publi ·hcd for the ftN time."

According to Boyd Roots and Wings is a joyful place to worl-... and she believes it has met and C\Cecdcd its original goals. She and the 0\\ ncr~

look forward to many future year-, of growth and flight. •


W ~ I IR~ I DR,\ I· T ~ l·all 1996 --------------------------------------------------

ALABAMA PRESSES

Black Belt Press moves into the beltway 1!J ontgomcr~ -ha~ed B lad. Belt

ConHnunrcatwn~ Group Inc .. parent compan~ of Blad. Belt

Pre". ha' ,~~:qtmed the rmentor:. had.IJ,l. .tnd "ork-tn-progrc'' of I lllot &. C'l;trk PuhiJ,hrng and ih unpnnl. S1.1rrhdl Pre''· The deal ''a~ dk<.:tt\e Ma) .I I. 1996: both compante' ar~· pnvat t.'l~ held. and term~

\\ere not dt\<.:lo-,ed. Hlad. lklt Pre~~ publ ishes south

ern fret ton. brography. hr :-.tor:. and foH.Iorc I lllot & Clark. begun b) hook packager-., Doug l lltot and ( arol~ n C lark tn 1991. '" kno'' n for high-qualtt: rllu ... trated nonfiction hook-.. on garden mg. health. history. tra,cL photograph:. and mu:-.ic. In 199.\ I lltot & C lark bought tarrhill Pre'' I founded 111 19X3 b: Liz Hi II and \ tan: ';tarr). "htch ... pccialtzcs

in affordable. succinct titles on American arts and letters. interactiYe children's products. and gift items.

The combined lists will be represented to the trade and to the gift market by commission sa les groups that have represented Elliot & Clark for the past several years. Black Belt's 1995 sales totaled $400,000; Elliot & Clark's. $ 1 million. Before the merger each company had about 50 active titles. In 1996 the combined imprints will publish 18 new titles.

Randall Williams, founder and president of Black Belt Communications Group. now serves as editorin-chief of all three imprints and as acting publisher. Eric Stragar, former Elliot & Clark vice president for operations. has moved to Montgomery to be director of sales and

marketing. Former owners Elliot and Clark will continue their book packaging operations in Washington, D.C.

Williams notes the opportunity to sell well and make a contribution to American arts and letters: "For many authors, especially of what used to be ' midlist' tiles at the larger publishers, the pressure on the big companies to produce one blockbuster after another has made it very difficult to get published unless you are a big name. We have found a strong market for good books on a wide range of topics that may never hit the bestseller list but that do bring pleasure to readers and respectable sales to their authors." •

Randall Williams, Publisher, P.O. Box 55 I. Montgomery, A L 361 04; 334 '265-6753.

Nicole Mitchell Heads University of Alabama Press

Nicole Mitchell was named director of University of Alabama Press by James Taaffe, UA's former provost and academic vice president. She replaced Malcolm MacDonald. who retired. She has worked seven years at UA Press and previously held various positions in publishing. Mitchell is the fifth director in the 50-year history of the press.

Immediate goals include fully computerizing operations at the press-taking advantage of new technologies to streamline editing and production, advertise books, and increase sales.

Mitchell would like to expand listings into new areas, such as natural history, ecology, and environmental studies. (UA Press is the state's only academic press. publishing works by scholars at UA, from throughout the state, and beyond.)

Mitchell served as acquisitions editor from 1989 until assuming her current post earlier this year. During that period, UA Press tripled its list in literary

~tudtcs . doubled the Juda1c studies series list, and built the list in rhetoric and communication to 18 published titles. LA Pre's sa\\ one rts most profitable years when it sold $1 mil lion worth ofbooks between October I, 1994, and

September 30, 1995. M itchcll credits Alabama: The 1/istO/y of a Deep South State by Will iam Warren Rogers, Robert Dm td Ward. Leah Rawls Atkins, and Wayne Flint for contributing to this success.

Mitchell also was assistant editor at UA Press. She worked as arts guide editor for Horizon Magazine and as a freelance editor. At Cambridge University Press, she was desk editor of children 's books and editorial assistant in the school books dt\ tston. •


Fall1996 -<> FIRST DR\I·T -<> I I

ALABAMA PRESSES

Livingston Press goes off the beaten path~~

j ivingston Press of the University of West Alabama, publishers of contemporary

fiction and poetry, looks on the "offbeat" as part of its niche. That's why the press is debuting Sixteen Reasons Why I Kifled Richard Nixon by L. A. Heberlein of Seattle and Don Quickshot by William Van West of Pittsburgh on its fall list.

Sixteen Reasons involves "confessions'' linked to presidential assassinations that have been gathered by a suicide hotline counselor since the Nixon era. The novel reflects Nixon's impact on the presidency, even after his death.

Don Quickshot. written in verse. ic, a comedy reminiscent of Don Quixote. But in this case. a Mafia gangster is headed to South America for blood vengeance.

In spring 1997 Livingston Press will publish S(il·ed by M1: F. Scott Fit:gerald, a short story collection by Alabama writer Allen Woodman. Look for a Christian ventriloquist. a woman who sees herself as a saint because she can open any jar (however tight the lid), a man who buys a swayback horse in an attempt to save his marriage. and other quirky characters and situations.

Joe Taylor of Livingston Press says that the offbeat niche represents a connection to southern literature ("think of Carson McCullers"). He

Crane Hill Debuts A Tribe of Warrior Women

Crane Hill Publishers announces the release of A Tribe of Warrior Women b) photojournalist Melissa Springer.

The book is based on the exhibit (photo-essay) celebrating survivors of breast cancer, which was commissioned in 1994 by the Comprehensive Cancer Center at the Univers ity of Alabama at Birmingham. It is designed to help minimize fear of a disease that strikes one in eight American women.

Through dramatic photographs and personal vignettes. Springer pro~ les 32 women. Although each story is different, all offer messages of hope. faith. and strength.

As Springer says, "I asked each breast cancer survivor I photographed to give ' her' [a newly diagnosed woman] some words of comfort. I asked each of them, ' What would you say to her?"'

A portion of the proceeds from this book will be donated to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama.

Melissa Springer's photographs have appeared in the Nell' York Time~. M.\. magazine, Harper's Ba:aar. Redbook. and Good Housekeeping. Her photographs of snake handlers were included in Dennis Covington ·s 1995 boo~. Salvation on Sand Mountain. which was nominated for the ational Book Award.

In 1994 Springer was nominated for an Infinity Award in photojournalism. given by the International Center for Photography in New York. She abo received a grant from the Alabama State Council on the Arts in 1994.

Marcia Ann Gillespie, editor in chief of Ms. magazine. has written the introduction. Committed to social reform, she bel ieves her magazi ne should be "willing to confront the difficult issues, to explore controversial topics. to allow for our debates and diversity of opinions."

Gillespie previously served as editor in chief of Essence magazine. •

Ellen Sullivan, Publisher, 2923 Crescent Avenue. Bim1ingham, AL 35209: 800/84 1-2682.

also say<, it\ an area that m1ht large houses no longer -,enou'l) Lnn ... ldcr.

Local hi'>tOf) and Alabama-mtcn: ... t book<, do remain high on L1\ mg ... ton Press· l i~t. Ta) lor memion., the forthcoming Gahr· el 8/ou So( Sum1e1 County. Alabama Slm e ,\arraltl n. which resonates beyond count) and state lines. • Joe Taylor. Editor. UniH:r'>ll} of W..:-,t Alabama. Station 22. Li,ing-,ton. ,\ L 35470: 800/628-0903.

Menasha Ridge Press prints narratives of the great outdoors 4Menasha Ridge Pre,., ~ecp-, read/''( er:. informed on tra\ehng. dining (indoors or out) roughmg 11. fishing. canoeing. kaya~ing. h1~ 111g.

climbing. and hiking. From a -,ecmingl) !>portsman ·::. parad1-,c emerge two literar) narrati\C\. tlrcl/1 Son Fulfil/in!!, 1he Dream b) Jean A-,pen. whose family fi rst round fame "' a subject in Life magaLine. A.,pcn. the daughter of Constance and Bud Hel~1ericks . lived a number of) car., in the \\ ildemess. and her mother wrote several boob about the t:\po..:nence.

As a middle-aged ''oman. t\'po..:n introduces her on and hu.,hand 1\l

the ath entures and beaut) ot I lie 111 the Arctic over a year-and-a-hall ''·I) She e\ ami nes not on I) th1., '' lldernes\ e\perience but aho g1' e' .t longla-.ting impre'>'>ion of Ilk on the l.111d and a famil) \\ Or~ing together.

Arc/tc Dau!!lller , \ \I dclemn 1

Jouml'\' i~ the tale of~ I-\ car-old Jean A~pen in her '>truggle 10 hulld a cabin in the AJa.,~an '' ood-, ,md II'...: ofT the land-before crO\\ d., and curio!>ity-and certain!) "'\, orth~·rn Expo!>ure"- focu.,cd the publ1c·., attention on the 49th 'tate. • Bob Sehlingcr. Pubh,hcr. 3169 C.thaba Height' Road. Bim1ingham. A L ~5~4 '· 205/96 7-0566.


I :l -o !· IRS'! DRArT -o Fall 1996

~~~l The Alabama Writers' Forum is supported by

major funding from The Alabama State Council on the Arts

with additionalfundingfrom The Alabama Humanities Foundation

Alabama Power Foundation, Inc. The Blount Foundation

The M.W. Smith Foundation Southern Progress Corporation Sybil H. Smith CharitableTrust

The Alabama Writers ' Forum also gratefully acknowledges its corporate associates (1 992-96) and those who have contributed $100 or more:

Th~ llunts' ille Literary As~ociation

Ll\ mgston Press ;\1r. Ralph !Iammond lloO\ er Public Library The Uni' crsity of Alabama

Program in Creati ve Writing Alabama Pub I ic Library Service Mr. and Mrs. Kirk McNair

( 13ama Magazine) Compass Bank (Albertvi lle, AL) \1ountain Val ley Arts Council Uni' crsity of orth Alabama

Department of English L<l\\ OfTices of Grover S.

l\1cLcod

West Alabama Gazette, Mr. Peyton Bob, Publisher

Smith and Thomas L.I.C. Auburn University Bookstore Auburn University Department

of English Ms. Carol Prejean Zipper! Ms. Katherine W. Thompson Lauderdale Public Library

(Florence, AL) UAB Department of English Troy State University

Department of English Mobile Public Library Mr. P. David Romei Alabama Literary Review

Ms. Carolyn R. Ell is Mrs. Roberta P. Gamble The Book Cellar, Inc.

(Tuscaloosa, AL) AUM, Division of Continuing

Education Mr. George W. Bates Ms. Judy B. Simms Ms. Jean L. Bouler Ms. Mary Ward Brown Mr. Norman McMillan Mr. Buck Bradberry The Huntsville Times Copeland, Franco, Screws &

Gill, P.A. Levines and Associates, C.P.A.

The Forum thanks the f ollowing associates for their additional gifts: Dr. Will iam Goodson. Jr. \1 r. Thomas L. Wright \1s. Anne George 1'vh . Judy tone

Ms. ancy Anderson Mr. Christopher Boner Mr. Lindsey Stricklin Mrs. Bill ie F. Goodloe

Ms. Cynthia Jones Mr. Don Clarke France Mrs. Kay Cornelius

T he Forum greatly appreciates the more than 500 individuals, including students, who have supported its programming through their initial

associateships and their renewals from 1992-96.


'te,~ te~ te~ ... The Alabama State Council on the Arts and The Alabama Writers' Forum recognize new literary talent

It ncouragin.g young wnters

Plans for 1997

is the best thing we can do to build Alabama's literary community," said Norman McMillan, president of The Alabama Writers' Forum (A WF), when recipients of

Three high school seniors were awarded scholarships. See article 011 page 15.

Accord1ng to McMillan. ne\t year\ contc~t ''ill be expanded to include 1111ddlc and JUmor h1gh grades 6-X. pcnuing mcrea~cd fundmg. GLuuchnes for the I 997

the 1996 Literary Arts Awards and Scholarship Competition were recognized at Arts Appreciation Day on April 26 in Montgomery. "Through the Literary Arts Awards and Scholarship Compet ition, we acknowledge young Alabamians as literary artists."

This was the ninth Arts Appreciation Day to recognize visual arts winners, and the second year that the AWF has partnered with the Alabama Council on the Arts to recognize Alabama's young writers.

Competition attracts submissions statewide

"We were pleased with our increased number of submissions this year, nearly twice as many as our first year," McMillan said.

Winners received checks, certificates, and books autographed by Alabama writers at the state capitol auditorium. Visual Arts competition winners were recognized by the Alabama State Council on the Arts at the same ceremony.

In literary arts, each winning school received a plaque honoring the teacher and the students. Ann W. Delchamps, chair of the Alabama State Council on the Arts, and Albert Head, executive director of the Council, presented the awards.

Photographer Chip Cooper on the a rtist's life and vision

As is the custom. a professional artist addressed the group prior to the awards ceremony.

Chip Cooper, one of Alabama's best-known photographers. spoke to the students, their parents, teachers. and guests about his development a an artist. Cooper told how he had begun photographing patients at Bryce Hospital on assignment, then worked more and more on Alabamacentered projects. including his prizewinning Silelll in the Land. a coffee-table book portraying in photographs and words the antebellum homes in Alabama.

Cooper used slides to sho'' the students where his work began and where his interests arc nO\\. Cooper encouraged the young authors and artists to be proud of their recogmtion statewide and be true to themselves as artists.

Following the awards ceremony. the group adjourned to One Dexter Avenue, the Alabama Artists Gallery, for a reception and an opportunit) to view the winning visual art.

The l1terary Arts Awards and Scholarship Competition for 1996 were funded by generous grants from the Alabama Power Foundation. Inc . and the Blount Foundation. Inc

competitiOn ''ill be mailed in fall 1996. or teacher-.. students. and other interc'>tcd part1e-. may contact the A \\'F to rece1' c the contest rules.

Winners in Literar~ Arts

Winners in three categones of the literary awards received cash. certificates. and books. Fir::.t place '' 1nners recei\'ed S ISO: first honorable mentions received $75. Students ''ho showed exceptional prom1se recel\ ed a '·Judge's Special Recogmt10n .. certi ficatc. All ,,·inners rece1\ ed autographed books.

In creative nonfiction. fir-.t place went to Richard H. Amberg Ill. graue 12. The :VIontgomer} Academy. t-.lontgomer} (teacher: \ larJ... ~rancl\1.

Brynna Benefield grade I I. Auburn High chool (teacher \tar) Ann R}g•el) recel\ed 'ccond pla~·e "Judge's Special Recogmuon" awards went to R1chard II \mherg Ill and AI Bennett. grade 12. \uhurn High School (teacher: [· trit: ( an non l

Charles ~ tc7\mr. no' eh't. JOurnalist, author of Land 0 'Go\hcn. and frequent contnbutor to Soutllt'm Li1·ing judged the nonfictiOn

In fiction. Amberg also too" first place. and second place went to Roderick Brent Anderson. grade II. Tnnity Presbyterian School.

.\'ell' Talent. Conrmuetl tlllllt'llf'<lg<'


Arts Appreciation Day for Literary and Visual Arts Awards Winners

April 26, 1996, Montgomery, Alabama

\Vrnm:r~. teachers, parents, AWF Board of Directors, and Alabama State Council on the Arts (/\SCI\) members and staff are all smiles following the awards presentations at the Alabama State Capitol and the reception at the Council's office.

ft•twhen ll'hlllt' 11/Uit•lltl receil·etll•isua/ arts awards: front I left to nghll l>ehm /Ia\'\. Su1an R1pp, and James Knowles tllool t't ( 111 \c hoo/1), hacl. (/eft 10 n ght) Art Ward (Shades

I a/In I llgh Schoof. Bmnm!f,lwm). recipient of teacher au md /m lwnng tht 11111\t 11 11111111g students (/./). and Hank

.\11np.1vn (Hoo1·er City Schools)

't'" litlt'llt. ( o/lllllltt"d fmm fll't'l'lll/1\ fllll!.t'

:\ t ontgom~n (leather \1ala Kelley). ··Jllllge\ \peu.tl Reeogmt10n" \\ent to lkn \temdorfl . grade II. The \l ontgomer~ \~adem) (teacher: \l,trk I r.tnd.). \lan llhter. grade 10. D~~..ttur lltgh \dwol (teacher· \ ldt''·' \ cot I l .• md '\;mga Kemp. gt ,td~ 12. I allad~ga lltgh l)chool ( l~.tchct B;uhata I ;m lcr)

\nlhOil) (ltOlllll\, 'hurt ftCIIOn

"1 IICt .111d .lllthot ot livuhle \o \lot, J udg~d lh~ ltclton ~ompclttton.

Literary Arts S clrolarslrip Competition Winners: front (leji to right) AWF Executive Director Jeanie Thompson, scholarship recipient Judith Snider (Montgomery), AWF Board Treasurer Shirley Flora (Opelika), scholarship recipient Nzinga Kemp (Talladega); back (left to right) N=inga Kemp's fathet; Modibo Kadalie (Atlanw), Barbara Lawler (Talladega High School), AWF Board Vice President Phil Norris (Fairhope). AWF Board President Norman McMillan (Momevallo)

In poetry. Elizabeth Virginia Keith, grade I I, Alabama School of Fine Arts. Birmingham (teacher: Denise Trimm) received fi rst place. Second place was awarded to Timothy Steven Pitts, grade 12, Resource Learning Center, Birmingham (teacher: Diane Weber). "Judge's Special Recognition" certificates were awarded to Rachel Parker, grade I 0, Bradshaw II igh School. Florence (teacher: Darlene

Montgomery); and Andy Dale Hill, grade 10, Scottsboro High School (teacher: Kay Durham).

Poet Lyn Hejinian, author of A Thought is the Bride of What s· Thinking, A Mask of Motion, My Life, and other works, j udged the poetry competition. Hejinian held the Coal Royalty Chair in Creative Writing, the University of Alabama, for spring 1996 . •


AWF Board .\lemben and ASC I Staff,. ·ith PIIOtOf:rapher Chip Cooper: fmm r/cft to rrglrtJ 1 \C Counc1/ lfemher Julie fl'tnlmun r \ loh1lt 1 \'lrrr/,, Flora .. ISC I Stuf/ lfcmher Beck\ \lullm r\fmltPnm, n ).

and kame Tlromp.1on. had. (/eft to nghtl \nnrrw Me \lillm1. AS( I E.\ecrttln' Dm:ctor ,(/!/mel Plrtl Non't.\ , and Clup Conpe1; ulw 'fiO/..c attlr, lrt, Appre('la/lon D111 ceremm1_1

Richard Amberg, Ill placed in three categories. Norman McMillan (left) congratula tes Mrs. Richard Amberg. J1: and

her son Richard Amberg Ill (Momgomery) who placedfirs t and received "Judges Special Recognition ·· in creati1·e nonfiction and

placed first in fiction in the Literary Arts Awards.

. ' • J ...

Three High School Seniors Win Scholarships

I n addition to the three awards categories, the Literary Arts Awards also include a scholarship competition for high

school seniors. This year's recipients include Nzinga Kemp, Talladega

High School, who is taking early admission to C lark Atlanta University this fall. Kemp's teacher was Barbara Lawler. Judith Snider, Carver Center & Performing Arts Center, Montgomery, also received a scholarship. Her teacher was Jerry Lawrence. Snider is attending Sarah Lawrence College. The third scholarship winner Burgin Mathews, The Montgomery Academy, is enro lled at Vassar College. His teacher was Mark Franek.

Portfolio judges were Frank Walters, faculty member in the English Department at Auburn University, and Glenda Weathers, faculty member in the English Department at the University of Montevallo.

Burgin Matlrews, Tire Montgome1:r

Academy. nou· attending Vassar

College

.\:iu~:a Aemp. Tallwl.·gu ll11~h Sdwo/. "''" uttnrcf· mg Clur/.. ltlantu L n11.-ntt• (nu/1

admi"l""'

(an a ( t'lltt'l c\ Patmmmg lrt1 (otto:

\lmllgrJ/IIt'/'1 '"'" ul/cudmg \(/fait /.(111/l'/1( t ( ""''!:•.


I II -o I IR\ I DR \I I -o l.tll Ill%

I he dt .tdhn~ l••r n·n·h ing ht1th the I ttcrar~ \\lard c11tne> nnd the Scholarship entries is February 17. 1997. Complete entry guidelines arc ' h 1m' I 11fl' it•, nnt conforming to complete guideline' \\ ill be retur ned. \II <'1111 " '' ' hm1ld he m:ti l!•d to: \nrt.l \hiler Garner. co Dept of l· ngh,h. Bo~ 5050. Utmerstty of North Alabama. Florence, AL 35632-

1 • 1 I r 1nl~>rlll.llron n>nt.ltl ( o.1rncr .11 205 ~60--IXX9

ELIGIBILITY I ho I tt·t.tr' .trh .m.trd' .tre np.:n tn lugh

,, ht•nl ''udcnh ).!r.td,·, '1-1 ~- .tnd 1h.: ,,·hol·"''"1'' .lit' ,1\,lfl.thk IU 't:nt<lr' Ill lugh "hnnl \ l'!Hllpt:ltllon 1!1r gr;tdt:, 6-X \\til h,· .11111nunn·d bier

LITERA RY A RTS AWARDS ( n ·:tiiH' nonfict ion : ht pla.:e ('\1 'iO).

""'1hk tllt'ntllutf\, -,,_"Judge\ \pcct<tl

Put· In : '' pi.Kc 1\1501. lwnt>r.thk men· t\ "' Jude.:·, \pcu;tl Rc.:ogntttun"

\hurl I it' lion : ''' plact' 1)1501. hunorhlt flltnttnn ,..,-,1. "Judg.:\ \pct:ral

l<clt•grutu•n I ,,, h "ttmcr rt:t:CI\ c' a ccrll f teatc and a

ht•t•h ''!!llt'd h~ ,, n;rtrt>nall~ rccogn11Cd ,lltllhll l .tdl 'Lhtlt>l rcCCf\C\ a piJtj\IC I hi·

11 • ,, tnn,·r, .md thctr tt'at:hcr'

.l u d ginJ..: \\ rttct' nl n.ttuHtal rcputatttm m the

flchl' lift lt',ltf\C llt>nfKift)f), poctr~. ,ltld htttt>n "til dl<H"t: the" mnmg cntne' ' f he I''"''''"' th,• 1udgc' "rll he announ.:cd

ft, 11 the 1\\ ·""' .ttlllll\lllt:crn.:nl '' rn.tdt.:

l·ormat fo r <'n tric\ \uhtlltl l'tllffC' !lttllll I p.:r CJIC)!tll ~ per

'' ""'''' 111 .t 'I" · I~ .. em elope '\uhmtt 'k.u plh•tt~u>pt''' <•111~. 'tudcnh 'huuld ICI.flll llllt;lfl.lf, '" lllJillhl"rtph liln be ICIIII fll'd I l1> nut llll:mpl to \Cild ClllrtC\ \ 1<1 1.1\ 'tudc11t \ n.1mc' 'lwuld .tpp.:.tr on I~ on th,· title: I'·'!!''' ,,n,c all \\orf.., .trc JUd!!cd .IIIUII\ ltlt.'ll'h

\II'""" ltlltun .md .:rcJtl\c nonltLIIon t'lltl ,,., ,ftttuld hl.' t~ pt:d and douhk-,p;tccd p,,,.," cnlm·, m.t~ h.: t~ p..:d 'mgk-,paccd ttl dt~uhk 'P·Il'etl !-It udl'nl\ lll U\ 1 d!'\i)!ll.lll' ern lh<· ti t It• IHIJ!l' the c all'gur~ for "hidt lhl'' "i'h the " or l-. to hr ('On\ idl ' fl' d .

P lease fo lio" this format fo r literature a"a rd entr~ l i th~ page:

• :--.arne of student. lw. her address. phone number. grade. age

• Name of >Chool. school address • Name of teacher. work phone for

teacher • Tille(s) of work(s ) • Catcgor)

SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS IN LITERARY ARTS

The scholarshtp awards in li terary arts arc open 10 seniors in good sta nding in Alabama high schools . Portfolios placed 111 considcra1ion of the scholarship awards in literary am will be judged anonymous ly by a panel of judges from the fields of literature and c rcatiYe "rtting. Awards are based solely on men I of works submitted. A ponfoho of no less than 20 pages and no more than 50 pngcs of " ork from at least two categones ts requrrcd:

All entries should be typed and double'paced one \Ide only. Poetry may be s ingle spaced.

C a t ego ries fo r por t fo lio work

• Poetry (3 ' hortcr poems. or longer works to tahng no more than I 0 pages)

• Short ficuon !20-page limit) • Crcatl\ c nonfiction ( IS-page limit) · Chapter!\) from a no,el accompanied b~ a 1-pagc ~~ nopSt\ of the noYel (25-pagc hmll)

• \'tgncttcs · Short drama screenplay (25-page limit) • Scholarly C\Say or rc,carch paper wit h

a c rea tive focus (I 0-pagc limit)

Forma t fo r portfolios Portfolios should be submitted in tripl i

cate. Students should reta in origina ls. No manuscripts can be returned. Make c lear photocopies. Do not attempt to send entries via fax. S tudents' names should appear only on the title pages. The title page should a lso list the names of the individual works that make up the portfolio with each work's category designated. See below.

Please follow this sam ple for mat for schola rship entry title page:

a me of student, his/her address, phone number, g rade, age

• Name of school, school address Name of teacher, work phone for teacher

• Tit le(s) of work(s)/Catcgory • Tit lc(s) of work(s)/Category • Title(s) of work(s)/Category REM I DER: Submit no more than 50 pages of work tota l.

How to m ail entries for the Liter ary Ar ts Awa rds or Schola rship Awards in Lite ra ry A rts

Mail entries in envelopes clearly marked "Literary An s Awards" or ··scholarship Entry" in the lower len corncr. Please do not send works in binders, folders, or any type of cover. Paper clip or staple pages together. Mail to Anita Miller Garner a t the address above.

Official announcement of the Literary Arts Awards and Scholarship Awards will be made in Apri l 1997 in Montgomery in conj unction with the Visual Arts Awards and Scholarships of the Arts Achievement Program.

. \lubama State Council on the .\rts sponsors lith annual \ 'isual .\rts \\\ani\ and Scholarship Cmnpl·tition

l ft,· \l.1h,un.1 ,t,no: ( ''Uill:tl on I h.: \rl\ 'P<>n\Or, the \'t~ual i\rh Awards competition. m conjuncuon with the Lite rary Ans Awards prof'•"ll ~"" m II' tenth 'car. the\ 1\Ual \rl\ \"ards rccogn11c takntcd young people from across the Mate of Alabama, as well as their IC.I< ht'f' ,tlld 'l h<><'l'

In .tddttH•n "' tho: ,1\\,ml-, 'L'holar 'I" P' lor \Cntor, arc a'atlablc A number of these SSOO scholarships arc matched by colleges or uni\c..'l"ltH •• ,

I"' u•mpklc !,!lud.:ltnc' .thout I h.:\ "ual \rh i\"ards and Scholarship competition, contact Barbara George, Program Director for Arts 111 I '"''·"'"n. \ l.1h,uu.1 ''·Ill' ( ounul on the \rt,. One Dc\lcr 1\\t:nuc. Montgomery, AL 36104. Or call her at 334/242-4076.


blll99o -<> IIR\T DR \1 I -o 1/ --------------------------------------------------------

REMEMBERING

Remembering two Alabama poets ... George Starbuck

George Starbuck, avatar of modern American poetry, died August I , 1996, at his home in Tuscaloosa. He was 65. Mr. Starbuck had battled Parkinson's disease since 1974, according to Kathryn Starbuck, his wife.

roll." The poet and critic William Harmon wrote in Poeoy maguine that year, '"If you have ears and live with any alertness in an Englishspeaki ng society, then you ought to know that Starbuck is among the most talented poets in the world."

In reviewing The Argot Mercham Disaster by Mr. Starbuck in the New York Times Book Review in 1983, the critic R. W. Flint wrote that Mr. Starbuck's "full-scale satire ... has been getting steadily better, waxing in brass and gall as the swift seasons

Mr. Starbuck directed the graduate programs in Creative Writing at the University of Iowa and at Boston University. While at the State Uni, ersity of New York at Buffalo in 1963. he initiated a successful challenge of New York's Feinberg loyalty-oath law.

Warren Werner

In a paper written in preparation for his third year at Goddard College, Warren Werner observed, "An English teacher somehow got me to write a poem, and we both liked it. The rest of my time in high school I played with writing poems, until last year

of the department's computer centers. According to Thompson. "Warren saw no contradiction between technology and art. He felt a strong commitment to publ ic service such as extension teaching.''

when I spent more time on my own writing than anything else. To be a ' poet' meant nothing, but I liked writing poems. It was also a means of expression; I remember writing pacifist poems in tenth grade and disenchanted love poems and cultural-morass poems in twelfth. Again somehow, I decided I wanted to keep writing poems- forever, great poems."

Werner passed away at the age of 44 in March 1996, deeply saddening the community of faculty members and friends with whom he worked at Auburn University. He is survived by his wife Isabelle Thompson and their son Frank.

Werner was an associate professor of English, specializing in technical and professional writing. He was also the English Department's systems analyst and served as director

Landscape Gardening A little boy running through the grass and trees. dandelion seeds of rash talk blow from his mouth. He has important, or urgent, matters to speak of, a weed storm of vocabulary, words wiggling as they wish.

His father prunes a hedge to make it grow. pulls weeds from the lawn, cuts down a pine tree that rudely-died.

Unlike the pines, the father and son perform the procedure for bed. Pull on Mickey Mouse pajamas, water face and hands, say good-bye to the mirror and good-mght to mom. gather the two stuffed Peter Rabbtts and the red hammer that remodels the house. kiss like men signing a contract. conclude the story of Thomas the Tank Engine flattening bad Diesel like a pancake. hit the pillow hard, and continue growmg.

Dad rucks him in the compost and lea,es him alone. ignorant of what else he can do. having only his say in the matter, a book to read on controlling weeds. and verbless dreams about pine trees and wonns

In additiOn to h1, '"I\:· \\hom h~: married m 1968. he 1' 'un "ed h\ five ch1 ldren from t\\O earher m.trnagc:.: a daughter \largaret ll,nhuu].: and sons Stephen. John. t\nthom. and Joshua.

Mcmonal contnhutl()fl', m.t~ h~: made to the Creal!\ e \\ nt mg Program at the L Ill\ er,lt} or Alabama •

rc:prml.:•l tr.un lire ""' ,r/oo, '"'"· \ugu't lh, I''''

His publicauon~ mcludctl artltk' about tcachmg and '' nung 111 II ntwc, on the Edge .. lfahama Ln~ft,fl /h,• Journal o(Techmnil II ntmg ancl Commumcation and other,. and numerous boo]... re' le\\' or ..:ontem-

porar} poetr~ tn hterar~ JOUrnab. lie pubJ .. .,hetl t\\O chapbooks of poctr~. lhl' Destrl! o( Lo'' ( I arth\\ 1'e Publtcation-.. ). '' mncr ol the Second Annual T S I hot Memorial competitiOn .• 111d IIH Struc 111re oj /)e,tn ( Rl\ cr'tune Pres:>). '' mner of the 19:-.2 Rl\ crstone I nternallona I Competit ion lit .., poe1m appeared 111 man~ Journal'. mcludml!. fht lJ.m, Rn It'll The C!ta~talwoc !tee Rn I<'" IIH \I on tel/Ill Rc•1 n•u. and flte Sonora Re1 t<'"

\\ erner 'en ed on the hu.u tl of directors of rhc \lah.una Wntcrs · ~orum 111 !9lJ'i-lJ(l

Current!). I homp-..on '' prepanng for pubh..:allon .1 manu-..cnpt of \\ erner\ pocm'. tcntatl\ely tlllctl Rtn•r of De\1/'t' Peter lluggtn' 1' ·'"''tmg l homp,on '' 11h 'elcttlon and edtllnl!.. " l .md-..cape Gardcmng" ''til he 1111:ludcd 111 the collcctt(m •


Ill -o Il l<~ I Ill< \1 I -o 1 •• 11 111'111

1{)/zew~ 1?1~~? h n ! l>m/i r ~ plca~cd to pri nt excerpts from Don Noble's March 1989 and March 199~ 111ten rt:\\ ~ '' ith Mark Childress, which aired on Alabama Public Television.

r,fA;1.trk ( luldr~·"· .111 \lahama r't 11.111\~· 110\\ II\ lllf Ill ('o, ta

l<tl.l. '' p.u t o l .1 gcnl'r;tllnn o l outlwrn \\ 11 1~·r, \\ ho'l' \ o u.:c ' '

l ~·khr .ttnl n. tll<lll. tll ) .utd ullc rnalton.dh I k h." turn~·d o ut a run.uk. thk hod~ o f \\ o rk . tllcl ud"'!'( 111 '111 \ lohtllllll( fl)9\ ).

''" '""'and ll11:toolh ( 1992). !,11,!,·1 c 1'1'101. I for I u t r11 ( I 9HX). I \\ ,.,It/ \lodt• of / Ill' ( 19X.J ).

'sot h,td lor 'ornconc Jll '> l shy of 10 I flo,~· "ho ~110\\ ( htldrc!'.' pt o\ tdc sornl' 1. htc' 1\l hi' '>UCccs-,. lnhn I O)..'llc. lot mer lrC.tll\C <.l trcctnr <•I ~outhcrn Prngrc'' (orpnt .tll<•n .md nO\clt,t. '>:t)' that ( htldrc's h,l\ hcl'll \\Of~mg at Ill \

u .tlt "'' .t loll!! 11mc "( h tldrc'' ' ' ltkl' < .tpotc I k h,t, hccn 'cn ou' .thnut \\ rtttng ... m..:c he "·~'> I 0 lie \\Pil pn;c, .tt ].tgc'] 12 and 13. l ie

" ·" .1 full him\ ll \Hile r ,tl ,tgc 22." I <•gu~· n11np.trc'> (. luldrc'' to

' " tk'' ' lth· Jamc' l>t l'~c) thc tr " must~'.tl '>l'll'l' ,md botto m lc..,, n~t·nu•t' " I k permeate' ,ti l o f \\IIIIIW. '·"' I oguc. from I a tt n \m~·r tl.lll magtcal rca lt \ rn to

sou I hl'l ll g111 h l l' I lkn \ulll\ .t ll o iTr.tllc lltll

l'uhlt'hl'rs s,l\ '· " \l a rJ... ha' a lways h~.·~.· n ,, " r !let o l grc,ll tllli.l!;tllallon. "11h .1 \\on~krl ul 'l'll 'l' o f \\ Ord pl.•:.. \\lmh ( lnldtl'"- applie s til Ins nc\\ dnldrl'n \ boo!-.. //enn llol>l•lfll' 111\\lllg • \ , rnhr\ nO\ ~· J, , th~.· st111' t.l~c' o n ,, ltli: o f rh 1'\\ II Jltll\ Jlohhll\ h,llll \ hC\ hi\ ll'rtll•r,dul h111thcr llcnr) fm m

tlwn IlK'") ''''11n .rnd rnu' t fmd lllltl ,IJ,!,IIIl h) ( or,t\ II\ \led, thr,•ugh th~· i\ltcn IIlii, the ll.tll of llrg I un • • md the Brrdgc l)f the lm '''hk ( •tllllllc

\l,trl\ ( h tldtl'ss 'pc.tl-.' I I ) .ttl .l ~~·s. h • .til t\ pes Ill reader' I cliO\\ "'uthl·tncr'. \k•phcn ll..mg . .tnd !,Ills 111 I llll'l"-' ddtg ht til hi \ rnMglll.lllllll. dt.tr .l~ll't '· .tnd nar rat I\ c

I '' ' tun.ttd). till'" n tcr h," nun) ) ~·.u ' ,thl'.td

1989 Interview A World Made of Fire

\ lad, Clll ldrc'' o f \ IOIHOe\ die dtd not ha'e t,) "" 't lo ng for litera ry recognitiOn II " ftr-t no' e l. I Jl(n-Jd \lade of hn·. was enthus~;httca lly recel\ ed by a "tde readme audience. and by fe llow " nter-, Jam~., Dickey. l: rskme Cald well, Barry llannah. and Pat Co nroy. A World \lade of l·lre ' ' an eerie book in which e' enh may or may no t be explainable, rna} or m a) not be magical.

Q: \\'hat kmd o f reading did you do that \Ou thmk had a d trect tnfluence on the {iN nO\ cl. ·I JJ(Jrfd \lade of Fire?

\ : I \\.ts. odd!) enough. a t the L nl\ eNt) of Alabama a nd took a course 111 Laun-Amencan ft cllon. ta ught by \larccl Smith. and 11 was the book A 1/wu/red lean of Solitude. I remember. that mtngued me "11h the tdca that a ntl\ cl ts as real as you make II. I r you make the reader belle' c 11. anyth tng ca n happen. and anythmg doc' 111 that book. It opened my eyes a way of ' ccmg. lie ·s not the o nly "nter either. down there. "ho loob at things from another \\Orldly po mt-of· ' te\\. Borges W<h a big mnuence on that book. I thtnk. and a lso the g ra nd· slam southerners you knO\\. r lanncry O 'Connor and \\'illlam Faulkner and all those great fo lk'

Q: \\ hen we talk a bout the La lln\ mencan ftcllon " mel"> and thetr mflu·

en..:c on not only you but a generation o f ne\\ "ntcrs. a term that people like to u'c " .. m.tgtcal realism ... a place '~here n:,tllsm kmd of taper-. o il' mto the unbcllc,ablc .md the mag tcal In )Our book, "here arc the mo me nt ' \\ hen you \\ Ould n pect a reader to ' a) . .. Ju-,t a mmute, that can't happen .. or " ! hat 1\n't real'">

\ : I here\ a moment \\here the little ho). J,tcku. dn, cs a goat "agon through ,1 curt.ttn o f ftrc It \ ab .. olutely unpo .. sthlc. hut no one "'" bo the red by 11

Q: \nd the goat\ not hlll t \ : I he gu.tt doc,n't e' en get '>mgcd

me,ln. 11\ JU-.t one o f thow tmrade

thmgs. Of course. in that book, he has powers. To me, if you make the fabric of the story believable. I' m hoping that there's not one moment when the reader docs stop and say, .. Wait!" Yo u know, I' m ho ping that he's enoug h into it. Also the fire that so rt of opens the action o f the book. where the children are a ll killed, is really the first moment in the book that takes leave of reality, where Stella sees the children still a live, and then she realizes that they are not there at a ll. You could look on that as sort of a leap into meta-fiction or into fantasy. On the other hand, you could look at it objectively; the girl's in shock, she's imagining this. And part o f what I still like abo ut that book is that nothing that happens in that book couldn't have happened, with the possible exceptio n of that goat going throug h that wall of name.

Q : There's no moment in the book that can 't be explained in terms of the psycho logical novel.

A: In terms o f the actua l narrative, yes. I guess that's right.

Q: Given that an individual is under a lot of stress at the moment that she perceives something.

A: And a lot of the book is about perceptio n. I mean the kid is accused o f starting a polio epidemic. And because he's the first

o ne in the county that gets it, this accusation grows a nd becomes true because he's perceived by an o ld woman as having witch powers. He may indeed have ' 'Itc h powers. She may be perceiving those powers; she gives them to him.

Q : I'd like to chase Jacko around a mtnutc . By the time that I got to the last chapter. I was beg inning to wonder whethe r his powers were white magic or black magic. How benign or malignant has that characte r become at the close o f the novel?

A: I think that is entirely up to the reader. and I think that's what the concluston o f the book is drawn towards makmg you choose. I mean, I can make a case for either side. that he 's a good boy or he's a bad boy. Chances arc he's a wuchy boy. Now, whether he's a good


witch, as they say m The H'i:arcl of 0:, or ~ bad witch, I hope that by the last page 11 should be clear to the reader because ?f the ptcturc he·~ formed of h1m. A gam, n·s the reader's perception. I want the reader to make the deciSIOn, and I guess that's the Lalln-Amcncan clement ofth1s novel what we pcrcc•vc to be real IS, m fact. real. And the \cry act of rcadmg a book is a leap into unreality. You know, you're not wnh these people as th1s barn burns down, but, yes, you arc. The picture in your mind is just as real as any other thing.

V for Victor V for Vict01; Childress' latest novel, is

set in Mobile 13ay, Point Clear, and the Magnol ia River. Victor, the protagonist, a restless teenager, feels trapped as he tends to his ai ling grandmother. lie thinks he's a million miles away from the excitement of World War II.

Q: When people sec me carrying V for Victor around not too many people have read it yet, people of my acquaintance- they ask me, "What's that about?" and I say. "This kid in a motor boat runs into a azi submarine in Mobile Bay," they go, "Go on, go on; you don't expect me to believe that.'' Although it docsn 't have the kind-of surrealistic or meta-fictional elements of the first book, in some ways it's more of a stretch than A World Made of Fire.

A: A World Made of Fire was written out of the southern gothic genre, okay. It was written using all of the clementsthe fire, the incest, the Klan, and the voodoo that arc common to a Southern gothic novel. And I tried through the language of it and through the motivations of the characters, to bring that genre up, to do something that hadn't been done with it before. V for Victor is written out of the genre of the boy's ad\cnture stOr). and it's just as fantastic as any Hardy Boys novel you'd ltkc to read. That's what Victor's reading when he picks it up. When the book opens, he's s•ttmg on an oyster shell mound reading a liard) Boys book. That should be a clue to the reader that we 'rc usmg the com cnuons of the ad\cnturc ~tory as outlandish as they arc. You kno\\, you have chapter chiT-hangers and page-turning C\Cnts and boys domg thmg' that boys couldn ·, possibly do.

Q : Well, let's be clear. TillS "not a satire of the boy's adventure story.

A: Not at all, but I'm workmg out of the conventions of that type of story because that\ a \Cry farntliar pattern m the nO\CI I mean, let\ look at

---------' ._11_1 -''..:."><_:__• -o I I~'> I ll~ \1 I .. I

1/uc/../ehern f-11111. the gr;mdd,tlkh 111 them all I'm u-.mg tho'c coment;nn' but I'm trymg to put my 'Pin nn them' I'm trymg to do sornethmg more tl1.1n that. \\h1ch "to tell the ... ton of a h<•\ commg out of ch1ldhood 11110 adultht~~<l It 's a \cry rad1callted and mten ... cl\ ~pccdcd-up matunng procc". hut -, hnpc that 11 was the kmd of hook that pcopk could read on two lc\d' One'' an outlandish and cntcrtammg athcnture ,tnr\ and then. • f you want to go hack and look at it. there\ a lmlc somcthmg cl,c lKKk there too. It docsn 't stnkc me'" outlandish. although you an: nght the events in it, many of them. arc ah,olutcl\ impossible.

Q : There's one clement 111 f for ft c tm which distressed me bccau-,c 11\ a hook that's filled with h1gh athcnturc and a considerable amount of humor; 11\ a funny book.

A: I'm glad that you sa1d that Q: Oh it is. It \ \Cr:, funr1} It\ an out

ra¥cous book m a lot of\\ ay, It\ got sp1cs and submannes and counter-,p•e' and so on. But. n\ aho got ch1ld abu'c The relationship bct\\ecnthat bo\ and his father hurt me someht)\\. and-~~ seemed like a \Cry dark note 111 a book that was othcm •se not s1111stcr I Ia\ c people noticed that? J:.. 11 somctlllng that you've thought about before''

A: Very fe,, people ha'e focu,cd on it. The key to tillS book 1s the relauon,htp between the boy and Ills father I mean. it's crucial; it's central to the ''hok thmg. This is a boy '' ho \ m lo' e '' tth ,tone,. and he s in 10\ e with the 1dea of ad\ enlure and of intrigue. And )CI he\ trapped in a home where he's abused a-. n•u "" I have a great sympathy for h.-. r;ther ,;, well. I think \\C undcNand the rca,on lor the \ iolcnt scene that happen' 111 till' book. We can undcr,tand the man\ nwu,·ations. \\ c may not apprce1011C ,,h,tt ho.: docs; we rna) thmk that\ \\rung But. I don't knO\\, I lo\ c allm\ character' C\ en the ones that act badl\ 'eah. 11 "a dark note. To me. tt\ the thmg that make' n not a boy\ ad\cnture '101)

Childre\' /11 eel 111 \fagno/111 \J>rlll~' 11 hen he IH/\ 11 nt111g \ fi1r \ Jctur Although he /11 eel 111 ~em h<IIIU'< o for a time. he ll'/1/C/IIIt'cll en· 111111 h <Ill Alal>ama 11r/lc!r

A: The b•g hallmark of Ill\ hfc the last fiYc years has been that I\ e mu' cd ,1 lot. I mo\ c about e\ en '" nwnth' or year to a ddTcrcnt pla~c I take ,1 grc,ll deal of energy from that fl1r 'omc rc.i'on. the change I thmk 11 date-. hack tn the day-. \\hen Dadd) \\ould h.: tr,Jn,f\:rrcd C\ Cf} year or I\Hl 'l(lu I.; no\\ 11\ Ilk.: I

s(,l\ , I \ C,II o>l 1\\<l 111 ,J pia C .111<111 '"" ltko.: tunc to 11111\C < h.mgc ul -.enc ,JI\\ ,1\' d,...:, nw g.-... .... J

Q: But \our dust JJ•kC't' sa\ you Jrc lrnm \lomro-.c\ tlk Do \oU llunk thcrt' I\ .1 hter.tr\ c .• chct to• be gamed b\ hem lwm th.ll "'" n 1

\ : I m tn uw to• ,l.ut ••nc Q: I rum.1n (·'I"'''' put \ lunro.:\Jilc

llll tho: 111.1p \ : l tlllnk "'- .111.1 II.IIIX'T I c~ c.mtc

.1lon!! .tlto.:r \ llu.llh .. tlt.·r 1 llmM \[,,,/, of / ,,· c.•me <lUI. I got .1 kttcr lwm ll.trp.:r I co: It "·" .1 \\Pildnlullcttrr .tn1

' he s,ud · \ ou mo.: ,111d I 1 IIIII. tii tit~ , 1111

'' ntc1 ... rwm \loiiHI><:\IIk" \ntll rust ' ·llll I\ c ah' ,,, , ".1nto:d '" 1-... ''' , n to.: nee hke that I h.ll '' ·'' !:!'' tt '>h .till ' '·' ' sllllll' IIHn).! 111 th,· \\,th:t dn\\nth ·re

1994 I ntervic" Q: It\ hccn h1ur ,,,1! ,m, .q:\c

l,i't t.tlkcd. hut tho.:re h.r\ o.: hcen .1 lui,,, \CI\ C\CIIIIl!! o:h.rng.:' ln1 \I!U 'lnu o:han!!.:d n•untne,, .md ~·)u puhh,lu:d I\\OillOrC 1111\0.:is '\o\\ \oiU IJ\e Ill ( O'IJ R ~~:.t I hm '' th.ll h•r ,1 ~' 11ter'

\ : It ' .1 go<><.l pl.llo: l•l "nte It\ 1 \O.:f\ lJUiet pf,KC, 11\3 \er\ \\,Ifill pi.J(l" It unl~ 1\l{l).; one" mtcr 111 'C\' 'lork 1 11~

Ill 1:\111\ liKe me th.tt 1'111 ,J lr•l(ltCa) k1111J ul !!U~ I ,t,trto.:d ho:.••h11g '"uth •• 111d I guo.:'' e\Cil \ I.Jh.un.J \\,tsu' t l.rr Cll••ll •h south 1<11 me ..,,, I hi..<.' the r.1Ct tl1.1111 '' nc\ cr cold there It', lll'\.:r been C•lld there. 11 ne\a "tlllw u•ld th••e 'I•)U touch a n:mcnt "·'" .111d 11\ \\,IIIII '''u I..IIO\\ ..,tl 11 \,1 ro:,JII~ t'"'" pl.llO.: lor rue It \ \ Cf\ qu•cl I he to\\ II "hl'IC ll"c '' C,lllCd ( .iplls .• llld \\C h,l\0: nnl C\Cnlhl" hcgmnlll!!' l>f .1 urlturl' I mc.ut we"''" t h;ll e a \ 1de11 \ I OrO.:

Q : l>u \ '•u h,J\ ,. ,, tl'lcphouc ' \ : I dn hJ\.: ,t phone

Q: D1><:' II e\0.:1 r111g' \ : It nn~' 11\:~.,, .. ,n.rlh l'coplc tl\ lu

t.1lk r.:.1 1l~ l.tst h<=l.t\I'C the) ll pa\ mg thus<.' mto.: rn.llton.tl pl11•nc r,tll.'' I hrrt' no h<•••k 'ture I here .uc no TIIO'<IC' or .tn~ ot th.n I ho.:rc'o; ,, \mndcrlul hc.1dt But n\ .1 gr,•,JI pl.t c to read ,md a grc:u pi.Kl' to" rllo.: \nd I\ e gm a lot of lnends tho.:ro:

Q: I th.:rc olll\ thmg that \l)U \\l1Uid C\ Cil hxhO: )~ l'olll a ht~l.lf'o hie"

\ : , P, nut .tl .111 -t'\lCJ'I, \011 knm\ lhd .111 autogruph p.trt) 111 s 111 Jmc, "h,,t "the c.•pii.JI, .111d th.tt \,,,~ ,, run c'JlCTI· cncc I h.u "•' ' "h,·n I sc:tllfl 1111hc h1g dcp.1rtmcnt ' hill' dm\ ntu\\11, .sud the.") put me lll' \1 In the 11.11h1e dl';pl.l) I fm;JII) re.thtcd th.ll the !\itlt',lllcn \\l:IC gomg ~round o;,·Jhng C 1<1:1 111 1 /.,l~tlllltl b\ ... nmg th.ll II ""'' ''"'''cl.1hnut II IThli: And


20 .. HRST DRAFT .. Fall 1996

Literary Magazines In Alabama \ labama t .njtll\ h fhc ...:hola''" JOUrnal oft he Alabama Counc1l of l eachc" of I ngh'h 2~ 1 \muh II all I r<') \ t;JIC l 111\C"'IY 1 r!l)r AI .160X2 H4 670. 12!\(1

\ lab1m1 Llttra') Rt• It\\ Theron \ lnn1gomel). r d11or 2q \muh llnll If<') \talc l lli\C"11y lrt'). \ I 160N2 H-1 670·.U!~6

Amanlli• PO n~, 1\.HO \1nntgnmcl). AI 11\IC)(>·O.HO I ·rnn1l Andcr\Cln 11 ~ao' awn cdu

I hr Auburn Clrdr l'uhhcallon' Su11c In\ l 'mon Btuldmg -\uhurn l 111\C"'I). AI 16R49 H-1 X-1-1-41-12

l.k-~ond O~l!tn'l \ tournai of pcdagog1cal poc11) < l.urc I I c1ld I duor I I .I I f... noii•H>Od C<>url \ut>urn, \1 16!110.6 126

Birmin~:ham Poet') Rt>\ if" llot> ( nlhn,, I dllor l All I ngl"h l>cp1 Art' & llumamllc~ Bldg. lhrmmglum. Al 3529-1 2()~ (11.1-42~()

Blacl. \\urior Rr• ie-. I he l "" c"''> of Alabama Ill\\ 2911\ lu\C.Ift)(l\d. AI 35-186 211~ '-IX-4~1!1

< Ol>l><·r Iliad<· Kt·• it" c o I n~ 'it.alc l n"c"''> Dothan 1'0 B<l\ X 16~ l>nth,lll. AI 1(11().1 ".t (IX1-I>~~(> I \1 397

Fit.. Khfr Kt·• it·" John ( hJonbc". I diiN h()(> ( ukman A' cnuc \then,, AI 1~(>1 1·121(>

''')!lliH· C•p•bilil~ '>uc llrJnnon \\JI~cr. I dll()r f>ubh">hcr C.~ R1d~cl•"n Dmc I &1 \lnh1k. \1 1(>601!-61(1(1

' ocnlula \hell>\ Codmm. I d110r ( oad..ctcn .,t.nc Cummuntl) College 1'0 lkl\ 227 ( •Jd..ctcn. A L WI02 ·0227

I'Ot \I l>r 'Jill') I DIIIJrd I duor ' 11 I n11h'h L)q>Jrtrll('nt l -\II, llunt" Ilk. AI J.'ili9'.1 '>ub"npt11111 I'Ol M. co liLA Dale (m~' UKl'l 01\ll>~ndgc Cm:lc llunl\\lllc. Al 351101

Suulht'm llum• nllln Rt\ lt'o> DJn I Jtuncr. I>J\C IInne). and Margaret KoU1d1s.

( l>~'dllt>r-ll.:pann~nl of I nj!.h\11 \ ubum l 111\Cr..lt). Al 1(1.11!9

Interviews with Mark Childress, cont (J

we actually did pretty well with it! But other than that, when I'm in Costa Rica, I'm just Mark the gringo, and everybody just son of says "hi" to me. It 's a very small town where I live.

Q: Do you miss talking to other writers at the end of the day or on the phone?

A: I do, I mean, a lot of my fTiends are writers. One of the great things though is that we now have the internet, and so I'm on Costa Rica online, and I can e-mail my friends. So I'm doing a lot of ta lking with the keyboard.

Tender Q: You were-the last time we

spoke-about to publish Tender. And you were, yourself, very tender about the whole thing when we were ta lking. There were all kinds of complications that had come up. Now that some time has passed and some of the dust has settled, tell us about the difficulties of publishing that novel. which was originally directly about Elvis Presley.

A: Right, I wanted to write a fictional biography of Elvis, and I did write that. And then I built into the novel- very carefully- the various famous songs that he recorded and the recording of them and his first appearance on " Ed Sullivan" and what songs he sang. Those things were all very much a part of the fabric of the novel, but publishing lawyers are probably the most timid people in the world. When I used to work at newspapers, our lawyers would say, you know, what can we do to publish this story. Whereas in book publishing a lawyer's job is to keep the company from being sued, so they are very, very cautious. And the Presley estate is extremely litigious, and they've sued Jots o f different people. So what happened was the lawyers took a reading of the book- long after the deal was made and long after I had delivered the manuscript- and told me that I had to change Elvis' name to something else. And I had to remove a ll of the songs that he did, and basically rewrite my book into a roman a clef, which is not what I had intended to write. So I think when we had our interview the last time, it was right in the middle of all this legal stuff, and I was fai rly certain that I had a legal right- a fi rst amendment right-to write a novel about Elvis Presley- that that was not a trademark infTingement. But the lawyers and my publisher disagreed with me and so it was, as you say, a tender subject. But I was really pleased a couple of years ago to drop by Grace land

and find out that they are selling my book in the gift shop. So obviously they didn't have any problem with it.

Q: I think Tender is a really sympathetic picture of Elvis.

A: I thought it was the most sympathetic picture of him that I had read certainly, and I intended it that way. I did it fTom love, you know. I wanted to sort of show life from his eyes. One thing that's exciting to me is that the unexpurgated "Elvis version" will be published in Germany this fall as Heartbreak Hotel, and they are not afraid ofEivis' lawyers in Germany. So, I'm hoping that it goes straight to number one on the list there, and I can send a copy of that list to the lawyers. My ultimate revenge.

Q: Well, Tender did well. A: It did very well, thanks. Q: Is there any possibility that a novel

with the legal complications of Tender can be made into a movie?

A: Someday, I think so. I guess one of the advantages of having changed his name is you wouldn't need the estate's permission to do that.

Q: But you changed his name to ... A: Leroy Kirby. Q: Yes, the King. A : The King- that's right. Q: I mean, that's not the subtlest thing

in the world. A: That's true. Q: Surely the Elvis lawyers will

notice. A: Probably so but, again, I think that

we have a first amendment right. I think Elvis is a public figure, and there's a law in Tennessee that was passed specifically for the Elvis estate that gives his heirs control of his image and control of things that are said and written about him. And I believe that law would be overturned in the Supreme Court if it ever got there. But it's hard to find a company that wants to take on a court case that will go all the way to the Supreme Court. So, in retrospect, I wish I had written about Hank Williams-somebody else.

Crazy in Alabama Q: I had the experience recently of

trying to explain to a listener that Crazy in Alabama was really very funny. But, I started out by saying a little bit about the plot: this woman who is irritated with her husband-he doesn't appreciate herpoisons him, cuts off his head, puts it in a Tupperware lettuce keeper .... And all of my listeners thought this was dreadful . Everybody said, ''That's not funny." Do you have a peculiar mixed response to this book?

f


A: When people just hear it presented in that way, yes, but what's astonishing to me is that the character that I made who is a murderess--an unrepented murderess, she has no guilt what-so-ever for what she's done-becomes the most appealing character in the book. And the people who have written to me about itthey love her and they very much wanted her to get away with it, which is surprising to me. And I guess it's part of what the fun of the book was for me-that she's an antihe ro. You know, she's in some ways doing

Q: I guess it would be. I was thinking about the talking head in the Tuppcrware containe r. Are we back to that again?

A: Back to magic realism? Yes. something I really like is that tension between the possible and the impossible. and 1 always like books where something impossible happens. So I guess. once I had his head off his body in the Tupperware conta iner, and she was taking it across the country, you know. it was a simple novelist's problem. She's in the car by herself. She can' t j ust talk to

herself, so I solved the what people all over the country would want to do on a really bad night.

Q:Well, Norman Mailer says that the American dream is to kill your spouse and get away with it.

Back to magic realism ? Yes, something I really like is that tension between the possible

and the impossible, and I always like books where

something impossible happens.

problem by having her talk to him. And- surprise, surprise- he began to talk back.

Q: Can anybody else hear him?

A: As far as we know, no. Although there are some chi-

A: Maybe that's so; I don' t know. She's so cheerful about it. I think another reason that people like it- is that it not only improves her life (she goes to Hollywood- ! hate to give it away for those who haven' t read it and basically becomes a movie star) and there's something about the fact that she goes and lives her dream with absolute ly no guilt about it even when she 's caught. She has a couple of bad moments, but basically they don' t involve guilt, you know. It even improves their marriage; she and Cheste r get along a lot better once his head is separated from his body. I mean, he actually tells her he loves her. He never did that when he was alive.

A: I think that's right. Q: Did anyone ever write you about

the corruption of the criminal justice system in Crazy in Alabama?

A: No actually. I kept son of waiting for that- for some j udge to protest the picture because she uses he r charms to son of get out of a really bad legal situation. But, no, I haven't gotten any bad reaction on that one.

Q: When we spoke about your first novel, A World Made of Fire, we talked about how fond you were of the LatinAmerican fiction writers-Borges and Marquez especially-and how magical realism found its way into that first book. And then I didn' t see that same kind of thing in V f or \!fetor, and I didn't see that same kind of thing in Tender.

A: Oh! It was in Tender! Leroy had a still-born brother who spoke to him all the way through the book. They carry on a whole spooky conversation. That's fairly far away from hard, cold realism.

huahuas who apparently hear something because they're the ones who finally unearth Chester from under this pile of fur coats at the party where he's revealed to the world.

Q: But they could smell him. A: Well, I don' t know because that

Tupperware works very, very well. I'm not sure if it's the smell or perhaps he was actually saying something to those dogs.

Q: And Crazy in Alabama for reasons perhaps we know, perhaps we don't. has become very popular in Germany.

A: I don't know exactly what it is, but Germans have a very part icular taste in American fiction, and there are certain American writers who do okay in this country but are wildly successful over there. And I know that several people that I spoke to, journalists, said that they have a panicular interest in the American civil rights movement. obviously relating to their own history. In other words. how does a society deal with the guilt that results from bad things having been done there in the past whether it's your own fault or not. Obviously, the South is to this day still trying to get out from under the burden of slavery and of the racial problems that we 've had in the intervening hundred and thirty years.

Q: Well, Cra::.y in Alabama has two plot lines. There are two separate story lines going on at the same time. One i~ Lucile and her dream and Chester's head in the Tupperware. and the other is the civil rights activity that's going on back in the hometown.

Falll996 .. FIRST DRAFT .. 21 --I

A: Ye;,. the liulc boy get' 10\ <lhcd with his uncle who'' try1ng to wrt o l h.: a good man 1n a troubled to"'n

Q: Yc~. my undeNand10g " thatth.tt was your primary Intent. that that·, where you began.

A: I wanted to \\cnte aboutthe\C t"o boys going to li\C "llh the1r unde 10 th1 funeral home. And I thought that .1 ,maH town Alabama fu neral home operator who also doubled as the coroner o l the county would <;cr.e a\ an mten.:\ttng locus point to ob ... erve what happened 111

a small town when a CIVIl nght\ e \ plo sion took place. You know. Dme " the name of the character. and he\ 'on ol Ill a position to literally <;cc where a ll ol thu bodies arc buried and to be there when all of the vio lent thing\ happen. And. yo1 know. a lot of drama in a ... mall town \\ ail come through a funeral home or through the coroner s office. I wanted to ... ec 11 no from an obvious point·of-\ ic~ I rom say a demonstrator or a racl\t ' hen II although those people appear a' char;u: ters. I wanted someone who "a' hl.e a lot of white people. I thin!.. 10 Alahama in the sixties- sort of tom. I mean. he wanted to do the right thmg. hut he \\a' afraid to stand up and do the nght thmg And someone who\ caught m that "·" interesting to me. That'\ connlct That ', what we look for as "nter .... you !. no\~

Q: Now there's a novel that " 1llmal.c a movie.

A: Yes. I sold it (the option) to Disney. and I've wri tten a '>Creenpla) lor them. and it's now in turnaround. wh1ch means they are trying to unload it on another studio. But Forrest Gump wa' 111

tum-around nine time .... so I haven't g iven up hope yet. We' ll ... ee.

Q : Well. there is a renewed mterc't 111

the more pleasant varietie\ of 'out hem gothic.

A: I guess so. although people Ill Hollywood think each of tho'>C mo~ 1e' an. nukes. They still don't accept that there ' ' a big movie-going public that ongmate' in the South that wanL\ to '>t.'C good thmg' about the South instead of JU\1. :rou !.no". ' The Beverly Hillbillie\ ... "Green Acre<' " Hee-haw" type thing that we all grc" up with. If I could nde ForreM Gump\ ccl.lttails to the box office I'd be happ) to But, I declare. I'm a novell\t. •

Dr: Don Nob It! is assocwte pmfe 1 111r of £11glish art he Uni,·u sm · of Alol1<mw. a co·producu of" 8m1l.. Marl.. .. f or Alabama Public Telt'viswn. and a fll'quent contribwor ro FiN Dro~ft. //(• has publisht'd widt'ly on Amt'rtcun authors. particularly solllht•m fictwn writ u s. Samford University Library

.!.!. -o I II<~ I Il l{ \1 I .., I .111 I 11%

REVIEWS REVIEW S REVIEW S

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r,, m··, .• 111d rural lnda;111a <Cat h) Da) \ .. \I I"I"II)C\\ <l .. ).

The l:olkLIIOn \ h1ghllght. Ton) I .. trk) \ .. Charloue.'' ma,terfull) recrc.uc, a Cll) ·.., tdcntl l) cn " ' " ' 11 adJU'h 10

the lo" of lh dramatiC profe"10nal \He,tllng lranch1,c. '"'\o'' Charlouc ha' the '\ BA. and '' c tell our,ch c' we arc a h1g deal. .. Earle) \ narrator confc" c'. although the l lornch · lac"- of national , t,uur.:: ha' actual!) made the entire c11y kd 'mallcr and emptier.

Ethtor Allen W1er hope ' the reader~ of \\ ol~111g on \\ arer will lind .. at least one 'lOr) ' o convincmg. \ O moving .. that it '' Ill lx:come pan of their experience. Wier rca\onabl) could rai' e hi' expccta-11011\. Tho ... c '' ho wander through h i ~ g.tller) ' ' 11111"-cl) find 'ignificantly more than one worj., "ith thi' "-ind of 1111pac1. •

Glendo C'omm\. L 111\'( ' rllfy of I/ om Cl'tli lo

If I Were a Carpenter: Twenty >'ears of Habitat f or Humanity b~ Fr~ c Gaillard .John F. Blair. 1996 182 pp. Cloth. $24.95

Joumall\t Fr)e Ga1 llard give.., an C\ ccllcnt portra) a! of "one of the great ' tone' in American phi lanthropy. coming :11 a It me " hen the country i' badly in nccd of ilhpiration ...

Founded by Millard Fu ller in 1976 (ba,cd on an idea developed by C larence

Jordan at Kou1onia Farm ncar A mericu\, Georgia). l labital for l lurnanll) " ecumeniCal. .. embraced b) churchc.., and nauonal corporatl()n\ . b) the

poiiiK.II nght and the pollucal left . and \ lriU.Ill) C\ Cf) \hade O f <lf>lllllln Ill

l'<:t\\ecn ·· It rc<.:CI\ C\ ll<l fund' from an)' a gene~ or lc\ cl of go' c mmcnt

l·ullc1 .md Jortbn lx:gan thc1r camp.ugn to 1111prm c hou,mg tor the poor by hutldmg l1m Ul\l hou'c' and 'cllmg them lor no m1crc't l11c no tntcr.::'t lc;Hure lollo\l cd the hlhltcalmJunctlon agam\1 <h.ugmg mtcrc,tollloan' hlthc pom.

Fuller later c'tahlt,hcd llab11a1 lor l lum.tntl) h~•,cd Olltht: model he h<~d

tC\tcd m Africa: .. no-interest loan\ and \Oiunteer labor to hold down the cost~. and new homeowners taking part in the wor"-...

Twenty year~ later. more than 40.000 hou,cs have been built or rehabilitated in the U.S and throughout the world. The wor"- i ~ carried on by local Habitat affili<IIC\, some with paid staff and all with volunteers and homeowners doing the work. Jimmy Carter gives one week every year to work on Habitat houses. Jimmy Carter Work Weeks "attract as many as 2.000 volunteers.''

Gaillard te lls stories of homeowners whose lives have been changed by having a decent place to live and raise their families. and of volunteers who have gained new ins ights into the lives of people whose fortunes arc so different from their own.

This book is the fi rst to be written about Habitat by someone outs ide the organization. It is perceptive. moving, and inspiring. Proceeds from its sale will be donated to Habitat and used to build low-cost housing for families. •

K(/(herine Thompson is a f reelance wrirer in Decafltr. Alabama .

Twice Blessed by Kathryn Tucker Windham Black Belt Press, 1995 156 pp. Cloth, $19.95

Kathryn Tucker Windham 's Twice Blessed. brought out this summer by Black Belt Press, takes its place beside her a lmost 20 other published volumes. Known for her collections of ghost storie'>. recipes. and folklore. Windham's most recent work is. like A Serigamy of Srories ( 1988) and Odd-Egg Editor ( 1990). a series of autobiographical essays. in this case focusing on people. places. and events that ~haped and sustamed her career during the last 30 years.

Tll'ice Blessed manifests her urge to .. get my life and my possessions organl!ed. to curtail my activities and to loss away clutter so I can free myself to savor the remaining days God gives me ... The collection offers a handful of reminiscence\ in the same engaging voice that ha ... made Windham one of the most celebrated ..,torytellcrs in the nation.

Thinl-.ing of her grandchildren . .. too young to remember the active years of the grandmother they both call Ghost, .. Windham writes in Tll'ice 8/e.\sed about


l .ti!IW6 -o II K\1 l>K\11 .. .!.I

REVIEWS REVIEWS REVIEWS

"the work and pleasures. so often tntenwmed, that claimed my time and allention." The first chapter is devoted to Gee's Bend, an area in West Alabama that Windham first vis

ited in the 1960s and subsequently helped to chronicle. She is inspired by both the history of the place and its people, descendants of slaves who were brought to Alabama in the early 1800s. Though their land was lost and their selfsufficiency severely compromised by careless landowners, merchants, and government policies that too often fai led to keep their interests at heart, the people's stories and music express a deep religious feeling and capacity for endurance and celebration.

Windham's involvement in collecting, preserving, and tell ing southern ghost stories- and her reflections on the art and business of storytelling are detailed in "Storytelling." "All Things Considered" focuses on her stint on National Public Radio and the rewards and trials of a public life. The "Miss Julia" chapter is an essay on what it is like to be obsessed and possessed. The conviction and energy of 19th-century reformer Julia Tutwiler find expression through her 20th-century spiritual descendant from Selma.

The last chapter, "Graveyards," offers its own meditations primarily on the accumulation of "stu fT." Windham 's positive delight in the unusual burial ri tuals and goods segues into her own epitaph: "She was twice blessed:/She was happy; She knew it." "l lappiness," even more than Jeffrey, the ghost who shares her fame, is Windham's familiar: it, "like a cloud of applauding angels, has accompanied and urged me on."

One suspects that beneath her bed, in the stacks of eccentnc storage containers in her garage, in her teemmg tmagmation, there lurk as least as many more stories as are included in Twice Blessed. Odd-Egg Editor. and A Sen gamy of Stories put together. Not for children specifically, but as supporttve as ever of our capacities for surprise, faith, and joy, this volume could be another in an ongoing series. Let us hope. •

Jay Lamar. Auhum Center for tht• Arts & Humamlles

Free-Born Slave: Diary of a Black Man in the South by J . R. " all C rane Hill Publ i sher~. 1996 106 pp. C loth, Sl ·t95

The genre of autobtography. "11h its intimacy of per~on . ha~ a lway~ been appealing to Amencan., Author William Dean l lowells noted that 11 was the democracy of the It fe stor; that attracted Americans to autobiOgraphy. Southerners have been dra" n to document, explain, and somcttmc~ j ustify their lives. For A fncanAmericans autobiography bccamc an expression of freedom and an asscrtion of individual worth. The abolitionist-era stories of thc 19th ccntur)' and the WPA sla\ C narratt,es sP, decades later provtdcd a wa; for blacks to record and presen e the degradation of sla\ cry and thetr struggles and triumphs w11h111 a dominant white culture.

Free-Born Slm·e: Dwrr of a Black Man in the Sowh is an mt4trcstmg addition to the genrc of black Alabamiana because 11 was rccordcd in 1936, and whereas the WPA sla\ e

inten te\\ S were conducted by whites, Jasper Rastus Na il dtctated his It fe story to hts daughter. a ll , \\ ho was born about IX63 to shl\ e parenh and spent mo~t

of his life in Fayette and Wa ll..er Counties. was mo\ ed by a sense o t responsibility " to pass on" to hts descendants "as much htstor) of the family as posstblc" (x t\)

Nail d tcd 111 Ru~~ell Count) 111 1956, and hts It fc 111 early 20thcentury Alabama pamlle l' that of David Frost. Jr. who wa~ born tn 191 7 in Barbour County and presently lives 111 Eufaula. ho~t \ autobwgraphy (Witness to ln;uHu e. L nt\ erstt) Press of Mtsstsstppt. 1995) appeared originally in 1979 as Snt1· lean '" Eufaula and had a hm11cd pm ate

pnntmg But .tltcr I fll,t\ rd.ttt\C, ~arah Ru.:c \\orl-.:cd \\ llh cdth•t I out'e \\ e ... tlmg <Ill her Itt.: 'h '", //, lnd udecl \ h ( I '1:-..'11 I ''"ll<llll.t• ted \\ e-..thng to hdp hm1 rl'\\t>r l.. .utd e\pand hi\ 0\\ n , ton

lloth \ ,til and I flht rd.lle llll't· denh \\hen the) I th t \\ Cfl' lll.l<k <I\\ are of rac" m .md k.trncd thct.: \\O.:re dtllcrence' hct\\ Cl'll ''hill' .utd blacb tn a ' o.:gregated \IIUl't\ \ ,til rccalls ht, (irandma I un tdltn~

about the ~1 .1 \ e catdH:r tut nmg loo'c hts hound' on her .tnd hm' ' hc 'hO\\ed her scar' from the do!;' ' btte' I ro't rdate' IW\\ the ''"') ot the 1\ nchmc of .t \Ollll \! man tntp,tlled h;s ltfe ,;nd m,;de ht~n \C r ~ .tlr.ud of" h11e people l it' mother 'o 'troncl\ \\arned hun .tca tn't toudung a \\ h~; \\ oman that \d~cn .• , .1 duld he \\a-. sent to pur,ha-.e kcn"CIK'. he dropped the JM rather th,tn rt'l-.: h" hand touehtnc that ot the \\ IIIII.' female derl,. ~' ho handcd 11 11 • hun

\all struggle' to learn 111 rc.td .111.!

constant!\ , ,:el,.s more educ.llton .111d a producit\ e hie li t-. mcmou h.t tlw tone ot aecommod.II HIII "'common to hts era I rost. on thc other h.tnd. ,hares detatJ, ol h" rnoothhtnc hu\1-ness and ht-. pnson I tic a lter hc " caught I ro' t \ recollecttoth. although llCea\tOn.tJJ) ,Jt pp111f IIIIo eonctltat<>r) attttude,, h,t\e .1 nhnc bitter nng than \ a ll \

Both autobwgraphtc' ate \\<H th\\htle "'local ht,tof\ .tnd •• , docu· ment.llton ot the lOt;lllHlll -.truggk ol 20th-centur) \laham.t m,·n .ts the) \lrt\e t\lr the eulllOlllll' \eUtr ll\ to mamtatn thetr l.umltc,, f11r Ct\ t1 nghh .• md for tho.: dtgnll) dented them 111 a 'ecregated \\ orld •

I ca Ra11 f, l tl.m ' · .Ju, Cltlf • 1111 1 Ita flln //f/1 { 11111'1\1(\ (", l ife I /UI the l11) , {

1/umtm tl/c'\ and," autlru1 of \ (,th.un.t I he I h\ IUr) ul u J>c~p S<~uth St.tlc

J>uh/1\lten Clllcl autlt111' Cllc ' IIIli It'd 111 H'llcl renen 'opl<'' of Ill 11 J,,,J..:, ~~~ l tN Draft. I he \l.tb.un,t \\ rt tcrs t orum. (enter fi1r the ,\rh & l luman lltes. Pebble I !til , ,\uhurn l Ill \ er,tl~. \( 16S41J-56 17.


!. I .. I II<~ I I >I< \1 I .. I 1il 1'1'111

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

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Ocr. U -16--1996 \\ riter \ \\or k<,hop a t ~ea\ide. Sea , ide. 1- L

\\ orbhop ... 'erllln~tr,, re;tdulg ... and eel together' lcatun ng Jim Harri<,on. \la\ine Kumin. L~ nne Sharo n ..,ciH< a rt t . ( ;er a ld Co<,tanto. L~ nne Jla rretl. J a me'> \ \ . Ha ll. I.e~ Standiford. ()~11 id Kra ne,, .md J o h n Oufr e, ne. F·or ulmplctt.: regl\trallnn mtormauon. eontacl Le ' Sr.mdrford. Cr.:.lll\1! Wrrung Program. Ho nda InternatiOnal l nlvt.: r\tl). N. Mtam1 ('arnpu'. '\ . \ l tanu FL .1.1 1 X I. 305/919· 'iX57

Ocr. IS-Litt le Pro fC\'>Or. llo mcwood \'irginia \a n Der Veer Ha milto n

'rgnmg Loo/.. /1/fl j(n ClarJ.. Gahll' and Otht•t / u t' lllll'th Ct•nlltn Punu111. II :J0-1 00 p.m .. 27 17 S. I X1h Street. Call ~05.'X70-7-l6 1 tor mflmnatto n.

Ocr. 2-'-Dcrnopo li<, Public Libra r)' \laba ma \ o ice<, II prc,enh rne m·

o tn't J udith Hillman Pater~on and ' chol..tr S haro n Deck, She lto n Stare Commun11~ College. 7·00-9:00 p.m. ·

Ocl. l"'-l \ \ i\itin~ Writer\ Serie,, Tu, caloo<,a

Poet Ha nl.. Lat er \lrll rc;td at 205 Smtih I tall on the LA c ampu, , 7:30p.m. ·

Oct. 25-An n ual A11ard~ Luncheon o f the Ala ba ma llumanit ic~ Founda tio n

Luncheon 1vrrh guc- ' t \ pcal-cr C ha rles Kurall. Call 205/9.10-05-lO fo r ticket rntum1attllll.

Oct. 26-- \la bama Poet r~ Societ~ Fall \leering. Bir mingham

Poet l.aureate o f Tc nne,,cc \11argaret Br itton \ aug hn 1\ til 'peal.. I 0 :00am .. \ t hn)!lon \nt.:hcllum \ 1an\llln. Il l (olton \ 1 enue S\\ C()lliJCI Sarah h :d11er. -l !o. I \ talca \\Ia). Bm111ngham. \I 1'i2 1'>.toreg ... re r

Ocr. 26--Page a nd Pa lette Bl)(lk'>hop. 1-air hupe

\ lonrle IIJII\C Fr~ e (;ailla rd oiUI()

~· r.lplh retclll n. .. ,~, ,, 1nd udmg If Iliad \ //,,,,,., .md I t '111111 jmm tht H11: 11<~111<' C.tll '14 ~12X 'i21J'\

Octu hcr 29- \uhurn. Pe bble II ill \ Jarianne \loale\ 1\ •II pn: .. cnl ;t pm

fr.un 1111 her l'l;)(lf.. 1 111111<111 C t!Jltlfl' \ \outho11 lct11 '· -l :OO p.111

NOVEM BE R

'IO\, 1-2-f a ll Conference or the Ala bama Council of Teachers, Hunts' ille

Greta D. Price fro m the National Counc il o f Teachers o f Eng lish will 'peal. a1 the Ho lida) Inn. Research Part.. . 01her paneli~h include Alabama a uthor\ Ma ry Ba r wick, Rick S helto n, Carroll Dale Sho rt, and J eanie Tho mpson. Fo r more infonnation contact Leroy Sterling, Alabama A&M University. P. 0 . Box 785. o nnan. AL. 35762. Call 205/85 1-5388 o r 205/539-5060.

Nov. 3-Anniston a nd Ca lhoun Public Library

T he Anniston and Calhoun County Public Library presents Dr. Pe nelope La ura ns lecturing on the poetry o f J ames Merrill at 3:00 p.m. Dr. Laurans is acting associate dean and special assistant 10 the president for Yale College and was a personal friend o f Merrill ·s. Free and open to the public. For infonnation call 205/237-850 l.

No,. 7- UA Visiting W rite rs Ser ies, Tuscaloosa

Fiction write r Robert Hellenga will read at 205 Smith Hall on the UA cam· pus. 7:30 p.m.*

Nov. 10--Greenville-Butle r Co un ty Pu b lic Lib rary

Ala ba ma Voices II presents nove list Carroll Dale Sho rt and scholar Ha r ry V. Moor e, John C. Calhoun Communily College. 7:00-9:00 p.m **

Nov. 13-UAB Write rs Series, Birming ha m

Alabama-reared poet Andrew Hudg ins wi ll read at 7:00p.m.***

No,·. 14--T he Nationa l Reading, Nat iom., id e

Share Our Strength brings write rsfrom Puliller Prize-winning novelists to 'choolchtldren- to read from the ir worh on college campuses. in boof.. sto res. and at community centel"'i across the country to help 111 lhe fight against hunger. To o rgan11e a Wnter·~ Harvest 111 your commuml). co ntact Beth Webb Je lks at X00/969--17 6 7.

1997

Jan. 15-UAB Writer s Series, nir mingha m

B1m1rngh:un nat1ve and Nl'u York f tmt' l bcst-sclltng novell\1 Robert R. \IcC a mmon v.1ll read at 7:00 p.m . • • •


CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Jan. 23--UA Visiting \\ riters cries, Tuscaloosa

Fiction wnter C raig '\o\ a ' ' Il l read m Morgan Auduonum on the UA campu\ •

J an. 25-Inaugural Associates Meeting of The Alabama Writers' Forum

Associates of The Alabama Writers' Forum, and anyone interested in becoming an associate, are invited to Auburn University for a one-day conference featuring writers Judith Hillman Paterson, Frye Gaillard, Dennis Covington, and Wayne Greenhaw, and a panel of other authors and pub! ishers discussing literary agents. Exhibits, book sales, and opportunities for networking. Complete information about the meeting will be mailed to associates and will be available as it develops at: www.auburn.edul-cahawf. Or call 334/844-494 7.

Feb. 6-UA Visiting W rite rs Ser ies, Thscaloosa

Poet Lynne McMahon will read in Mo rgan Auditorium on the UA campus, 7:30p.m. •

*Free and open to the public. Book signing and reception follow. Contact Sa ndy Huss, director o f the Umvers ity of Alabama Program m Creati'e Wn ting. 205/348-0766

**Free and open to the pubhc. Books wi ll be avatlable for patrons 10 check out before the e' ent. Alabama Voices II ts funded by the Alabama llumanlltes Foundation and sponsored b:r The Alabama Wnter~· rorum and the Auburn Um,erslly Cemer for the Arts & Humanlltes. Contact Jay Lamar. 334 844-4946

••• Ho nors llou~e. 1190 I Oth A' enue S Spon~ored by the Program m Creative Wntlng. free and open 10 the pubhc Call 205 879-3444 for mformatlon

Look for complete detail' of.\prillf: writer.\ co11jerence.\ in tile Sprinf: 1997 First Ordt.

ONGOING

Birming ha m Gene Crutcher r uhhshc' II h,.,, lh<'l,

Spl!aJ... a mom hi) nc\\ slcncr of Btrnlllll!· ham poclf) lllcrJf) C\Cnh II \llU \\11uld ltke 10 recet\ e 11. "rile htm .11 I~ I 6 \ I hlh A\ enue. Btrmmgham. \I l~:!O). 205 933-6012 \ small conlnhullnn toward pnnlmg CO\h 1\ apprcuah.:d

Magic Cit~ \\ riter~ group meets the third Monda) o f each month ill lmnd.tlc Pubhc Ltbrary. 6.30-8·45 p.m (onla~l

Thelma Mueller. 205 95(1-071 4 Several Birrmngham ,m.:a cnlh.:c hnusc'

and clubs oile r regular rcadmgs. I he) include : Cele-.tlal Realm Cnllcc llnusc. 2827 Htghland A\ cnuc. 205 1:!7-~50) and The ll ighland IJook-.mllh. 22)~ I hghl.md Avenue. 205 939-3 1 (l-1

Hunts' ille The Hunts' ille Liter a n \~'oc iation

holds regularl} ~chcdulcd programs lor rh membcr\ htp. Mcmbcf\htp "oren hl .tn\ · one. Contact Dale Gnggs. \lcmhcrshtp. 1009 Brookndge Circle. llunl" tile. \ L 3580 I. 205 881-0284

~lobile

Ba~ Area ScreenlHi ter~ Group " open 10 anyone mler.:,ted 111 screenwriting. The group meets month I' 7 00 p.m. at the Bust ness hHW\ all on (enter Call Dale Fosler. 334 X44-175'\. or c-matl fostecd(c!ltb.auburn.cdu

Montgomer~· Montgomer) Cre:tth c \\ riter' mcch

the third Sunda) of C\ Cf) month :! 00-4 00 p.m. al the \'aughn Park ('hur~h of ( hnsl on Vaughn Rd. Open 10 an)OIIC ullcrcslcd 111 "rntng. Dues arc I:! annuall~ (onlacl Donna Jean Tcnnt' . PO Bo\ :!1Cf'X7 Montgomcf). \L 3(11 :!3-07X~ 3 ' 4 244-8920. 1::.-matl Pn.:tlcnms a.tol Clllll

For mfom1a11on alxlul the \ lal>ama African-.\merican \ rt \ \Ilia nee l>r rl.rdtngs al Roots and \\ m gs. \ ( uhural Bookplacc. contact (,corgcllc ' l•rm.m. 334 263-:!7!17 or (i\\cndol\ n BnHl 334 :!62- 1700

Tuscaloosa The G uild of Profe\\ional \\rite!"\ for

Children meet' C\ en second \ .uurd.l\ ot the month (c\cCpl \ugu'l l ;li the Tuscaloosa Puhltc I rhran. IJ 011-11.00 am Dues arc 6 annuall'r Conlacl \ rlccn K. HcndcNln. \ICC Prc\ldcnl, (,J'\\ ( 10924 Brg Hurncanc Spur Cnnund.rk AL 354'i1. 20'i ~5(1.0!<6 1 •

V ITAL CONTACTS

Po<.:ts ,\.. \\ ntcr' 72 \prtng \lrl.'d

' .,.,, Yorl.. '\ 't 1001 2 2 12 226-1 -;sll \I-I I I 00 a m \ oo p m

1\ )Cir\ \ ou.:t\ of \m~ rt<.r l .'i (,ram.:rC\ P.ul.. \\ est .... .,.,, Yorl.. . ''t I 000\ 2 12 2'\4 -%2!1

'\ a11o nal \\ rllcts { luh 14'i0 \ outh 1(,1\,ttl,t \uti< 1>20 \ uro ra. ( 0 MlO 12 303 7)1-~\44

\s,ouatcd \\ n11ng Pt<lgr.tm~ X04 6S.I-I\ W

Pe n C Poets. Pia~'' nghts, I ss.r) tsls,

'\o\dtsts) 2 12 \q- 1660

P.:n \\ c,t 2 1 3 16'\-l\ '\()()

~Iyster) \\ ntcrs o l \ mcll<'•' 17 l.asl 4 7th '\tt cct \ 1\lh lloor 1\c" Yo rl.. . ''t I 00 I~

Rolllalll.:c \ \ n h.:r' of ,\ mcll<.t 7 1 \ 440-6!\l-."

~c tcn~.:c l tctwn \\ ntcrs of \menca

PO B 1l\ 4 \ v; \parta nhurn \( ~IJ\O'i

\\'cst~.:rn \\' nter' ol ;\mcnc.t 4 16 Bedford El Paso. I \ ~11'12~

'\,uumal \\ 'ntcrs I mon H7\ Broad\\ a~. !\uttc 2113 :-.;c\\ Yurl... :"' Y 100(13 212 254-11279

ln tcrnalton.tl Wo men's \\ rtllll •

Ciutld 21 2 7H-75l6


:lf .o fIRS I DRA F1 .o hll 1996 ~ ..

BACI< PAGE

THINGS THAT HAPPEN ONCE An appreciation of Alabama poet Rodney Jones

1":"' crut,tng Kram~r Boo!-..<, in \Va,htngwn. D.C'.. ~njoying the l11gh of plenty: 'he l ve~ of new

hoof-.' of poetr). not ju,t the ~tan

dard' 01 cla\\tC\. off~red the mselves to llll'. t\' I \C:tnn~d through the M \ ( '\1,Jlthe'"· '\kr'' 111 •.. l a 'oice <,aid. " l ie;.. 'cc If Rodne) Jone\ ha' ,1 ne'' hoof-. ) et! .. So I

day, yet never met until Louie Ski pper introduced us at the University of Alabama.) As Jones "sipped his fi rst coca-cola." and came to " his first suspic ions of re lig ious orthodoxy ... I wonde r what I was do ing. Nothi ng so heady. I bet. yet I too fended off misd irected relig ious

Calmer and wiser, if not sadder, Jones returns in Things That Happen Once to the subjects upon which he ruminates best- home, the madde ning and tender elements of family, unforgettable southern c haracters, and always, with great humor, the pull o f friendship and the difficult altar of sexuality.

I admire Jones for h is fl awless iambics, h is wi llingness to relax with the narrative element of the poem so that it arrives where it must with g race. I marve l at the nimble mind at

work in his lines. Rodney Jones isn 't easy to classify,

lool-.ed up a ,he lito l he r '· and there 11 ''a-.. I It fted lfnlll:' /hat !Iappen OnU' r lloughton- \1 tflltn. 1996) from the -.hcl f '' llh a 'mall ;. clp ol glee. not canng ''hat tht• D.C. mtellcctual' "ho hang. out 111 hool-.-.tote-. lor entertatnment on

... But I like your bread bette r, your sweet rolls, fo r as a poet he is narrative, lyric . meditative, acute ly aware of form, dedicated to

·r hurvta;. mg.ht thought of me. Then: 11 wa,. my pri; e. and 111-.e a 1-.td on the mid'' a;.. I ''a' thnllcd to hold 11 111 111) hand .

A nd especia lly your loaves rising, the whole House priming w ith the a le essence of yeast

Until one s its before us on its wooden board,

A clean sausage of the earth, c rusted hard ,

But tender unde rneath, like the true churc h

Hidde n be neath the cove nants and restric tions

Or a s ing le oceanic soprano singing

Out of the a nc ie nt, moldy heart of Genoa.

But oh you would be blunt, a nd c udgel praise. Now that you are away, that bread remains

Of a ll m ixed b lessings, tha t staff and club,

spontaneity. He shapes his work in mythic sections for us in book after book- in this one revis iting the elements of myth, the dynamics of men and women, family, and finally the elemental powers that enter and shape a human consciousness.

I praise Jones for the hard work he does with the aplomb of a circ us ringmaster and the wisdom of a bodhisattva. At a time when novelists or memoirists or

·1 he puhli,het of thi' hoof-. ha' a ll<m ed Jone' to do a -.cl f 1 e' te'' on th~ flap. \nd "h) not'? Who tould pt·t,uade u' hctter "hat the poet mtend' than I he poet h llll'cl 1'1 The on~ \\ord that doe,n't appear 111

Jone-. · .tdmu.thle. honc'>t

Da rk golde n and broken and pe rpetually sublime. even playwrights may have the lime light on the stage of southern writing (and they a ll certainly deserve it), we should not forget our poets.

from "Bread" by Rodney Jones

e\aluatton ., .. ,outhern:· )et C\el) till II)!. 111 hi\ \\Orf-. 1\ \OUthern 111 the he't. Itt he'>t 'en'c of 'out hem \\ llllll)!. .tnd 'Clhthtlll).

lie admth the "or"- t\ "unaha-.hedl) toptcal. hot h 111 the 'en'e of hclong.tng to a partJcular ttmt· .tnd plat·e:· That place i' 1-.tlf-., ti le. \lahama. 111 the li fttc' and \t\ltC\. Jll't met tn the ne\t county ft om I kcatut . 1\ labama. "here I gte\\ up !We ' hate the 'ame birth-

fervor and learned about appetites and the algebra of romance in a small '>Outhern suburb. While Jones got his infom1ation at the barn , I researched mine at the tennis courts near my e lementary school. As he rode with he llrai sing boys in male initiation ritua ls he can 't quit te lling us about, I veered toward those same boys, as appalled and attracted by their adventurous recklessnes~ as he was.

We should honor this one in particular who reminds us of those "events that only happe n once" in our lives, and who helps us understand why we " love beauty, whatever beauty is."

May Rodney Jones continue to delight us, and may he continue to fill the she lves. •

Back Page is a column devoted to reflections on writing and writers.


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