Karl Pohrt of Shaman Drum, Ann Arbor, Mich., was one of three
booksellers to win the South Awareness Tour sweepstakes, sponsored by
Algonquin Books (with the help of Shelf Awareness) to celebrate the publication of A Miracle of Catfish,
a novel Larry Brown had nearly completed before his untimely death in
2004, and to join the 14th Annual Oxford Conference for the Book, which
honored Larry Brown this year. Here he offers an account of the
beginning of the tour:
March 22
Disembarking from the plane in Memphis this early afternoon is like
emerging from a sensory deprivation tank. It is shocking. It's around
80 degrees here with a few clouds. There is a slight breeze. Sunnyland.
Dianne, my official photographer, and I collect our bags and head over
to the Avis Rental Car office. We join our comrades, Stan Hynds, a pal
of mine from Northshire Bookstore in Vermont, and Kevin Samprell, from
Powell's Bookshop in Portland. Craig Popelars, our Algonquin Books
host, and his friend Pete Macaluso are waiting next to a red Grand
Marquis LS. The South Awareness Junket is ready to roll out.
We drive south from Memphis, down interstate 55, the Mississippi Delta on our right and the hill country on the left, to Oxford.
Two years ago I signed on for the Delta Literary Tour, offered by the
Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of
Mississippi. I would unreservedly recommend this tour to everyone. We
visited a number of towns there--Greenville, Yazoo City, Clarksdale,
Greenwood. As I recall, we toured the public library and the local
cemetery in each town. In the libraries I felt the enormous sense of
pride people here have toward their writers, musicians and civil rights
era heroes.
The cemetery visits were more difficult to understand, and in fact
struck me as slightly freaky. In the Yazoo City cemetery we all drank a
toast to the memory of Willie Morris, the legendary editor and writer.
One of our hosts poured a pint of whiskey into the ground above his
grave. Morris struggled with alcoholism, especially late in his life,
and I wondered if this was the most appropriate way to honor him.
But what do I know? It's probably like Craig Brewer said about the way
he uses sexuality in his films to destabilize audiences: "It's wrong
and right all at the same time, which to me is kind of like a real good
definition of the South."
And I recall thinking that our tour guide in Clarksdale knew more about
the dead in the cemetery there than I knew about my neighbors back
home.
I thought that these folks are in a profoundly different relationship
with their past than people are where I'm from. The dead are present in
the minds of the living here. People seem to be in an ongoing
conversation with their dead. This is one of the strong thematic
elements in A Miracle of Catfish.
---
If I was to construct a sacred geography of North America, Oxford,
Miss., would be identified on the map as a spiritual hot spot right
along with Thoreau's Walden Pond, D.H. Lawrence's crypt north of Taos
and Harney Peak in the Black Hills, where Black Elk had his vision.
Oxford is the hometown of William Faulkner, the all-time top Magus of
North American word wizards.
Outside of the Oxford City Hall there is a somewhat goofy statue of
Faulkner staring off into the distance and sitting on a park bench, but
the pilgrimage site for hardcore Faulkner fandom is Rowan Oak, his
home. It is within walking distance of downtown and is now owned and
maintained by the University of Mississippi.
As my fantasies of southern plantation homes go, Rowan Oak doesn't live
up to the elegance of Gone With the Wind's Tara, but the house is set
back from the road and the walk in under the stately cypress trees is
very pleasant. The place is serene and comfortable.
Why has Mississippi produced so many extraordinary writers? Its
literacy rates are the worst in the nation, the economic possibilities
seem limited at best, and so many terrible things have happened here.
In the case of Oxford, a part of the answer is Faulkner's presence.
Faulkner chose the history and the citizens of LaFayette County as
subjects for his immense gifts as a writer, elevating Oxford into the
pantheon of world literature, marking the place forever. He shaped
people's sense of themselves in this community. Larry Brown continued
the project.
Oxford is also the home of Square Books, a wonderful independent
bookshop that is a defining force in the cultural life of the
community. In fact, it is a force in shaping the cultural life of the
entire Deep South. I've known owners Richard and Lisa Howorth for about
a decade now, having worked with Richard on the ABA Board. Since 2001,
he has been the mayor of Oxford. (More on Square Books in a future entry.)
---
Our first stop after we check into our hotel is the Thacker Mountain
Radio show at the Oxford Conference Center. The large ballroom is
packed with people, standing room only. I greet Lyn Roberts, the
vivacious former lawyer from New Orleans who runs Square Books while
Richard manages Oxford, and famed Arkansas bookseller Mary Gay Shipley.
Craig introduces me to Shannon Ravenel, co-founder of Algonquin Books
and series editor of the Best American Short Stories and the New
Stories from the South. Ms. Ravenel edited A Miracle of Catfish. The program is a wonderful mix of live music and storytelling, featuring Alejandro Escovedo and Clyde Edgerton.
Following the radio show, we drive eight miles southwest of Oxford for
dinner in Taylor. If one didn't know any better, the village of Taylor
(population 288) might at first glance be mistaken for the sister city
of Al Capp's Dogpatch. Actually, it's an artists' community (the rent
is cheap) and home of the Taylor Grocery, the exterior and interior of
which look to me like something from a set for Lil' Abner. But it's for
real. Despite the rustic appearance, this restaurant is a bohemian
hangout for writers, artists and musicians. The Taylor Grocery is a
restaurant famous for its fried catfish and hushpuppies. The owner,
Lynn Hewlett, a lifetime resident of Taylor (and a friend of Larry
Brown), is doing heroic work by keeping this place open.
A little past 9 p.m., we're back in Oxford, shoehorned into Proud
Larry's, a popular watering hole Brown immortalized in his essay So Much Fish, So Close to Home,
for the Larry Brown Concert. The all-star lineup this evening includes
Vic Chesnutt, Brent Best, Robert Earle Keen and Alejandro Escovedo,
among others. These roots rock/alternative country artists are all here
to honor the memory of their friend Larry Brown.
By midnight I've just had too much fun. I'm tired and I've got to pace myself.