As the garden section “in charge” person on staff, I get so excited when I hear of a new gardening book. By the time it arrives in the store, I have already thought  of how to market it and write about it. Three delightful Southern gardening books arrived this past year, so if someone asked me what were the great Southern gardening books published this past year, which would make  great Christmas  gifts, these are the beauties which I would select:

One Writers Garden: Eudora Welty’s Home Place by Susan Haltom and Jane Roy Brown would be at the very top of my list. Susan, a personal friend of mine, asked Eudora Welty herself in the mid 1990s if she would allow her garden to be renovated. Miss Welty gave Susan permission to restore the garden just as it was in the 2oth century, so Susan got to work researching the garden, primarily at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

Susan’s co-author, Jane Roy Brown, who resides in Massachusetts, researched societal movements and national landscape design trends, which were apparent during the time, and renowned Mississippi landscape photographer Langdon Clay added his beautiful four season photographs of the Welty garden. The book which emerged is spectacular! 

One Writers Garden is divided into four sections: Spring, 1920s; Summer, 1930s; Fall,1940s; and Winter, Postwar and Beyond. The appendices at the back are to be cherished by a Mississippi gardener, for they include lists of what Eudora Welty and her mother Chestina, who actually was the garden founder, grew– from the original plant list, to annuals, to roses,  to a partial list of flowers and plants mentioned in the Pulitzer Prize winning author’s prose.  This is a reference, as well as a gardening book for ALL Mississippians, as well as others, to have on their book shelves, or to take out into their gardens to dream about and be inspired.

First of all, however, this book should be on prominent display on coffee tables and in personal libraries throughout the state, for it is truly a beautiful and classy and  informative gardening guide heralding gardens of past times. Additionally, every reader of this book should visit the newly restored breath- taking Welty Garden on Pinehurst Street across from Belhaven University in Jackson, Mississippi.

Author Susan Haltom, is the garden designer, preservation and maintenance coordinator of the Welty Garden. Since I often work with Susan, and the other “Cereus Weeders”  in the Welty garden, I can personally attest to the fact that Susan has a wealth of information in her gardening head, and she puts it to good use in the Welty garden.

I can’t imagine a better or more lovely garden restoration, especially at the home and garden of one of the world’s most influential and talented writers. Now we Mississippians have something else in the realm of  arts and literature to make us proud:  the Welty Garden! Kudos to Susan how personally made and continues to make this happen.

Garden guru Jacksonian Felder Rushing, known locally, nationally, and internationally has penned a new book this year, to add to his other best selling gardening books, titled Slow Gardening: A No-Stress Philosophy for All Senses and Seasons.

In the introduction, Rushing states, “Life has lots of pressures–why include them in the garden? Doing something slowly means savoring what you are doing. Slow Gardening has its inspirational roots in Slow Food, an international movement founded by Italian activist  Carlo Petrini and others in the 1980s and dedicated to celebrating and defending traditional, seasonal, and sustainably grown local foods, and the people who produce and prepare them.”

The clever, tongue in cheek photos in this motivational gardening book, such as the worm bin, the compost bin, and the whimsical garden art, entertain the reader who is yearning for a different approach to gardening.

This book is for those who don’t mind breaking the landscape rules and for those who want to be free to sit awhile and reflect, free from grass cutting, fertilizing, raking, and weeding. In other words, this innovative gardening book is for the unique, creative, and willing to change gardener who want to “slow down” and “smell the roses”!

Heirloom Gardening in the South: Yesterday’s  Plants for Today’s Gardens by William C. Welch and Greg Grant ranks as my next chosen 2011 gardening book! For those gardeners who appreciate the diverse and interesting heritage of our Southern plants and flowers, this, not only attractive, but highly useful gardening book, fills the bill!

The two dedicated, passionate gardening authors explain their love for pass-along plants, as well as their adoration for old bulbs and cemetery plants, among others. As native Texas gardeners, they are familiar with the challenges and problems surrounding growing flowers and plants in the drought and humidity infused South, so their advice on what to choose, what has worked, and what will work in a Southern garden comes from years and years of experience.

Some of the most enjoyable chapters, including “Rediscovering a Wealth of Southern Heirloom Plants”, “Heirloom Plants of the South” and “How Our Gardens Grew: Creating Your Own Garden Traditions”, not only make any Southern gardener want to rethink his or her choice of plants and flowers but also challenge the gardener to plant and cherish the old, tried-and-true beauties which our Southern ancestors chose.  -Nan

I often  feel like a short story is only a snippet of what I should read about that particular story. It’s a tease. Unfailingly, I want to know what comes next.

I read Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout several years ago and loved it. My love was confirmed when it was awarded the Pultizer Prize in 2009. It is referred to as “a novel in stories.” Each chapter is a different story but there is a common denominator between all the characters in the book. Olive Kitteridge plays a part in each of the chapters and in each of the character’s lives. Though it is much like a book of short stories, it is not. Olive Kitteridge is the bond.

I stated my love for “a novel in stories” recently and Anna quickly put one in my hands. She recommenced A Short History of Women  by Kate Walbert.

Each chapter is written by a different women. Each of these women cover several generations in the Townsend family. The storyline is spread over several time periods and is very interesting to see what an entire family may face over time.

Just recently, Anna wrote a blog about Blueprints for Building Better Girls. See her post here.

I did a little research for some more titles that fall in this category. Here are just a few others  you might enjoy.

1. The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman

2. Moral Disorder by Margaret Atwood

3. Edible Stories by Mark Kurlansky

4. I Hotel by Karen Yamashita (National Book Award Finalist 2010)

Anyone have a title to add to this list? Please share!  -Quinn

Join us tomorrow at 3:00 for a signing and reading with Jesmyn Ward.

Salvage the Bones, released in September, won the National Book Award in November. The signing will take place in the bookstore with a reading to follow in our Dot Com Events Building just across the parking lot from Banner Hall.

In case you missed it last month, enjoy our post with video of Jesmyn accepting the National Book Award.

To see Jesmyn Ward accept The National Book Award fast forward the video to 35:00. Don’t miss the part where she mentions Lemuria!

No doubt we are THRILLED that Jesmyn Ward, who grew up in Delisle, Mississippi, has won The National Book Award.

Jesmyn’s acceptance speech was eloquent.  She explains how the death of her brother in her early twenties inspired her to start writing since “living through my grief for my brother meant that life was a feeble, unpredictable thing.” Jesmyn wanted to make sure she contributed to the world in a meaningful way. As time went on, the scope of her stories grew from stories about an imagined life for her brother to stories with a much broader message. Her hope was that “the culture that marginalized us for so long would see that our stories are as universal, our lives are as fraught, lovely and important as theirs.”

Salvage the Bones is a story about a poor black family, a father, three sons and a daughter, living on the coast of Mississippi. Hurricane Katrina’s arrival is imminent. Told from the perspective of fifteen-year-old Esch, the father attempts to make preparations for the storm with his children. The entire novel takes place in twelve days; the chapters take you day by day as the storm approaches, as Esch also learns she is to have a baby with the heartbreaking knowledge that her own mother died in childbirth. In this family of men, Esch has been reading Edith Hamilton’s Mythology, wondering if Medea had felt the way she did as she fell in love.

Everything about Jesmyn Ward is sincere and full of heart, from her novel Salvage the Bones to her hopes and dreams as a writer. I like what she wrote on her blog about Salvage the Bones the day it was released in September:

“My second novel, Salvage the Bones, is out today. The cover is beautiful, isn’t it? I always imagined that I’d do an interview for the novel, and a special picture would accompany it: me, hair wild, wearing a tank top and cut off jean shorts, barefoot, Mississippi green wild all around me, holding a leash while a dog, big and red, stands at my feet, mouth open, teeth white. Both of us, grinning. I’m getting generous reviews and given several good interviews, but this hasn’t happened yet. I’m still hoping.”

“This is the story of a girl growing up in a world of men, a tale about her brother and his pit bull, a novel about a family in the maw of Hurricane Katrina. This is about tragedy: this is about hope.” (http://jesmimi.blogspot.com)

Being somewhat near to the story of Jesmyn Ward and Salvage the Bones is one of the honors of being a bookseller. You never know what kind of journey a simple advanced reader copy will take you. As Jesmyn kindly noted in her acceptance speech,  it is the booksellers who are on the front lines, who have the opportunity to create a readership. I am so pleased that this National Book Award will amplify the voices of booksellers and other readers who have experienced the quiet power of Salvage the Bones.

We drew a small, enthusiastic group for Jesmyn’s signing at Lemuria in September. I think we all could have listened to more than the first chapter. Jesmyn is a great reader. Even at that time, I was impressed with Jesmyn’s resolve to stick to the story she felt in her heart, in her determination to tell the story in her own way. We are fortunate to have Jesmyn at Lemuria again on Saturday, December 17th at 3:00 p.m. for a signing and reading.

Other Mississippians who have won The National Book Award include:

William Faulkner for A Fable in 1955

Walker Percy for The Moviegoer in 1962

Alice Walker for the hardback of The Color Purple & Eudora Welty for the paperback of Collected Stories in 1983

Ellen Gilchrist for Victory over Japan: A Book of Stories in 1984

and now Jesmyn Ward for Salvage the Bones in 2011.

Congratulations Jesmyn!

See previous blog with video of Jesmyn talking about being a finalist for The National Book Award.

A Guest Blog by Author Mike Frascogna

How did JUCO football begin?

Mississippi’s Junior College (now called community colleges) began in the 1920s, when the State Legislature approved agricultural high schools adding a thirteenth and fourteenth grade. The typical junior college in those days was a boarding school, still with a concentration on agricultural studies.

Most of the students grew up working hard in tough environments–helping make crops or cutting timber on their family farms or taking odd jobs if they lived in town. These raw-boned farm boys were naturally drawn to the rough sport of football. Almost as soon as the first classes began, these young men began playing football among themselves.

They soon mastered the basics and grew tired of playing against each other. So they sent an invitation–probably more like a challenge–to the boys from the junior college a few counties over. The winners of the first game would seek out yet another opponent to play, while the losers were honor bound to avenge their loss through a rematch. Soon these matches became more frequent and this led to the need for schedules.

Schedules led to fixed seasons, which in turn led to the naming of champions. Football fever took hold and has never let up. The result is Mississippi’s current system of junior/community college football referred to as “JUCO ball.”

JUCOS: The Toughest Football League in America

Signing TODAY at 6:00

 See all JUCO blogs.

When Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College was first established in 1925, it was known as Perkinston (Perk for short), the namesake of the town where it is located. Later the official name of the school was changed to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (also known as Gulf Coast).

Just 28 miles down Highway 26 from Perkinston is another small town named Poplarville the home of the Pearl River Junior College Wildcats. The two schools are neighbors from a geographic standpoint and both are members of the South division of the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges.

However, beyond these general comparisons any references to similarities between the two schools must be approached very delicately. Perhaps the best way to express the feelings the students at each of these fine institutions have for one another is to be candid. As many communication experts, psychologists and therapists recommend, openness, honesty and candor can often lead to better understanding between two parties whose opinions differ on certain topics. Or, as expressed in a more colloquial style, “Just put the hay down where the goats can get it.” So here goes; the Wildcats of Pearl River and the Bulldogs of Gulf Coast cannot stand each other. Their level of dislike soars to even higher altitudes when the two schools meet on the gridiron.

To try to put their mutual feelings for each other in perspective consider that the Bulldogs at Gulf Coast are referred to by their friends at Pearl River as “coast scum.” Conversely, the Wildcats at Pearl River are affectionately called “river rats” by their buddies at Gulf Coast a/k/a Perk. These two terms represent the most sanitized references one school has for the other after deleting all the colorful, descriptive, but unnecessary adjectives attached to these names.

JUCOS: The Toughest Football League in America

Signing: Thursday, December 15 at 6:00