I come from a wintry, flinty, and hilly place called the Ozarks, where limestone runs in deep, moon-gray seams and ridges. Moving to Mississippi in 1998 was thrilling—pine trees, bamboo, gardenias, anoles, flying cockroaches, soil that shifted, skies roiling with Gulf moisture. You could throw a thought on the ground, and it would grow, in November!

For a would-be writer, though, Mississippi was both warmly welcoming and culturally intimidating. I came from a writing program at the University of Arkansas, but something left over of hill country reticence made Mississippi a challenge. Everyone in Mississippi made a living as a writer it seemed! And no one hesitated for a second to make introductions such as “Hi, I’m Jane, and I write the culinary murder mystery series.” “This is Rocky, and he writes about southern cryptozoology.” “Name’s Chuck. Got this novel about a preaching, healing banana from Bovina. Cohen Bros. are after it for a movie.”

Where I grew up in Springfield, Missouri, you would never introduce yourself as a writer to anyone unless you had the product there in hand to sell that instant. Announcing you were a writer out of context, or without the reputation of Janet Dailey, the only writer we all knew, marked you as wicked and weird, and certainly unemployable. “Hi, I’m Steve. I catch and roast bluebirds for a living. Like yours with mustard?”

You see, though we are risen from hillbillies, we are also the nation’s master homogenizers and native country to the world’s best sales force. Don’t believe me? Where did Sam Walton, of the Arkansas Ozarks, launch his first Sam’s Club and engender his Wal-Mart empire? Springfield, Missouri. Where does Bass Pro Shops come from? Well it started in a liquor store in, you guessed it, Springfield, Missouri. Where does the smoothest sales barker of all time originate from? Bob Barker of The Price is Right hails from Springfield, Missouri, even graduated from my wife’s alma mater, now Drury University.

Writing is not an homogenizing act. It defies and betrays empires. It prefers love to lucre. So, unless you have the product to prove it, keep smiling, keep listening, and keep that Ace close to the vest. At least that was the wise thing to do where I came from.

How was I to fit in Mississippi, home or native ground to William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Willie Morris, Elizabeth Spencer, Ellen Douglas, Ellen Gilchrist, Barry Hannah, James Whitehead, Larry Brown, Steve Yarbrough, Brad Watson, Donna Tartt and more? Possibly only Ireland revered and honored its writers with the intensity and warmth I saw in Mississippi. It was a reverence both heartwarming and stifling.

One of the first books I had the privilege to promote at University Press of Mississippi was Willie Morris’s North Toward Home. And, in the slough of despond as a writer with an unpublished novel manuscript awash in a sea of comfortable writers, I was sinking as I read Willie’s majestic autobiography. In Mississippi, even the nonfiction sang like a sword was in the attic! All was hopeless, nothing unusual, nothing with spark came from Springfield, Missouri.

And then I read that great, kind-hearted, ever-welcoming man’s invitation to live, breathe, and write in this amazing place. Right there in North Toward Home, the opening of chapter five in the Mississippi section, Willie writes: “A few weeks later, as a kind of consolation prize against death, I got the most unusual dog I ever owned, shipped from a kennel all the way from Springfield, Missouri.”

I read it out loud ten times. Skip came from Springfield, my native place, my hometown!

It was like Willie put his arm around Bob Barker’s shoulder, mussed the slick salesman’s silver hair, and they both shouted, “Come on down!” I still might not tell anyone I’m a writer unless I have a book in hand, which thanks to the intercession of St. John Evangelist and Moon City Press back in my Ozarks, I do! But listen, thanks to Willie, thanks to Skip, and a lot of other kind, welcoming hearts, I’m going to be all right here in Mississippi.

* * *

Portions of Steve Yates’s novel Morkan’s Quarry appeared in Missouri Review, Ontario Review, and South Carolina Review. A novella-length excerpt was a finalist in the Faulkner Society’s Faulkner/Wisdom Novella Prize. His short stories have appeared in TriQuarterly, Southwest Review, Turnstile, Texas Review, Louisiana Literature, and many other places. He is twice the recipient of individual artist’s fellowships from the Mississippi Arts Commission. He is assistant director / marketing director at University Press of Mississippi in Jackson when he is not leading a secret life … as a writer.

We’re excited that Barry Gifford will be here on Wednesday along with Karl Marlantes. I have long wondered about the two shelves of space which Barry Gifford’s books occupy. I knew that John thought Barry to be somebody special, but I didn’t know why. Now I’m starting to learn why.

I have been doing a little of my own research and talking to John about Barry as we prepare another First Edition Flashback, a new series on our website which tells the story of why, since 1993, we have selected certain books for our First Editions Club.

For my own knowledge, I read an interview done by Richard Birnbaum in 2003. Since Richard and Barry are friends, I found the interview to be very frank. Here are some brief highlights, but it is worth reading the entire interview.

The more you get to know about Barry the more you realize that he modestly “plays his own game”. This started at a very young age, setting the tone for his fiction. I thought this story from the interview illustrated his independence very well:

“I was at Clinton Public School and I was talking in line before recess one day. It was second grade or something.  So the teacher said to me, ‘Barry, you stay here’ as a reprimand . . . So all the other kids went out to play, and I was humiliated, standing alone in the classroom as everyone else went out. As soon as they went out and down the stairs one way I went out of the room and down the stairs and walked home. It was ten o’clock in the morning . . . [My mom] gets a call. It’s the school saying, ‘Gee, we don’t know what happened to Barry. He disappeared.’ She said, ‘Oh, he’s right here.’ And then she got the picture.”

Richard Birnbaum remarks, “And so begins your career in fiction.”

Barry’s mom and teacher seemed to understand Barry a little better:

“I had my own personality and my own agenda I felt–I guess kids now would say–disrespected. And I wasn’t going to take that from somebody.”

Lemuria is honored to have Barry at Lemuria again to mark the publication of Sailor and Lula: The Complete Novels.  I began reading Sailor and Lula this weekend, but my appetite has already been whetted with several of the stories from American Falls: The Collected Short Stories. “Wrap It Up” manages to convey, in an impressive two pages, the horror associated with the fallout of the Vietnam War and a sliver of dark humor as the characters discuss how they deal with bad memories and compartmentalizing. One character talks about keeping the boxes tightly closed on bad memories. The final lines from another character: “My mind is one big open box. The only thing I can’t remember is where I put the lid.”

Don’t miss Barry on Wednesday. Fortunately, Jackson is one of four cities on his book tour. Read on for a synopsis of my conversation with John.

*     *     *

One of the most unique aspects of an independent bookstore are the relationships built up over time with authors.

The year was 1990 and John’s pal Carl was throwing a party for the Vintage Contemporary series gang in Las Vegas. He placed Barry Gifford the writer and John Evans of Lemuria Books side by side at the lunch table. The good conversation the two enjoyed served as the basis for a long relationship between bookseller and author, a friendship made through reading and writing, and conversations about music and books and baseball–baseball, because John and Barry both had sons who played baseball.

Barry’s first visit to Lemuria was for the publication of Sailor’s Holiday (second in the Sailor and Lula series) in 1991. By the time Barry came back, his popularity had escalated with the production of the David Lynch movie, Wild at Heart, the first book in the Sailor and Lula series.

In 1995, the publication of Barry’s very strange Baby Cat-Face marked the first time we had the opportunity to select one of Barry’s books for the First Editions Club, and we welcomed him again to Lemuria. Baby Cat-Face was so wonderfully strange and cutting-edge that we used the cover to make t-shirts.

Barry kept coming back because he loved the bookstore and felt a part of it. He also spent evenings with Willie Morris talking sports. The Mayflower was a favorite as well, a place he remembered from his childhood while staying at the Heidelberg Hotel in Jackson. And many times he came to Lemuria with his own supporting cast: Vinnie the plumber and karate extraordinaire, Swindle the poet and veteran mullethead tosser, Grissom the Hemingway expert, and various ladies.

John’s final comments: Barry Gifford is a writer who makes the characters real despite extreme eccentricities. Barry’s books are hot, weird books filled with believable evil.

Photo Credit for Barry Gifford: William P. Davis

Official Website: http://www.barrygifford.com/home.html

This weekend before last I went down to Biloxi. It was my first time, ever, in a casino. It was an interesting experience to say the least. Few times in my life have I ever encountered such a true stereotype. It was like a deposit station with neon lights. An incredible business model if you ask me. People giving you their money…and enjoying every minute of it. Though there is one game on the floor that stands apart from the rest. The competitors do not compete against the house at soaring odds; they go head to head in a fight to the death, using all the weapons and skill that they have to try and overcome their opponents (at least that’s what it feels like sometimes).  And Poker is the game.

I bought in with what little I could spare and was short-stacked by at least triple what every other player had. Two days later I had more than doubled my money, feeling pretty good about myself. Then the Lady smiled on me and God gave me a miracle from heaven. Our table hit a Jackpot hand and I won $1200 cash right there on the spot. It was opportune to say the least (having impending dept on my car). Even though it just seemed to be my day, I wouldn’t have even been on the table if I had busted early on that first day.

I have played a decent amount of poker I suppose, a home game every now and then. I have watched a little TV and a few World Series of Poker tournaments, most people have since the sport took off almost a decade ago.  But I can definitely say that one thing has helped me more than any other. Playing Poker Like the Pros by Phil Hellmuth. Before this book I had just enough experience to get me in trouble and had reached a point where I wasn’t learning anything new.  This book  has laid a firm foundation of poker thought from which I am able to grow and learn, giving insight into the mind of arguably the best poker player in history.

Phil Hellmuth has won 11 WSOP bracelets and an incredible figure in tournament winnings.  He is the mountain over which others must climb if they want to put their mark in poker history. He starts the book at the very beginning, a very good place to start. He goes through game theory and techniques at different levels in all the popular games. His strategy gives you the knowledge of the game that then gives you confidence, the key to any poker game. Giving you important rules to follow…like not playing over your level but to build in small increments. Although the game has changed a bit in the upper skill levels over the years since it was written, the “poker-craze” allows for many little fish to be eaten in the big pond of small stakes poker. If one applies oneself, one can use Phil’s work to cash out on these donating machines.

-John P.

I have heard it said that writing about music is a perpetual challenge, mostly because there is really no way to describe music unless you can hear it for yourself. Think about it. Can you imagine telling someone what the opening sequence of Kashimir sounds like? Can you really describe the sounds of seeing a band live for the first time after years of devotion?

Steve Almond does his best to capture music with words in this book of memoir-esque devotion, Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life. He has dubbed himself (and others like him) a “drooling fanatic,” and he uses this term throughout his book to manifest the levels of devotion that he feels towards rock music.

When I met Steve Almond in March of 2010, I was struck by the self-deprecating manner in which he addressed our Creative Writing group. He claims  he is a mediocre writer who never makes any money and pretty much advised our class never to become writers because we’d all experience a very wretched existence. But Almond lectured our class in a way that negated his warning: he was hilarious, over-the-top and completely crude, but his sentimentality and love for his work radiated in his commentary despite his best efforts to maintain the “I don’t give a crap” tough-guy front.

While visiting our class, Almond read to us a section of this book, and I was captivated by his writing style. You have to be ready for Steve Almond, because he is always going to say exactly what he thinks. His book is an apt reflection of his personality, a mix of jarring descriptions of things like being stoned at Graceland (and being a loser pothead in general) with tender reflections on being a father, husband and true lover of all things rock music.

The book  is laid out in the format of a mixed CD and features a link to an accompanying online play list (way to blend form and content, Steve!). The first chapter, “Bruce Springsteen is a Rock Star, You Are Not” features a hilariously accurate list entitled “Bands Shamelessly Overexposed by the ‘Alternative’ Press,” something that had me laughing for the rest of the book. Each chapter name-drops a sprinkling of songs and artists, some of whom Steve has met and others who he dreams of becoming, and many “side notes” in the book feature Steve’s personal lists such as “top songs to listen to when depressed,” and “Rock’s top 10 religious freaks.”

The downside to this book is how young I felt reading it. Despite being a fan of rock and roll, I realized while reading this book that Mr. Almond is most attune to the music culture of his heyday: mixtapes and record albums aren’t a big part of my instantly-downloaded music life.  At other times, I found myself wondering why the book wasn’t called “Rock and Roll Could Save Your Life;” then I realized that Mr. Almond’s message (and use of the word “will”) is quite serious.

And that’s the good thing about Steve Almond. While he acknowledges that all of our “drooling fanatic” experiences are different, there are universal truths available to everyone who loves music (even “bad” music). It is these truths that Almond seeks to expose in this strangely captivating book.

Finally: If you want a taste of Steve before you buy this book, check out this video.

Nell

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!!!!!!!

Oh no….are you reading this and realizing that you forgot to get the Mom in your life a special gift to thank them for all the wonderful things that they have done for you!!  Well, you are safe because Lemuria can help you out!  We are open today (Sunday) from 10:30 – 3:00.  Come on in  and let us suggest some books for your Momma!  If you are in a big hurry to get to lunch or just to hang out with your Momma might I suggest one of our great Lemuria t-shirts (My Momma is getting one) or a Lemuria gift card and she can come in and relax and pick out the book she would like to read.  There are lots of ways that we can help you out in your time of need!

Here are a few “MOM” book suggestions…

This is a wonderful little book  that is a tribute to our mothers using over 200 works of art by a wide range of artists from Caravaggio, Monet, Renoir and many more.  The illustrations are paired with wonderful quotations from many literary and public figures from Plutarch, Dante, and Shakespeare to Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde and Mae West.

“The most beautiful word on the lips of mankind is the word ‘Mother’, and the most beautiful call is the call of  “My Mother.”…She is the source of love, mercy, sympathy, and forgiveness….Everything in nature bespeaks the mother. –Kahlil Gibran

“My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it.”–Mark Twain

Gayden Metcalfe and Charlotte Hays have done it again with Some Day You’ll Thank Me For This: The Official Southern Ladies Guide to Being a “Perfect” Mother. Do I really need to say anymore about this book?  Basically we all know that the southern matriarch is a more formidable being than the much nicer southern male after all she has a sacred mission to instill good manners, proper religion and ancestor worship into the next generation.

A Mother’s love means different things to us all.  Whether it is that our mothers know just how we like our grilled cheese to the comfort they give us when we are sad.  This book reminds us that “Mother’s love is…never too busy for hugs and kisses.”

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you and I hope you have a wonderful day!!  I am now off to go hang out with my wonderful mother!