Southern Bound

John S. Sledge

Description

Southern Bound represents a running conversation on books, writers, and literary travel written for the Mobile Press-Register Books page from 1995 to 2011 by John S. Sledge. The collection includes more than one hundred of the best pieces culled from Sledge's total output of approximately seven hundred columns. Numerous classic authors are celebrated in these pages, including Homer, Plato, Gibbon, Melville, Proust, Conrad, Cather, and Steinbeck as well as modern writers such as Walter Edgar, Tom Franklin, and Eugene Walter.

While some of the essays are relatively straightforward book reviews, others present meditative and deeply personal perspectives on the author's literary experiences such as serving on the jury in the play version To Kill a Mockingbird; spending the night alone in a Jesuit college library's venerable stacks; rambling through funky New Orleans bookshops; talking to Square Books owner Richard Howorth while overlooking the Oxford, Mississippi courthouse; rereading Treasure Island on the shores of Mobile Bay; and remembering a beloved father's favorite books. Engaging and spirited, Southern Bound represents the critical art at its most accessible and will prove entertaining fare for anyone who loves the written word.

Sujets

• Essays
• HISTORY
• América
• Southern Historical Association
• Southern Living
• Bussy D'Ambois
• William March
• Backlist
• Institute for Southern Studies
• Southern literature
• New South
• Southern United States
• General officer
• History of the Americas
• John Berendt
• The Southern Review
• General
• Siegfried Sassoon
• William L. Shirer
• Sherwood Anderson
• American
• United States
• Conrad Aiken
• FL
• William Styron
• Robert Bly
• Don DeLillo
• KY
• LA
• TN
• MS
• SC
• NC
• AR
• William Faulkner
• VA
• John Kennedy Toole
• GA

Informations

• Publié par: University of South Carolina Press
• Date de parution: 15 mars 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781611172362
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Southern Bound
Southern Bound
A Gulf Coast Journalist ON Books, Writers, AND Literary Pilgrimages of the Heart

John S. Sledge
Foreword by Walter Edgar

THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA PRESS
© 2013 University of South Carolina
Published by the University of South Carolina Press
Columbia, South Carolina 29208
www.sc.edu/uscpress
22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sledge, John S. (John Sturdivant), 1957– Southern bound : a Gulf coast journalist on books, writers, and literary pilgrimages of the heart / John S. Sledge ; foreword by Walter Edgar.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-61117-137-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-61117-236-2 (epub)
1. Books and reading Southern States. 2. Books Reviews.
3. Southern States Intellectual life 20th century.
4. Southern States Intellectual life 21st century. I. Title.
Z1003.3.S85S54 2013
028.1 dc23
2012033264
In memory of Bailey Thomson, architect of the Books Page, and to my readers one and all in gratitude
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations
Foreword
Walter Edgar
Acknowledgments
Introduction: For the Love of Books
The South
Essence of the South Remains Hard to Define
Slaves in the Family
Ball’s Book Strikes Personal Chord with Historian
Rivers of History
Bumper Crop of Poems Celebrates Life on the Land
Faulkner’s “Blood and Thunder” Novel Endures
Oprah Makes Brave, Bold Choice with Faulkner
Liuzzo Biographer Brings a Sense of Justice to Topic
South Carolina’s Charms Preserved in Encyclopedia
Young Woman’s Diaries Basis of Wonderful Book
Painter Mary Whyte Shows Keen Eye for Laborers in Working South
The Civil War
Slaves’ Memories Offer Harrowing Accounts of War
LSU Press Revives Story of Army of Tennessee
Lee’s True Legacy beyond Latest Biographer
Pelham’s Valor Shines in Maxwell’s Perfect Lion
Eye of the Storm: Union Soldier’s Illustrated Memoir Confirms Civil War Was Tragedy for All
Co. Aytch a Direct Link to Army in Gray
Chance Discovery Reveals Details of Mobile Campaign
Chaffin Cuts Through to Clear View of Hunley
Poetry Collection from out of the Blue and Gray
Rosen Invigorates Civil War Setting
The Gulf Coast Renaissance
Year in Greece Yields Book for Native Mobilian
Our Voice of Reason
Author Finds Inspiration in Writer Eugene Walter
Store Specializes in Antique Volumes
Hollon’s The God File Deserves National Attention
Black Belt Chronicles Richly Deserve Recognition
Mobile Native Knight a Fast-Rising Literary Star
Breech a Violent, Dark Tale from Franklin
Scully’s In the Hope of Rising Again a Gem
Chicken Dreaming Corn: Family Tales Spur Captivating Novel of Mobile
Emotional Exploration of a Deplorable Event
Groom Takes Big Step with Vicksburg
Architecture
How Did Our Gardens Grow? Famously, It Seems
Mississippi’s Victorian Treasures Get Their Due
Alabama’s Architecture Gets Some Overdue Respect
William Faulkner and the Tangible Past: The Architecture of Yoknapatawpha
Matrana Shows Pride and Ruin of Plantations
Historian Upends Ideas on American Architecture
Scholar Town Houses Have Many Tales to Tell
Legacy Presents a Detailed Look at Rayfield’s Work
Fallingwater Study Cuts Myths, Affirms Merits
The Architect of America
New Orleans Takes Shape in an Architect’s Memoir
Literary Pilgrimages
Stumbling on a Fossil of a Southern Dinosaur
McMurtry’s Hometown a Paradise for Collectors
Drama of Story Comes Alive in Monroeville
A Night in the Library
Finding Cahaba: New Book Rekindles Fascination with Alabama’s First Capital
Looking Past Midnight
A Literary Ramble through Old New Orleans
Oxford, Mississippi: A Literary Profile
A Small City of Literary Giants: Greenville, Mississippi
Visit to Library Is a Return to Childhood
Images from the Literary Side of Paris, with a Personal Touch
Walter-Inspired Dream an Affirmation of Creativity
Classics and Old Favorites Revisited
A Tale Worthy of the Centuries: Looking into Chapman’s Iliad
Plato’s Ancient Words Inspire the Modern Mind
Old Story, New Life: Heaney Makes Epic Worth the Wait
Decline and Fall Stands Test of Time
Last of the Mohicans Was First of Its Kind
Omoo a Showcase for Melville’s Lighter Side
Slowly, Beautifully: That’s How the Cookie Crumbles
Revisiting a Classic at the Water’s Edge
Joseph Conrad’s Typhoon Shows Power of Storm
One Man’s Trash Is Another Man’s Pleasure
Pride and Prejudice Run Deep in Memoir
Old Soldier Sahib a Rare Chronicle of Bygone Empire
Cather’s Look Westward Broke New Literary Ground
Shane Stands as Classic of Western Genre
Book behind Classic Wayne Film Still Holds Up
Pacific Battleground Is More Than a Memory
The International Scene
A Shadowed Friendship: Book Looks Back on Broken Bond between Two Powerful Writers
Quirky Italian Novel Shines in Recent Reissue
“Just an adventurer”: An Aid Worker’s Strange Path
Cuba in Mind Brings Island Near Enough to Touch
Events Make Brick Lane a Timely Volume
Long Way Gone a Tribute to Human Spirit
My Forbidden Face Drives Home Sufferings of Women under Taliban
Márquez Classic Still Rewards Reader’s Effort
Istanbul, Not Constantinople, Gets the Works from a Nobel-Winning Native Son
Iconic AK47 Assault Rifle Subject of Far-Ranging Biography
Controversy and Censorship
Plagiarism Charges Pull Prize-Winner from Shelves
Alexandria’s Library Rises from the Ashes but Fires Still Burn
George and Lennie Feeling the Squeeze
Proposed Book Ban Deserves Firm Rebuttal
America Flap Puts Mississippi in Spotlight
Writer Takes Clear-Eyed Look at Battle Flag’s Past and Present
Without Sanctuary Confronts an Ugly Past
Poe Folks Perturbed by Graveyard Guest
Breach of Faith Offers Incisive Critiques
An Open Letter to Louisiana’s Governor
School’s Switch Alarms Book Lovers
Old Writings Preserve Sense of Beaches’ Beauty
Reading and Writing Life
My First Gun Became a Boy’s Rite of Passage
The Reader: A Quieter Side of Michael Jackson
Politics Aside, Spanish Opens Rich Literary Terrain
In Changing Times, It’s Hard to Turn the Page
Southern Writers Save the Style for the Page
Oscar Wilde: One Fine Figure of a Writer
Everybody Has a Story, but Who Wants to Read It?
Odd Fantasy Reveals Deep-Seated Desire
Coleridge Tome More Than Equal to Georges
Favorite Reading Spots Make Good Books Better
Elysium
Mentor’s Passing Time for Reflection
Mississippian’s Deep Roots Yielded a Towering Legacy
In Memoriam: Eudora Welty
George Plimpton’s Wit, Grace Will Be Missed
Foote Takes His Place among Heavenly Host
Norman Mailer Leaves Larger-Than-Life Legacy
A Chess Board Warrior’s Influence Remembered
A Father’s Reading List Holds Share of Treasures
ILLUSTRATIONS
Ruins of Dicksonia, Lowndesboro
Confederate Monument, Athens City Cemetery
Bon Secour
Alabama State Capitol
Rowan Oak, entrance foyer
Augusta Evans Wilson first editions, Williams Collection
Sri Lankan street scene, 1997
Baltimore’s Poe toaster
Eugene Walter’s house, typewriter
Eugene B. Sledge with microscope, 1963
FOREWORD
Walter Edgar
Where is H. L. Mencken when we really need him? In 1917 Mencken penned his famous, or infamous (depending upon your point of view) essay “The Sahara of the Bozart,” decrying the cultural sterility of the American South. It’s difficult to imagine the scorn if he were to write an essay today describing the state of book pages in the American press. To say that the book page is disappearing would be an understatement. In many newspapers across the country, the correct verb tense would be the past.
Just a little over a decade ago Kevin Berger penned an essay, “The Amazing Disappearing Book Review Section.” In it he lamented the decline in the book section of newspapers ranging from the San Francisco Chronicle and the Chicago Tribune to the Boston Globe and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In the case of the Chronicle, the transformation was from a twelve-page pullout to seven pages sandwiched between “Dining Out” and “Get Together” in the Sunday entertainment section. Since then the situation has deteriorated dramatically. The Washington Post has dropped its Book World and even the New York Times has trimmed the size of its Sunday Book Review. It is increasingly rare to find a dedicated book-page editor anywhere these days.
No doubt Mencken would caustically note the creeping sands of this Sahara from the Gulf to the Great Lakes and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. However, even in his most sarcastic of moods, he often looked for what he called “violets” in the desert. In the cultural Sahara of the 1920s American South, he discovered South Carolina novelist Julia Peterkin and other ta