On the Southern Literary Trail discussion

Folks, I'll make this call for our March, 2017, group reads short. I'm enroute from New Zealand to the States for a short time. I'm writing to you from the Sydney, Australia Airport. For newer members, please read about the nominating process in this folder when we called for February nominations.

Happy Reading,

Lawyer

I would like to nominate for post-1980 Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. I've been wanting to read this for a long time, and this will give me that push! I didn't see it on the bookshelf as previously read, unless I somehow just missed it.

Have we read The Color Purple? Would that qualify?

Post 1980 -
Desperation Road

Desperation Road
by Michael Farris Smith (Goodreads Author)
4.43 · Rating Details · 51 Ratings · 42 Reviews
"An elegantly written, perfectly-paced novel about a man and woman indelibly marked by violence" (Ron Rash) set in a Mississippi town where drugs, whiskey, guns, and revenge explosively collide.

For eleven years the clock has been ticking for Russell Gaines as he sits in Parchman penitentiary. His sentence now up, Russell believes his debt has been paid. But when he returns home, he discovers that revenge lives and breathes all around him.

Meanwhile, a woman named Maben and her young daughter trudge along the side of the interstate. Desperate and exhausted, the pair spend their last dollar on a room for the night, a night that ends with Maben holding a pistol and a dead deputy sprawled in the middle of the road.

With the dawn, destinies collide, and Russell is forced to decide whose life he will save—his own or those of the woman and child. (less)

For post a play Fences by August Wilson a Pulitzer prize winner

For pre: Everglades: Leaves of Grass by Marjory Stoneman Douglas

Jane-- Fences is amazing but it takes place in Pittsburgh and Wilson isn't southern so I don't know if it qualifies.

Oh another oops lol so it doesn't

We haven't read any Faulkner for some time now, so I'd like to nominate "Sanctuary" for pre-1980.

Nomination for pre ,The Wave by Evelyn Scott please

For post, Jimmy Carter s An Hour before Daylight please

Pre-Internet:
The Time of Man

The Time of Man
by Elizabeth Madox Roberts, Wade H. Hall (Foreword by)
3.83 · Rating Details · 88 Ratings · 9 Reviews
Considered her finest work and an American classic, Roberts's novel traces the coming of age of Ellen Chesser, the daughter of a poor itinerant farmer. Against all privations and the forces that would subdue her, Ellen is sustained by a sense of wonder and by an awareness of her own being. Reduced to the bare elements of life, her world becomes a ceremony of daily duties that bind her to the natural world and her family. The Time of Man stands as a beautifully written tribute to the human spirit. (less)

Franky wrote: "Have we read The Color Purple? Would that qualify?"

Ir doesn't appear on the group bookshelf so I would think not. I'm surprised that we've missed it. It would be a Post-1980 selection, but just barely.

We have not read "The Color Purple". I've been in this group since the beginning, and I don't remember it. Like Tom, I can't believe we've missed that one.

That is so odd. I taught that to 4 classes a year, over 4 years, at the Naval Academy Prep School. It was a real experience, teaching it to mostly male 18-24 year olds.

I'm going to try again. For post 1980: Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley.

Tina wrote: "Post 1980 -
Desperation Road

Desperation Road
by Michael Farris Smith (Goodreads Author)
4.43 · Rating Details · 51 Ratings · 42 Reviews
"An elegantly written, perfectly-paced no..."

Not to influence votes, but just an FYI...
Smith and I chatted the other day with regard to a possible book event in McComb where Desperation Road is set (and hubby's family lives). I mentioned that we might want to do another author Q&A with him here on The Trail. Although he will be traveling a good bit with the book tour, he'd love to participate. I think he enjoyed our discussion with us for his book Rivers as much as we did!

I'd like to nominate Cross Creek as a Pre-1980 selection.

Brina wrote: "I'm going to try again. For post 1980: Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley."

It is on the cusp of pre-and post- And it is so gooood!!!

"Henley completed her play in 1978 and submitted it to several regional theatres without success. Unknown to her, a friend entered it in the Great American Play Contest at the Actors Theatre of Louisville.[2] The play was first performed in February 1979 at the Actors Theatre Louisville and it was named co-winner of the contest." Kathy Bates played Lenny!

Tom wrote: "I'd like to nominate Cross Creek as a Pre-1980 selection.
"

Yay for Florida, my home-state! But...wasn't this a moderator's choice last year?

Crime of the Heart is too confusing so I will stick to Everglades: Leaves of Grass for pre 1980

Well, if Cross Creek cannot be nominated or does not win, I am up for a buddy read as am longing to re-read it in conjunction with The Yearling.

Cross Creek was my MOD choice in January of 2015, so it's been 2 years, and we have lots of new members since then. Sounds good to me.

Hey Y'all I am so ready for MICHAEL FARRIS SMITH ! YEEHA !!! He is arriving in Oxford for a special Thacker Mountain Radio Show and signing ! These shows are so full of energy and excitement !!! I welcome anyone to come to my house for a play date ! We have plenty of room here and my children are quite hospitable and cheerful to see friends . Now you must keep in mind , they have cancer but we just joke with every new ache or pain they have as old age because their Cancer diagnosis is stable on medications right now . Halieghluja and praise the Lord . Thank all of you for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers ! What a wonderful group this is along with my many other reader groups . Then of course , I have to give thanks to writers living and resting in Peace in their own ideas of Heaven that have left such wonderful pieces of literature in all genre which have made me who I am today . I feel I am a large body of experiences of humanity that has graciously had the opportunity to carry on with the influences of so many great Hunan beings and their creativity. I am bursting and radiating the positivity from every word I have heard or read , be it from author or discourse on the subject in sharing with such great minds on Goodreads! Thank you all ! I am truly gracious . I want to give back acts of kindness to show my thankfulness .
Sincerely ,
Dawn

Diane wrote: "Cross Creek was my MOD choice in January of 2015, so it's been 2 years, and we have lots of new members since then. Sounds good to me."

Seems like it was yesterday! Great choice. I loved the movie adaptation with Mary Steenbergen.

Post 1980 - I'm giving this another go - my oft nominated A Land Remembered by Patrick D. Smith

Patrick Smith tells the story of three generations of the MacIveys, a Florida family who battle the hardships of the frontier to rise from a dirt-poor Cracker life to the wealth and standing of real estate tycoons. The story opens in 1858, when Tobias MacIvey arrives in the Florida wilderness to start a new life with his wife and infant son, and ends two generations later in 1968 with Solomon MacIvey, who realizes that the land has been exploited far beyond human need. The sweeping story that emerges is a rich, rugged Florida history featuring a memorable cast of crusty, indomitable Crackers battling wild animals, rustlers, Confederate deserters, mosquitoes, starvation, hurricanes, and freezes to carve a kingdom out of the swamp. But their most formidable adversary turns out to be greed, including finally their own. Love and tenderness are here too: the hopes and passions of each new generation, friendships with the persecuted blacks and Indians, and respect for the land and its wildlife.

I grew up in Ft Lauderdale and need to read that one!

Franky wrote: "Have we read The Color Purple? Would that qualify?"

Franky, yes, The Color Purple definitely qualifies. It is nominated Post-1980. That's ONE.

Tina wrote: "Post 1980 -
Desperation Road

Desperation Road
by Michael Farris Smith (Goodreads Author)
4.43 · Rating Details · 51 Ratings · 42 Reviews
"An elegantly written, perfectly-paced no..."

Thank you, Tina. Desperation Road by Michael Farris Smith is nominated Post-1980. That's TWO.

Jane wrote: "For post, Jimmy Carter s An Hour before Daylight please"

Many thanks, Jane. An Hour Before Daylight: Memoirs of a Rural Boyhood by Jimmy Carter is nominated, Post-1980. That's THREE.

Brina wrote: "I'm going to try again. For post 1980: Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley."

Persistence deserves to be rewarded, Brina. Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley is nominated, Post-1980. That's FOUR.

Guy wrote: "Post 1980 - I'm giving this another go - my oft nominated A Land Remembered by Patrick D. Smith

Patrick Smith tells the story of three generations of the MacIveys, a ..."

Never. never, never give up! Patrick, A Land Remembered by Patrick D. Smith is nominated, Post-1980. That's FIVE.

The nominations for Post-1980 are now closed. On to the nominations for Pre-1980.

Diane wrote: "We haven't read any Faulkner for some time now, so I'd like to nominate "Sanctuary" for pre-1980."

Miss Scarlett, YES! The novel that made William Faulkner a BEST SELLING author, Sanctuary, is nominated, Pre-1980. That's ONE.

Tina wrote: "Pre-Internet:
The Time of Man

The Time of Man
by Elizabeth Madox Roberts, Wade H. Hall (Foreword by)
3.83 · Rating Details · 88 Ratings · 9 Reviews
Considered her finest work and an..."

Two for Two Tina, a tip of the hat from Lawyer Stevens. The Time of Man by Elizabeth Madox Roberts is nominated Pre-Internet. Uhm, Pre-1980. That's TWO.

Tom wrote: "I'd like to nominate Cross Creek as a Pre-1980 selection.
"

Big Daddy, it's done. Cross Creek by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings is nominated, Pre-1980. That's THREE.

Brina wrote: "Crime of the Heart is too confusing so I will stick to Everglades: Leaves of Grass for pre 1980"

Brina, thank you. The Everglades: River of Grass by Marjory Stoneman Douglas is nominated Pre-1980. That's FOUR.

I am liking all of the nominations this time around so the voting should be exciting.

Jane wrote: "Nomination for pre ,The Wave by Evelyn Scott please"

Done, Jane. The Wave is nominated, Pre-1980. THAT'S FIVE.

Brina wrote: "I am liking all of the nominations this time around so the voting should be exciting."

Yes, indeed, it should!

Just the noms from this month could be a syllabus for a darn good Southern Literature survey course.

Richard,I agree :)

Donna wrote: "I would like to nominate for post-1980 Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. I've been wanting to read this for a long time, and this will give me that push! I didn't see it ..."

Okay, Donna. I've cogitated a lot on whether Lonesome Dove is Southern Literature. Heck. Let the voters decide. Larry McMurtry's Pulitzer Prize for 1986 novel is nominated, Post-1980. I gave up and put it up in consideration of all the hand painted signs that appeared in front of Alabama cabins that said, "Gone to Texas." Well, so did William Barrett Travis. His house still stands in southwest Alabama.

I like so many of these. I was hoping we might read Cross Creek,and I just ordered a new copy last week. It s one of my favorites. As a playwright from Kentucky, I appreciated the information about it's beginnings.

Could Lonesome Dove be extra--a three month read so we have extra time. I would be up for that.

Brina wrote: "Could Lonesome Dove be extra--a three month read so we have extra time. I would be up for that."

Okay, Brina. There is NEVER any required reading on "The Trail." Nor any time within which a book MUST be read. Chuckling here. I must tell a little story here. My favorite professor was O.B. Emerson, Professor Emeritus, Department of English, The University of Alabama. He was my favorite because he taught my favorite subject, Southern Literature. With a passion and with what some called a vengeance. It was October, 1973. Dear Professor Emerson allotted ONE WEEK in which to read Look Homeward, Angel. His reading was REQUIRED. I did it! Didn't sleep that much that week. But you DO ask so nicely. So, being more merciful than my beloved Professor, I excuse you from being required to read Lonesome Dove in one month should the body electorate choose this book! *GRINNING FROM EAR TO EAR*

I have Lonesome Dove to read anyway but it is definitely on the long side. Your professor sounds like one of these hidden gems ;)

Brina wrote: "I have Lonesome Dove to read anyway but it is definitely on the long side. Your professor sounds like one of these hidden gems ;)"

Yes, Brina, he was a true teacher, and friend. His best subject was William Faulkner. He was an amazing man. :)

Not sure everyone is aware, but the polls are up for March nominations. Voting is sparse so far, so wanted to remind everyone to vote, ends tomorrow night.

Yeepee