Rhythm and Books

The Place to Be on a Friday Afternoon

You never know who may appear at Turnrow on a Friday afternoon.  We were pleasantly surprised last weekend when Thomas Keller, American chef extraordinaire, walked in.  He was in Greenwood on culinary business and dropped by to say hello and sign copies of his two lovely cookbooks, The French Laundry Cookbook and Buchon.  He was on his way before we could grab the camera for a shot, but accept this photo of his lavish signature as proof of his visit.

Not half an hour later, Joe McCain, younger brother of presidential hopeful John McCain, came in with Edwina McCain, an enthusiastic friend and customer of Turnrow.  Mr. McCain was in town for the large McCain family reunion in nearby Carroll County — Teoc to be specific, an agricultural community still thriving about ten minutes outside of Greenwood.  It was founded by the McCains, we understand, and was the original home of the great gentleman bluesman Mississippi John Hurt, a descendant of the McCains as well.  The McCains are a long-standing and respected Carroll County family, and this reunion is a big event, especially in this auspicious political season.  (You can read John McCain's own remembrances of the Mississippi homestead, as delivered in a speech in Meridian back in March.)

The younger McCain brother (learn more about him in this Boston Globe article) had stopped into Turnrow for a copy of The Little Prince, which we happily sold him.  Unfortunately we could not fulfill his other request.  "Where can I get an American flag lapel pin?" he asked, a touch theatrically (you'll understand after reading the article).  "I've lost mine."  At first we thought this might be the set-up for an Obama joke, but it turns out his plight was genuine.  We confessed ignorance but were relieved to see that he had found one when next he arrived at the store, several hours later, to toast his cousin, the great Mississippi writer Elizabeth Spencer.

Ms. Spencer was also in town for the McCain family reunion (her mother was a McCain) and had graciously submitted to a book signing and reception.  It was a mob scene, frankly, thanks to the mix of McCains and long-time fans of her work, most notable the memoir Landscapes of the Heart.  She was accompanied by a documentary film crew from North Carolina, the latest spark of renewed interest in her long, acclaimed career.  A Tony Award-winning musical of her story "The Light in the Piazza" has made a strong run for several years.  At 87, she is still a formative wit and continues to write.  It was a great honor to have her at Turnrow.

Interestingly, there were an unusually high number of photographers present for Ms. Spencer's reception, not counting the film crew.   See if you can spot them in our photo gallery from the Spencer event.  And if you find yourself in Greenwood any given Friday, sit up front and watch for famous visitors.

Scott Gets Away

Our counter man Scott gets away today.  He's been at Turnrow over a year now — moved here, in fact, from Greenville, Miss., betting on the little Delta indie that could.  If you've placed an order here over the past year, chances are Scott shepherded it through.  Customers love his calm determination, and we love his devoted enthusiasm to all of our projects, however hare-brained they seem at times.

So what could lure a man away from this cradle of literature and high culture?  It must be love.  We knew it was serious when he convinced his long-distance girlfriend Danya to move from the Pacific Northwest to Greenwood.  It was a shock, we're sure, but she hung in there, and now they're giving it a try out West, back to Seattle, and we all envy them a little.  If there are any independent bookstores — or record stores, for Scott has strong musical taste — in the Seattle/Redmond area looking for a good hand, give us a call.

And best of luck, Scott and Danya ... we'll be pulling for you wait out here in the turnrows.

A Fitting End

What can we say about the closing event of our first Mississippi Delta Lay-By Literature & Music Festival?  You had to be there.  The biggest complaint of the evening was that none of it was captured, whether on video or audio, to share with the rest of the book-loving world.  (Although you can view photos from the entire two days here.)

Fashioned after the scholarly panel discussions prevalent at other, larger literary conferences, this was a more casual and intimate conversation among two of the summer's most popular novelists, Andre Dubus III and David Wroblewski, and one of the cleverest readers we know, Joey Lauren Adams, the actress and filmmaker who recently moved to Mississippi.  The three of them got along famously, and their mutual respect and curiosity made for a very lively discussion, which lasted nearly two hours without a dull moment.

Joey moderated the panel, introducing the authors by relating her personal response to both books.  Her eloquent admiration humbled and inspired them both to deliver terrific readings — David, who is currently coming to grips with skyrocketing national popularity, read a lovely selection from his stellar debut novel, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, and Andre read a subdued and no less lovely selection from his wonderful novel The Garden of Last Days — followed by a thoughtful, inspiring discussion on the process of writing and art in general.

In certain settings, and with the wrong mix of personalities, these panel discussions can be devastatingly boring or squirmingly awkward, but the crowd was just small enough to ditch the microphones and the three writers were so in tune that the conversation was like an improvisational jazz performance of ideas.  Andre's bombastic, brilliant solos were the perfect contrast to David's quiet, intense runs, and Joey's upbeat, driving rhythm drove the performance at the ideal speed.  And just like a good musical performance, the crowd, a mix of locals and book event veterans from all over the state, erupted into cheers and applause after particularly illuminating remarks and rants, and when the whole thing came to a close, many in attendance proclaimed it to be one of (if not the) best literary readings/discussions they'd ever seen, and we were inclined to agree.

The discussion, in fact, continued into the stock room as Andre and David signed piles of books, then everyone settled in upstairs to hear Dent May close down the whole shebang with his unique music, which really must be heard to be best appreciated.  His deadpan satire and melodic ukulele captured everyone's attention and kept them hollering for champagne.  Dent's finishing up his first album now, and we believe he won't be a Mississippi secret for long.

Save Your Soul Food

After their last restaurant burned down, Sylvester and Mary Hoover moved closer to downtown Greenwood and reopened Hoover's Country Kitchen earlier this year.  The new restaurant is just a few blocks from the bookstore, and it's been a revelation to us.  We've taken writers, chefs, musicians and publishers to eat at Hoover's Country Kitchen, and they all agree we have something special here.  It may be the most honest meal in town, and that's largely due to Mary Hoover, who learned everything her mama taught her about cooking and then some.  She always has a story to go with the meal, so we thought she would fit right into the Lay-By Festival. 

We'd planned to have a soul food luncheon with gospel music at Hoover's Country Kitchen, but sadly, the restaurant closed its doors early last week.  Economic hard times are squeezing small businesses, and the demise (temporary, we hope) of Hoover's is a tragic sign of dying old ways.

But the Hoovers are resilient folks, and Mrs. Mary knows the traditions must continue in spite of hard times, so she wanted to continue with our gospel lunch.  We moved the whole deal out to Tallahatchie Flats, a cotton-field commune where you can rent a refurbished shotgun shack and have a back roads Delta vacation without the misery and discomfort.  We scoped out the site and realized that serving a hot lunch in the middle of a parched cotton field in July might be too authentic.  Mister Bubba, who tends the property and is an interesting character we hope to know better, showed us an alternative spot behind the shacks, a shaded area along the banks of the storied Tallahatchie River.  It might have been the nicest spot in all the Delta that day.

We set up tables and chairs, made tea and laid out the settings while Mary scurried to finish her dishes.  At one o'clock, the guests began appearing over the dusty turnrow, perhaps skeptical of eating outdoors in the scorching day.  But the mystique of the setting allayed all fears, and as guests arrived, they were treated to two wonderful local gospel singers, Veronica West and Marilyn Key, serenading us down by the riverside, a holy breeze keeping the heat and mosquitos at bay.  The blessing was offered, then Mary introduced each dish — smoked ribs, fried chicken, candied yams, turnip greens, purple field peas, cornbread and her own special Delta Butter Roll dessert — every one eliciting oohs and aahs from the crowd as she uncovered the dishes like a magician revealing tricks.  Each dish had its own story, and she explained their preparation.  The only thing more enticing was sitting down with a full plate and indulging.  And after much good cheer, everyone sweated and stumbled away in need of a nap, all in agreement that there was something about eating this soul-saving food, and hearing this pure musical expression, in such a lovely setting that testified to the purity of this culture.  We'd all do well to leave work every now and again, drive into the country and take lunch by the river, sweat a bit and give thanks with a song in our heart and a full stomach.

Lay-By, Day One

Turnrow's first Mississippi Delta Lay-By Literature & Music Festival kicked off Thursday evening with shots of Wild Turkey.  Sadly, participating author Ace Atkins (left) was the only taker.  If unwilling to hit the sauce straightaway, it was a fine and curious crowd who came to hear Atkins and fellow author Martin Clark speak about "The Dirty South," a landscape both writers have surveyed — Atkins as a crime reporter and Clark as a circuit court judge in rural Virginia.

Both authors agreed that real-life crimes inspired their fiction, and both admitted they could never dream up stories as rich and compelling as those that prompted their latest novels.  For Wicked City, Atkins researched Phenix City, Alabama, a vice-ridden town that made national headlines in the 1950s. His noir-style novel captures the heated feud between local citizens and the gangsters who overran the town.  (Read more in this interview.)  Clark's novel, The Legal Limit, is a riveting tale of an attorney whose judgment is swayed by a long-buried family secret, and through this story, also inspired by true events, Clark hopes to make readers reconsider the blurry line between law and justice.  (He expounds on this in an interview at his publisher's website.)

Feeling dirty and sober, we all headed over to the Blue Parrot Cafe for some sanctifying blues courtesy of the Revelators, who consisted of Duff Dorrough, Bobby Harris and Carl Massengale. 

Among the audience members was Tom Rankin, a filmmaker, photographer and folklorist at Duke University who was traveling with Duff and taking photographs of the Delta.  He explained the genesis of the Revelators, which originated not on someone's backporch one sweaty night, as expected, but surprisingly at the Smithsonian Institute.  They had asked Rankin to recommend the best all-white gospel group in the Delta.  Having heard Duff and a few friends perform at the funeral of Mississippi musical icon Charley Jacobs, Rankin recommended Duff, who put together a full band but came down sick when it was time to play in D.C. 

The group has performed in many incarnations throughout the years, but it was refreshing to see this variation, with Bobby Harris (center), a powerful singer from Drew, Mississippi, who sang with the conviction of a thankful man snatched from damnation.  Massengale, from south Mississippi, is a walking repository of gospel knowledge with a heavenly voice.  He seemed incapable of rest, playing off to the side while the band took a ten-minute break.  And then there's Duff, who can pull some of the sweetest notes you've ever heard from his guitar and can sound like Elvis if he'd been humbled and came back home to Mississippi.  Topping it off were the shrimp hushpuppies by Regina LaVere, such a heavenly taste on this, a fine night to be redeemed.

Lay-By Festival Schedule

Turnrow is hosting its first book festival, which we've dubbed the Mississippi Delta Lay-By Literary & Music Festival.  Traditionally, the "laying by" time in farming was when the last weed-hoeing was done, marking the start of a down-time until harvest.  It was often a time of anxiety when farmers looked for second jobs or, as James Agee put it in Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, "hung as if on a hook on his front porch in the terrible leisure."  It could also be a time when farmers, with some free time, could step into town and take in some of the cultural offerings.  That's where we come in.

Here's what we have lined up for next week.  Check back for changes and additions.

THURSDAY, JULY 17
6 p.m. - "The Dirty South"
Two authors with new books, both dark crime novels set in the South, will discuss their craft and read from their work.  Ace Atkins, author of Wicked City, which we profiled on the blog recently, will speak, as will Martin Clark, a former judge in Virginia who turned to fiction, producing such acclaimed, off-color works as The Many Aspects of Mobile Home Living and Plain Heathen Mischief.  He'll read from his new novel, Legal Limit.

7:30 or 8ish - "Southern Redemption"
To wash off the Dirty South, we'll enjoy the deeply raw and authentic sounds of the Revelators, a great Delta blues/soul/gospel act fronted by our pal Duff Dorrough.  They're rejoining after some years apart, and their particular brand of salvation is hard-earned.  Don't miss this.  It will take place at the Blue Parrot Cafe, where the laidback atmosphere is matched by the tremendous food from chef Regina LaVere, who will sample some of her fare.

FRIDAY, JULY 18

1 p.m. - "Save Your Soul Picnic"
Join us at Tallahatchie Flats with Mary Hoover, a great local soul food cook, who will serve up a hearty country lunch and tell stories from the kitchen.  Gospel singers will serenade as you dine on a heavenly spread.  Reservations required, $20 ticket.

3 p.m. - "Matinee"
Documentary filmmaker Joe York shows several of his short films on Southern food at the Viking theatre on Howard St.  These are always hilarious and informative, in bite-size portions.  It's the festival within the festival!

6 p.m. - "Summer Blockbusters"
More readings and discussions, this time with the authors of two of this summer's hottest novels.  First, David Wroblewski, who spent many years writing his wonderful debut, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, will read from his best-selling novel, and  Andre Dubus III, best-selling author of House of Sand and Fog, will read from his controversial new novel, The Garden of Last Days.  The discussion will be moderated by Joey Lauren Adams, a writer and filmmaker who released her independent feature Come Early Morning, starring Ashley Judd, in 2006.  Adams may be recognizable to most from her acting roles, including a starring performance in Chasing Amy and supporting roles in Big Daddy and The Break-Up, among many others.

World Lounge After Party
Dent May and His Magnificent Ukelele deliver a unique blend of tropical and Parisian easy-listening pop that goes down smooth, like a fancy cocktail, several of which will be on hand for those wishing to toast the end of what will hopefully be the first of many Lay-Bys.

Again, in Turnrow fashion, we'll be adding and modifying all week, so check back or call for updates, 888-453-5995.

Awesome as Qualifier

"I'm tired of reading the same old stuff," you say.  "Give me something great that's like no other book in the store."  We're not asked this question nearly enough.  But if some or one of you came into the store today and posed this request, we would send you home with Jack Pendarvis' new and first novel, Awesome.  (Actually, we couldn't send it home with you today because the book is being choppered in from the printer, a bit behind schedule but due to arrive in time for our reading and signing with Jack this Saturday.  We would, however, be happy to chopper over your own signed copy first thing next week.) 

Literature this strange and surprising used to arrive all the time from peculiar geniuses like Mikhail Bulgakov, William S. Burroughs, and Eugene Ionesco.  Occasionally a new George Saunders collection or Pynchon novel will scratch the itch, and we always pounce on new work by Barry Hannah and Padgett Powell, whose Yonder Stands Your Orphan and Mrs. Hollingsworth's Men are, respectively, mad modern classics of the Southern absurd.  But by and large realism rules the day. 

Which is why Awesome is so refreshing.  It doesn't adhere to the normal rules of fiction but is entirely enjoyable for its distinctive humor, warmth and fine writing.  Awesome is the name of the novel's hero, a lovable giant with extraordinary abilities, limitless talents and transfixing charm.  He is nonetheless repudiated by his lady love, Gorgeous Jones, who leaves him standing at the altar on their wedding day.  Only by fulfilling a scavenger hunt for several seemingly unattainable items will he be welcomed back into her presence. 

To any cautious readers who have not read Pendarvis, this may sound preposterous, which is indeed part of the fun.  (In a recent interview, he mentioned how Italo Calvino's Italian folktales collection encouraged him to write without fear of preposterousness;  interestingly, another writer who recently read here, Kevin Brockmeier, also cited the influence of Calvino's folktales, the resulting book being quite different from Awesome.)  Once surrendering to the author's creatively slapdash style and his unique humor, this becomes an enormously entertaining and bounding adventure that can be read and hee-hawed over in a matter of hours.  To get even a taste of the experience, treat yourself to a sample chapter, this one being chapter 35, in which the giant begins his search for one of the impossible items.

If you've not heard Jack read, you'll want to be present this Saturday evening (7/12) at 5:30 p.m.  Also, take our advice and check out his blog from time to time.  He's a generous blogger who is into progressive blogging techniques, like "cross-blogging," in which we're happy to be included.  Here's something Jack sent over for us to post, demonstrating once more his instinctive media savvy....

This is Jack:

Though such a situation is difficult to imagine, I have some handy zinger suggestions for reviewers who don't like my new novel AWESOME:

1. AWESOME is anything but.

2. Pendarvis might have more honestly called his new novel MEDIOCRE.

3. AWESOME? Hardly.

4. The only awe-inspiring thing about AWESOME is its total lack of — for want of a better word — awesomeness.

5. AWESOME is AwFUL.

Okay, now try making up some of your own! It's easy and immensely refreshing, like gazpacho. Another cool thing to do is review a book in the voice of its narrator. In the case of AWESOME you are a sexy, handsome, rich, happy giant ready to crush me like an ant. The most important thing is to have fun.

Ideal Summer Reading

While lazing around on the Fourth of July, dreaming of watermelon margaritas and tropical vacations, we picked up The Fruit Hunters by Adam Leith Gollner.  We loved this book when we read it in manuscript months ago and selected it for our Chef's Library culinary book club, and it sunk its teeth into us just as quickly and deeply the second go-round.  This is just a flat-out fun read, ideal for summer reading.

Gollner, a Montreal freelance writer, attributes his fruit fascination to biophilia, the love of life's natural processes.  It's the idea that nature and all its wonderment provides a kind of evolutionary comfort against the nagging awareness of our own mortality.  After a fateful stop at a market in Brazil, where the author leaves with a bagful of exotic and delicious fruits he's neither heard of nor tasted, Gollner's insatiable appetite takes root.  His quest to learn more about fruit results in a bounty of fascinating fruit trivia, history, and literary references that he scatters Johnny Appleseed-style throughout the narrative.

Ultimately his hunger leads him on a physical journey to fruit-hunting hot-spots like Hawaii, where he encounters some of the most memorable fruits, such as the durian, the foulest smelling fruit (tasting like "undercooked peanut butter-mint omelets in body-odor sauce"), and the miracle fruit, one taste of which will turn sour tastes sweet on the tongue, so potent the FDA banned its commercial use based on fears of toppling the sugar industry. 

It's on to Florida, where an underground society of fruit lovers meet in each other's backyards to share the ultraexotic fruits they've grown from contraband seeds.  The more exotic the fruits he encounters, the more exotic the destinations he seeks.  On an island in southern Thailand, Gollner hangs out with a group of fruitarians, who eat only fruit, a discipline that some followers say brings heightened awareness, uncommon physical abilities and instances of rapture and ecstasy.  He tramps through the jungles and markets of Borneo, gorging on a fraction of the countless varieties of rare fruits that exist in this isolated Eden, and journeys to the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean, skirting local laws to get a taste of the extremely rare coco-de-mer, one of the most desired fruits, notorious for its uncanny resemblance to the female reproductive region.

We could go on and on reveling in the general fun and fruitiness of this book.  It's not hard to understand Gollner's obsession, and we got a touch of it ourselves after reading this and spouting our fruit knowledge at social occasions and even spending hours on the internet searching for sources to buy mangosteens, miracle fruit and dozens of other exotic and indescribable tasty fruits, most of which, we were sad to discover, are not sold in the U.S. for various and strange reasons.

This is a triumph of journalistic investigation, fine writing, good humor and a subject so enormous yet so overlooked in our day-to-day lives.  Get more than a whiff of this one.