Sonny Brewer visited Turnrow last week to speak about a new book he edited, Don't Quit Your Day Job. It's a collection of essays by established writers, mostly Southern, about the odd jobs they held before writing full-time.
You never know what you'll get with a collection like this. It could be a dumping ground for tossed-off or rejected essays, but such is not the case with this exceptional book. This is a first-rate anthology that sheds new light on the lives of some of our favorite authors and will stand for years to come as the perfect pick-me-up for struggling, would-be writers.
William Gay writes about shuffling from one factory job to the next, working the night shift as a boat paddle laquerer, where he got stoned nightly on hazardous fumes. Tom Franklin writes about delivering pizzas, and Daniel Wallace tells about his job shoveling poo at a vet's office. Pat Conroy delivers a terrific account of his summer volunteering for a Catholic church in the Omaha ghetto (a safer alternative to black voter registration in Mississippi during Freedom Summer), and John Grisham reveals his pre-lawyering days as a reluctant peddler of underwear. Connie May Fowler and Barb Johnson both write about their contruction work. Steve Yarbrough writes about the humiliations he suffered as "an employee," playing college football, and George Singleton shares colorful anecdotes from his life as a garbage man. There are over a dozen more essays here, including one from the late Larry Brown, and they're all a joy to read.
Not the least of them is Sonny's own story, told in the introduction. This man has held some jobs and paid his dues. He's now a full-time bookman, not just a writer but an advocate for writers and the world of books. We always enjoy a visit from Sonny, who is full of stories and always passes on some good ones from the many writers he encounters. He's a rarity in the biz, and we're grateful that he's read at Turnrow now more than any other author.
During his visit last week, Sonny showcased a talent he's kept hidden from us. It seems that before he took to writing, Sonny played in a bar band and apparently wasn't half-bad. He performed a song by an old friend, which he graciously allowed us to tape and broadcast. (He's not really as wide as it seems in this clip ... we're still getting used to recording on an iPod.)
If you'd like a signed copy of Don't Quit Your Day Job, we still have a few left to order here, but they're going fast.
