Dateline: Memphis, Tennessee - Day Two

This morning, Rose and I headed to the Elmwood Cemetery (1852) but were led astray by the map. We were on one side of the wrought iron fence and could see the green and the graves but couldn't find the entrance. Once again, thanks to the cell phone, we were able to call the office and get directions to the main, and only, entrance.

We stopped at the office and boy were we glad we did. We told the woman who greeted us, Jorja, that we were on the Grand Southern Literary Tour and she immediately got it. "You want to see Shelby Foote's grave."

But there was more. She walked over to the bookshelves and pulled down three volumes written by a Memphis author, Dr. Janet Miller: Jungles Preferred (1931), Camel-Bells of Baghdad (1934), and Sammy and Silverband (1931), a book for young people. The books had been donated to the cemetery by Miller's great-grandniece, Mary Ann Traylor.

Then Jorja, who was the part-time historian for the cemetery, introduced us to another Memphis writer, Molly Caldwell Crosby, who wrote The American Plague: The Untold Story of Yellow Fever, the Epidemic that Shaped Our History (2006) and Asleep, the Forgotten Epidemic That Remains One of Medicine's Greatest Mysteries (2010) about sleeping sickness or encephalitis lethargica.

Two other books that Jorja suggested were The Sultana Tragedy: America's Greatest Maritime Disaster by Jerry O. Potter about the explosion of the wooden steamboat in 1865 that killed 1800 of the 2400 passengers. Most of them were weary Union soldiers on their way home from Confederate prison camps. And, Graveyard Girl by Anna Myers which takes place in Elmwood Cemetery during the yellow fever epidemic.

We did drive to see Shelby Foote's grave which is under an enormous magnolia tree. Later we found (after a couple of U-turns which made Rose very jittery) his home which still stands empty after his death seven years ago.

After our stint at the cemetery, we drove to Burke's Books which is now owned by Cheryl Mesler and her husband Corey. The store opened in 1875 and stayed in the Burke family for three generations. Cheryl and Corey, who had worked at the store and met there, bought Burke's in 2000. It is now in its fourth and they hope final location. The original store was razed in the sixties in the name of Urban Renewal.

It is a great place and Rose and I spent two hours there browsing and talking with Cheryl. Rose bought three gardening books and I found a hardcover copy of The Points of my Compass by E.B. White; Lanterns and Lances by James Thurber; Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg; The American Plague; a light mystery, Curiosity Thrilled the Cat, the first in a series by Sofie Kelly in which the mystery solver is a librarian with magical cats; Small Wonder an essay collection by Barbara Kingsolver; and, another book of essays by various authors.

I think that is it. I am thrilled to get the E.B. White. I have a paperback edition and much prefer the hardcover.

A lot went on today on the Literary Tour and Rose and I are so pleased with our successful book finds.

And so to bed.

Dateline: Memphis, Tennessee

Lawrence Van Alstyne
Diary of an Enlisted Man
1862-1864

After breakfast, Rose and I took our coffee and sat in the library of the Inn in Jackson. It was filled with floor to ceiling dark wooden bookcases. There was a fireplace with a sofa facing it and a library table behind the sofa. Wingback chairs were in the corners of the room. Among the books were many volumes about the Civil War that equally represented both North and South sympathies.

One I picked up to peruse was entitled Diary of an Enlisted Man by Lawrence Van Alstyne of Connecticut. The copyright was 1910. The first entry recorded Van Alstyne's enlistment in the Union Army on August 19, 1862.

"I have enlisted! Joined the Army of Uncle Sam for three years, or the war, whichever may end first. ...For my part, I am to do, I hardly know what, but in a general way understand I am to kill or capture such part of the Rebel Army as comes in my way.

"I wonder what sort of soldier I will make; to be honest about it, I don't feel much of that eagerness for the fray I am hearing so much of about me."

I was taken in right away by this young man and his honesty. The diary runs for two years. There is a black and white photo of the author in the front as an older man. I was going to put the book in my bag and mail it back to the proprietor of the Inn once I finished reading it, but then thought better of it. When I asked about borrowing the diary, Tamar the owner said she was sorry but she had to decline my request as the book was part of the collection of the original owner of the house

But tonight in looking on the Internet, lo and behold, there is the book on Google Books. I think I can figure out how to download it to my Nook. See, there is always a way.

And that is the only literary adventure I have to report as most of the day was spent driving to Memphis. We have located two bookstores to visit tomorrow and are ready for whatever other adventures come our way.

And so to bed.

Dateline: Jackson, Mississippi - Day Two

The Reader
William Johnson

We did a quick driving tour of some other places near and dear to the heart of Eudora Welty. The house she was born in and lived in until she moved with her family to Pinehurst Street is located at 741 North Congress Street. From her front yard, a look to the right offers a view straight downtown and ends with the Capitol Building. Across the street is Davis Elementary School which she attended.

The two-story yellow house is now a law firm.

Next up we drove by the Lamar Life Building, Jackson's first skyscraper and home of Lamar Life Insurance Company. Welty's mother and father moved to Jackson after their marriage and her father worked for the company and eventually served as president. The Gothic building was erected in 1924. It is made of white stone and features a clock tower. Her father, Christian, oversaw its construction. Watch out for the gargoyles.

We drove by the public library appropriately named Eudora Welty Library.

On to the Mississippi Museum of Art which was a delightful experience. Here we saw an exhibit of African-American artists - painters and sculptors - from the collection of Walter O. Evans. Just in case you think this was not a literary excursion, let me just tell you that the painting featured on the poster for the exhibit was The Reader by William Johnson. It was my favorite in the show and we hit the gift shop hoping for a poster or postcard of it. There weren't any available but the nice young woman behind the counter told me to call or email the museum and it could be ordered.

Here also is artwork from the museum's permanent collection divided thematically into four sections: Mississippi's Landscape, Mississippi's People, Life in Mississippi, and Exporting Mississippi’s Culture.

We saw quite a few photographs by Ms. Welty. There were watercolors, oils, collages, sculpture, photographs, and even an acrylic armchair lit from within. We were duly impressed and spent almost two hours wandering the galleries. There were quotes all over the walls by Welty, Faulkner and other writers.

See I told you the visit was in keeping with our literary theme.

Next we visited Lemuria Bookstore. Lovely Lisa showed us to the Southern Writers section which was very well stocked. I found and bought a copy of Eudora Welty's The Eye of the Story which is a collection of her essays and book reviews. I also bought Every Day by the Sun by Faulkner's neice, Dean Faulkner Wells. It was highly recommended by Bill the Curator of Rowan Oak.

Rose bought Welty's One Writer's Beginnings and Wells's Every Day by the Sun.

And so to bed.

Dateline: Jackson, Mississippi

On our way out of Oxford, we made one last stop at Off Square Books to see if we could feel any love. Eureka!  Maurri was behind the counter and rejoiced upon hearing of our Grand Southern Literary Tour. We each bought a copy of Writers of the American South: Their Literary Landscapes. This is a lovely hardcover book with text by Hugh Howard and color photographs by Roger Straus III.

I will write about this book another time.

I also bought a signed copy of Calico Joe by John Grisham. It is a baseball book. I love baseball. I have never read a John Grisham book but I couldn't pass up a chance to purchase a signed first edition. Maurri told us how great Grisham is to Square Books which supported him early on in his writing career. Now when Grisham publishes a new book, she said, he sends boxes of signed copies for the store.

Because we spent over $10, we each got a free book. I picked up a mystery, The Beach House, by James Patterson. Rose chose The Pillow Book of Lady Wisteria by Laura Joh Rowland.

We said so long to Oxford and headed further south to Jackson. We had a three o'clock appointment for a tour of Eudora Welty's house at 1119 Pinehurst Street.

At the visitors center which is in the house next door, Elaine showed us a brief movie about Ms. Welty and then led us on a rollicking tour of the house. She was so enthusiastic about her work. Welty's house looks just as if she is outside in her beloved gardens. Books cover every surface including the dining room table and a settee in the living room. Elaine said that when Welty died in 2001, the foundation counted and catalogued 5000 books. She said photos were taken of the bookcases and the books were put back exactly like they were when the author lived there.

Her reading chair was by the front window so she could see who was coming up the front walk. There was only one room with air conditioning. The kitchen was very simple. She had no help and did her own cleaning and cooking. She loved mysteries. She kept her Pulitzer Prize in a shoebox in an upstairs closet.

Her bedroom, which also served as her office, was quite spacious and light. It looked just like it did in the photo of her on the cover of The Writer's Desk.

In the gardens, I saw a stand of purple and pink sweet peas growing up a section of free-standing fence. They were so fragrant and looked so cheerful saluting there. I crowed out loud when I discovered cornflowers growing in a small plot. That was my favorite flower as a child - I swooned at the color - but have not seen any for many, many years. I was very happy.

Rose bought a copy of Eudora Welty: A Biography by Suzanne Marrs. I will borrow it from her.

We left happy and full of Southern good spirits.

And so to bed.

Dateline: Oxford, Mississippi - Day Two

Got lost going to Rowan Oak, William Faulkner's house. I had to call and have Bill the Curator talk us from the Square down University Drive to Old Taylor Road. At the bend go straight into the grounds.

Whew. Thank heavens for Bill and my cell phone.

We walked up the pea gravel drive lined by red cypress trees. Up onto the the porch and in through the screen door. Once inside we quickly glanced into the four rooms on the ground floor - parlor, library, dining room, and the office/writing room with the outline of  A Fable that Faulkner wrote on the wall.

Upstairs were the four bedrooms where the family slept.

We hit the upstairs as 35 high school students from Helena, Arkansas filled the entrance hall. They came on the Big Yellow Bus that had pulled in right behind us.

Photos, quotations, books, and newspaper articles chronicled the story of Mississippi's famous son.  Empty bourbon bottles, his typewriter, his pipe, a photo of him in his riding habit...all presented to tell the story of this Southern storyteller. He built the white bookcases himself and as Rose noted, they were all armchair height. You could sit in a chair and reach over and grab your book. There were at least two bookcases in each room with the library holding at least five or six.

We left the house to the students and wandered in the back garden. There is a brick wall that Faulkner built for privacy, a knot garden, and a scuppernong arbor. Servants' quarters, stable and paddock, oak barn, and the detached kitchen that Faulkner converted to a smoke house when he had a kitchen added to the main house were outbuildings on the property.

It was an overcast day and the garden was very quiet and peaceful. Later, we sat on the front porch and talked to Tom the volunteer carpenter who was repairing damage to the columns caused by gnawing squirrels.

Eventually the well-behaved students left and we had the house and Bill to ourselves. Bill is the only full-time employee and has been with the house since 1999. He seemed glad to chat with us after the flurry of the kids. He was willing to talk about himself and how he came to be curator of the house.

We had him sign our autograph books. He recommended The Light in August as his favorite Faulkner.

Rose's impression of the house, which was built in 1844, was one of simplicity and reflected the transitions from 1930 when he purchased Rowan Oak until he died in 1962 of a heart attack.

I thought the house and grounds offered this writer a fine sanctuary. I was struck by how the rooms were spacious yet not overly grand. There was light but it was filtered by the trees surrounding the house.

After lunch, a visit to the UM Art Museum, and an afternoon siesta, we headed out to Off Square Books. We didn't feel the love. It was warm and there was no air conditioning. We left there and went to the Ole Miss University Club where we had a yummy dinner of pear and goat cheese salad on spring greens, pan seared salmon, green beans, and mashed sweet potatoes.

And so to bed.

Dateline: Oxford, Mississippi

Square Books
Oxford, Mississippi

After a six hour drive to Jackson, Tennessee, we pulled into a parking spot right across from the Courthouse. In looking for a place to eat, we stumbled upon our first bookstore, Something to Read. It and Main Street Publishing are owned by one d n english. The store carries books by local writers. It was here that we met Lisa who gave us excellent directions to Oxford and sent us off to The Painted Lady for lunch.

On the way to the restaurant we discovered The Rockabilly Museum with its curator Henry. Now Henry was a hoot. He knew all the guys, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Charlie Rich, and of course Elvis. Life-size portraits of the fellows and Miss Brenda Lee hang side by side on the wall behind the bandstand. Henry insisted I play the drums using sticks autographed by someone whose name I have already forgotten. Henry also encouraged us to write a message on the wall - along with others who had visited the site. Outside the museum, a two-story mural featured Carl Perkins and more rockabilly stars and of all people: Paul McCartney.

When Henry learned I was a writer, he showed me a profile of himself that was written up in the newest issue of the University of Memphis magazine. I had him autograph the page and he gave me a copy. We love Henry.

Lunch at the Lady was fine. Pork tenderloin sandwich for me and chicken salad for Rose. Then it was off to Oxford. A scenic two-hour drive on a blue highway. I was so glad to get off the interstate.

In Oxford, we frantically looked for a coffee shop to get an afternoon hit of espresso. Found High Point Coffee just off the Square and felt much revived after this little break. On to the Inn at Ole Miss and a much-deserved 60-minute siesta.

Back to the Square with its great Southern white Courthouse. Talked to Allen at Square Books. I found a perfect journal with a library pictured on its cover for my autograph book. I thought it would be fun to get the signatures of booksellers we meet on the trip and anyone else of interest. I had Allen sign and date it and he wrote his book recommendation:  The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I also bought a Square Books book bag to carry all my treasures.

Rose chose a journal with a typewriter on its cover for her autograph book and a Square Book coffee mug with a quotation from Miss Eudora Welty.

We then crossed the Square to Ya-Ya's Yogurt. It is all self-serve and quite the busy place. You pick your flavor or flavors, fill your cup, and add any toppings. Your treat gets weighed and that determines how much you pay.

We sat on a bench outside and watched the evening come into town. I held the pink leash of a little white fluff of fur for a young girl who wanted a yogurt but couldn't take her dog into the shop. The dog was very well behaved. It had an odd name: Citi, like citizen or so her young owner explained.

Another jaunt back across the Square to Off Square Books which is the remaindered and used book branch of Square Books. It is overseen by Adam. By now we could barely think, so we told Adam we would be back tomorrow and he could sign our autograph books.

And so to bed.

On reading Faulkner

At one time I worked in an independent bookstore. I loved that job. It wasn't really like a job because I so liked being with the books, the staff, and most of the customers. (Those of you who have worked retail will know what I mean by 'most'.)

Anyway, one of the popular books of the day was a story that took place in the South and its characters were of the down and out sort. When I asked one of the clerks, Nancy, if she had read it she said to me, "I don't like to read books about poor people."

Her words came back to me this morning as I read two of Faulkner's short stories: "Barn Burning" and "Two Soldiers". In both stories the main protagonists are young boys about 10 years old. In the first, the boy's father is a poor sharecropper and has an affinity for burning the barn of anyone who crosses him. In the second story, the older brother goes off to Memphis to join the Army and fight in World War II. The younger brother follows him to the big city and gets sent back home to "take care of maw and my ten acres".

I will say that Faulkner's storytelling is compelling and the life of poor folks in the South can be heartbreaking, but I often feel that just on the next page something horrifying is going to happen. So the reading is troublesome for me.

And, if you have an aversion to the n-word, please don't pick up Faulkner. He uses it because it was used then. But, if like me you grew up being told to never use that word, then you will feel a frisson of disapproval when you see it on the page.