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Bayou Lights
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 12, 2002 - 12:07 am: | 
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Hey, All
I just picked this book up today and I am just mesmerized. What beautiful language, great story, and I actually trying not to rush through it. Murray wrote The Spyglass Tree but I've never read that, this is his first title for me. Anyone familiar with his books. Train Whistle Guitar also reminds me of "Another Good Loving' Blues", also a great book but the authors name is escaping me right now.
I also picked up "Cereus in Bloom" by Shani Mootoo and "The Monk Downstairs" by Tim Farrington.
Anyway, hope all is well with everyone. |
Thumper
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 12, 2002 - 08:12 am: |
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Hello Bayou Lights,
We read Train Whistle Guitar and The Spyglass Tree last year. They're marvelous novels! The novels are book 1 and 2 of a trilogy, with Seven League Boots being the third book. Let me know what you think when you're finished. |
Anonymous
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 12, 2002 - 06:00 pm: |
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Hello, Bayou Lights and Thumper,
Haven't yet read any of Albert Murray's fiction or memoir, but have read: Good Morning Blues (bio of Count Basie), Stomping the Blues (his answer to Blues People), Hero and the Blues (lit crit describing his idea of a heroic blues archetype), Omni-Americans (arguably his most important work), and From the Briarpatch File (a recent summation of some of his ideas). Have been meaning to read his novels.
He's profiled in a chapter called King of Cats in Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'s Thirteen Ways.., which explains his concept of the "vernacular imperative," which I think Thumper alluded to in his review of Shackling Water. Informative piece. Always in Pursuit by Stanley Crouch contains a 50-page assessment of all but the most recent of Murray's books, and A Turn in the South by V.S. Naipaul describes a conversation with him about Booker T. Washington and Tuskeegee. The Ralph Ellison Project at jerryjazzmusician.com has some info.
I'm in the middle of "Maker of Saints" by Thulani Davis, which is really an impressive novel -- it's the story of a friendship between two women artists, one of whom was either the victim of a suicide or was pushed (by a white art critic). It describes the main character's estrangement from her art. It draws on everything from Frida Kahlo paintings, South American mythology, eastern religion (contains some good Swami jokes, like "Sri Justovayondah, a really down-home guru"), strange Bessie Smith lyrics, and describes being hit on by Miles Davis. The main character is working as an NPR sound engineer and there are recurring images of glass -- the sound booth, a glass coffin in a South American Indian street funeral, a cricket flying into a window, etc. There's a lot of pain there too. References to some of the men in the book as "The Prince of the Faithful" and "The Sultan of Evasion," are apparently taken from The Book of the Thousand and One Nights. The author dedicates the novel to her husband, Joseph Jarman, who I know is a saxophonist in the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Really brilliant writing.
Steve |
Carey
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 12, 2002 - 10:32 pm: |
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Bayou Lights
I believe Another Good Loving Blues was written by Author Flowers, I could have the spelling wrong, he sat in on one of our monthly book chats. I think Thump is talking about bring back the chat nights, I hope he does.
Carey |
Bayou Lights
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 12, 2002 - 10:51 pm: |
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Carey,
It is Arthur Flowers. I just loved that book. It's out of print now, but I found a copy at a good used bookstore in Berkeley.
I read "Maker of Saints" a couple years back. I thought the depiction of the artist struggle was very poignant. These are the kind of books that stay with you years after you read them.
Bayou Girl |
Thumper
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, December 15, 2002 - 12:44 pm: |
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Hello All,
Thanks for dropping titles. *big smile* I had not heard of Maker of Saints. I must say my interest is peaked. I'm going to have to check it out.
Thanks, |
Carey
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, December 15, 2002 - 08:31 pm: |
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Bayor Lights (by the way, that's a great moniker,where did that come from)
Yes Another good Loving Blues was a delightful book. And to think that we had a chance to chat with the author. Those were great times. With this new crop of postees I can't wait for Thump to re-open that part of Thumper's Corner. Mr. Flowers was a great guest, very open to any and all questions. What night would you be open for a chat.With your nak for yak I know you'd be a great addition to the team.
Carey |
Bayou Lights
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, December 15, 2002 - 09:38 pm: |
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Carey--
Hey there, I'd love to join the author chats. I didn't participate in any last year and I am looking forward to jumping in. Most weekday nights are good for me except Thursday.
The name Bayou Lights came from reading about the mysterious lights in Texas' Big Thicket (love that name) National Park, so I just combined that with a little family history. |
Steve
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 16, 2002 - 06:38 pm: |
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Greetings,
I read Train Whistle Guitar over the weekend. I liked it. I see what you mean; the first half is written in a very lyrical style using almost poetic descriptions of nature and the people and things in his world. My favorite character was the piano player, Stagolee Dupas (fils) -- gotta have the "fils" every time you say the name. I loved some of the musical descriptions of his and Luzanna Cholly's playing -- separate metaphors for the left and right hands.
I thought Maker of Saints meandered into romance about halfway through but I like the author's understanding of the artistic experience. It is a good thriller and I like that it's so eclectic. It inspired me enough to buy a Frida Kahlo art book, guess I should also see the movie while it's still playing. The glass imagery didn't develop beyond the first half, but The Thousand and One Nights played an obvious role -- who knew that the 1001 Nights was set not in Arabia but in Muslim eastern Uzbekistan? (For some reason, that reminded me of the amazing scene in Rampersand's Life of Langston Hughes where LH insists on being let off the train, alone, in the most desolate part of Soviet Central Asia and then by some incredibly bizarre coincidence, hooking up with Arthur Koestler, who just happened to be in Turkmenistan.) |
Carey
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 16, 2002 - 09:23 pm: |
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Hey Bayou Lights
You mentioned your enjoyment of A Good Loving Blues.
In Thumper's post today he has a link to the new reading list and also a list of books we've read in the past. The discussion with Author Flowers is among them. Take a look at the discussion with him and see what you think. It was pretty lively, we had fun.
Carey |
Yukio
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 31, 2002 - 11:18 pm: |
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Hi Carey,
I tried to retrieve the Arthur Flowers discussion, but the link was outdated. |
Carey
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, January 01, 2003 - 05:25 pm: |
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Hi Yukio
Here's the route I use to get to the archives. Go to AALBC.com, Scroll down to Visit Thumper's Corner and then click on Reading List and Chat Archieves. The new reading list will appear first and down the page the old reading list will follow. All the transcripts are there. Be forewarned, I 've pulled up these old transcripts and got strungout reading one after the other. Give this route a try and see if you have any luck. I don't know if there's a link to AALBC'S home page on this site or not.
Carey
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yukio
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 02, 2003 - 12:04 pm: |
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Carey,
Thank You!
Some worked, others didn't!
I didn't see one for Arthur Flowers |
yukio
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 02, 2003 - 06:31 pm: |
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ok Carey, i found it, but if you call me blind, i wouldn't mine, cuz it's half true..lol! Stop talkin bout me...lol! |
Carey
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 04, 2003 - 04:34 pm: |
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Hello Yukio
I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to sound like "I don't know what's up wit that blind Yukio" *LOL*. I was leaning more towards maybe my directions were poor or something like that. Okay, we're in there, stay you, because that's really all we have.
Hey, ask Steve another question so he can blow my mind with his answer *smile*. Did that man come with it or what!!!
Carey |
yukio
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, January 06, 2003 - 10:07 am: |
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Carey,
I know. I was just playing. Steve definitely did come with it. It was definitely informative and thought provoking. Unfortunately, he hasn't responded to my other questions, about a reference to Tom Clancy, i think, so i'm trying to find Everett's comment on Clancy to i can figure out what he is talking about. |
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