I was pulled aside before the discussion meeting on the book "In the Deep Heart's Core" by Michael Johnston. The book club member wanted to point out the specifics of the title.
First she read aloud the passage from W.B. Yeats:
"I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart's core."
She then followed with the quote from a Delta Native:
"If Mississippi is the heart of the Deep South,
Then the Mississippi Delta is the deep heart's core."
I agreed whole-heartedly! I would go even farther to say the South is really the heart of America! Unfortunately, there is a problem with the ole ticker. In the "deep heart's core" of Greenville lives some ugly plaque that has slowed the flow of blood to the extremities of the body of our state and our nation. People in the area have eaten a little too much racism, dined on ignorance and snacked on poverty to the point of stroke.
This is according to the book if one follows the logic. I blame no one, certainly, not the fine folks of Greenville. White flight has occurred in cities and towns all over the south and north. I am left wondering how to fix the problem. How do we place our heart on a diet and exercise routine and bring it back to a healthy pink condition?
It takes a man like author Michael Johnston to encourage a healthy lifestyle. Johnston was a fresh graduate of Yale Law School when he signed up for the Teach America program. He left his native Colorado for the south and in 1997 began teaching at Greenville High School.
In the first chapter he recalls talking to a couple of ladies while looking for a house. They asked him what he would be teaching and he told them English. This was met with a burst of laughter. One lady said, "You know that's a foreign language down here!"
He persisted and entered into the hearts of many of his students through poetry and chess. I encourage you to read this book and hand it to others. It is time we get the blood pumping.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
In the Deep Heart’s Core (copy)
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
The Blind Side (copy)
I began reading Push by Sapphire last night for today's book talk. As I read it, I kept thinking yuck. By page 27, 12-year-old main character, Claireece Precious Jones, has been abused physically and sexually by both her parents. My stomach is still turning. The film based on the book, Precious, is currently in theatres.
I decided to switch gears and talk about another book currently in theatres titled The Blind Side by Michael Lewis. My book talk, written in January 2007, opens with the horrendous tackle Joe Theismann endured by Lawrence Taylor—an attack which ended his football career. Viewers, 17.6 million, saw the heartbreak as New York Giants and Washington Redskins battle it out during a Monday night football game. It was, "the start of the second quarter, first and 10 at midfield," when Theismann caught the "flea flicker" and set up for a pass.
Out of nowhere Taylor raised his arm to sack attack Theismann. The force wasn't in Taylor's arm but rather in his descending right thigh. As he came down for the tackle his thigh was pushed down into Thiesmann's right leg, fracturing tibia and fibula.
Lawrence Taylor was known as a fanatical quarterback destroyer. Apparently, Taylor suffered from claustrophobia and preferred to maneuver away from the pack. Meaning, he would not lower himself into a set position when in the line of scrimmage. Once the ball was snapped, he preferred to move around the mass and be the guy closer to the top of any tackle.
His natural fear became a new successful maneuver for "sacking the quarterback." Time-after-time he went around the line and circled back to find the quarterback unprotected. He, in effect, hit the man from his blind side and created a new football strategy.
This new strategy requires a heavy, nimble man or waltzing elephant to be effective. It is a unique human that possesses this mixture, weight and grace—so unique, that the NFL is willing to pay big money for the specimen. The left tackle, Taylor's position, is the second highest paid player, other than the quarterback.
Imagine you are a football scout and you have just seen an incredible sight, a sophomore at Briarcrest Christian School, bulky yet nimble, making three pointers on a Memphis basketball court. This is how Michael Oher first appeared to scout Tom Lemming, believing he had just witnessed the next Orlando Pace.
The next year, Lemming "ranked him [Oher] as the #1 offensive line prospect" in the country. Follow Oher's evolution from gentle giant to mean machine in this very entertaining book.
I'm excited to hear all the Oscar talk for Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side and Mo'Nique as the mother of Precious!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (copy)
Yesterday, I ate lunch with a group of unfamiliar librarians. After the small talk died down we sat looking at each other and smiling. It was time for my favorite question. "What are y'all currently reading?" This is my chance to do a little reconnaissance work.
During my turn I announce, "I just finished 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid.'" It is written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney who uses a cartoon format to tell a story. This last sentence is added for your benefit. I am lucky if I remember the title correctly.
The librarian next to me spoke up and said, "I have to tell you a funny." She continued, "My daughter, Lauren, came up to me and asked if Jared was sick." He hadn't complained of any ailments to me. "No. Why?" With a deadpan expression she said, "Because, he is always reading."
Apparently, Jared is enamored with the Wimpy Kid series and eaten them all up at once. There are four published in this series that include the original, plus "Rodrick Rules," "The Last Straw" and "Dog Days." Jared also likes the Alex Rider series for those mothers out there who recognize a kindred spirit in their sons.
This is exciting! Boys reading! I later looked on the local public library's catalog and found most of the titles checked out. One could really be excited knowing that even more boys were reading, but there is no proof. These could be checked out by girls, too.
So, what's the hubbub, Bud? Main character, Greg Heffley, ask his mother for a "journal" not a girly "diary!" Well, she hears what she wants to hear and brings home a diary. So, if anyone asks, it is a journal. Greg believes keeping track of his life now will lessen headaches later when he is famous. See, he can make copies of his journal and pass to all the reporters; thus, keep those pesky childhood questions to a bare minimum.
Greg is a typical middle school student, he tries to be popular and avoid the Cheese Touch at all costs. Abe Hall got the Cheese Touch last year and no one would come near him. He moved to California over the summer and Greg hopes he took it with him. One is afflicted with CT after they come in contact with a moldy slice rotting on the school's outdoor basketball court.
In an interview with author Kinney he said, "My goal was to write a book that made people laugh." He can sleep well at night knowing millions of kids are laughing.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Highway 51 (copy)
Again, I am reminded of the diverse talent Mississippi has to offer after flipping through the photographs of Gloria Norris' new book "Highway 51: Mississippi Hill Country." The coffee-table-size book is a collection of her camera work that is testament to all the singers and writers who made their homes along the mainline between Jackson and Memphis. She spreads a wide net at times. The book includes towns such as Oxford, Teoc, Holcomb, Independence, and Coffeeville but all would use highway 51 as the thoroughfare.
First talent is Gloria Norris herself. This is her first book of photographs but readers may know her other works such as the novel "Looking for Bobby" or the short story collection "Three Stories." Born in 1937 just off 51 in Holcomb, she decided to photograph the pavements' people and places when she noticed gated communities and homogenous fast foods beginning to populate the route.
Many pages are devoted to the talented Elvis. The book includes his home, Graceland, Sun Studio where he recorded and his blue Caddy. I imagine many girls swooned when seeing him while riding top-down. Across from the caddy is a picture of the blue doors of the Lorraine Motel. It makes brilliant two-page spread, but Lorraine is off highway 61. Here is another example of the wide net as she includes the Peabody, too.
The third group includes writer talent such as William Faulkner and Eudora Welty. The introduction written by Rick Bass who began his career writing while working as a petroleum geologist in Jackson remembers the road well. A picture of Faulkner's woods behind Rowan Oak sits opposite the backdoor from inside facing those woods. The green hues soothe in both with contrasting black tree trunks juxtaposed to the single black umbrella hanging on the coat rack.
Norris includes living musical talents such as Art Browning, Karen D'Ambrino, Lester Senter Wilson, and the Smith Brothers. We catch a reflective R.L. Burnside with his red Cutlass mirrored in the window beside him. On a two page spread devoted to Mississippi John Hurt, viewers will marvel at the speckled nature of two totally different settings. One being his headstone with coins scattered at the base and the other a knotty cypress doorframe with a guitar headstock leaning on the wood.
Local talent is also displayed in the book. Sledge Taylor tends to his cattle in Como and rocking chair maker, Greg Hawkins, proudly holds his saw. My favorite is Coretta Allen sitting in Austin's Barbershop getting her hair done. This is a must see and read book!
