Southern Bookman

White walkers, assassins, Rockets and Warriors, oh my.....

Thoughts while recovering from "Game of Thrones" eye strain:

With the sad demise of the beautiful and stalwart Lyanna Mormont, Daenerys and Jon Snow should recruit that crazy karate girl from "Barry." The kid who bloodied Barry and Fuchs would make a lethal team with Arya Stark.

Following the Houston Rockets, the White Walkers are complaining to the NBA that not enough fouls were called against the Winterfell team.

After all the buildup, Winter Is Coming turns into a few ice cubes?

Who's the biggest flopper, James Harden or the Night King?

Disappointing that after receiving her knighthood the episode before, Brienne of Tarth didn't receive a closeup moment of heroism slaying a wight or two.

Really, Tyrion? As the Long Night raged, you're spooning in the crypt with Sansa?

If Sansa didn't know what end of the dagger to use, I suppose it's too much to ask her to ride a dragon or battle zombies. Sansa's reverting back to helpless female was another of the Long Night's wrenching off notes. Daenerys' heroism, more effective than Jon Snow's, makes her the favorite to take the throne. (Except Cersei saved her army).

What's with Jon Snow cowering beneath the blue ice dragon? Couldn't Snow have stabbed the icy beast with his sword?

Note to Theon: Yes, you redeemed yourself, as Bran noted. But never run straight ahead with the spear. Even Barry knows better than that.

Jorah, another memorable secondary character, also will be remembered for his heroic final moments. But I thought Sam had given him the sword that kills wights.

As a Deadspin pointed out, Cersei was smart not to send her army to Winterfell. Now, the Lannister lass will be the No. 1 seed for the Game of Thrones Final Four. But you've got to like those flame-spitting dragons.

Who had the best clinching shot, Steph Curry or Arya Stark?

I kept expecting Varys to go "wooo, woo, woo," like the Three Stooges' Curly.

Who got the most boos, Roger Goodell at the NFL draft or the Night King?

"Godfather" fans remembering the death of Moe Green weren't shocked that the Giant got it in the eye.

Melisandre would be good to have around when you have a tough time lighting the grill at the barbecue.

I can see the commercial: When Melisandre lights the Dothraki's swords, they turn and say, "but we asked for a Bud Light."

 

New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival shows city's resilience

I once more knew what it means to miss New Orleans when I read Jay Pareles' New York Times article Thursday about the 50th Jazz and Heritage Festival, which begins this weekend in the Crescent City.

While New Orleans is known for its dysfunctional local government, high murder rate and economic distress, the Jazz and Heritage Festival is an overwhelming success.

As Pareles reports, the festival each year raises $3 million for the nonprofit foundation that puts on the event, which covers two weekends. The foundation uses the money for a range of educational programs and support for local musicians.

Perhaps the Jazzfest owes its popularity to being a daytime event. Going against New Orleans' reputation as a city that never sleeps, the Jazzfest closes each day at 7 p.m., as Pareles reported. That puts the focus on the music, rather than high-tech light shows and such.

Purists have criticized the festival for booking big names like this year's Katy Perry, but out of 688 performers, 600 are New Orleans and south Louisiana acts with mainly local followings, according to Pareles.

This year, a heralded appearance by the Rolling Stones stirred excitement, but the venerable group had to drop out because of Mick Jagger's heart surgery. Then replacement Fleetwood Mac canceled because of some mysterious illness suffered by Stevie Nicks. Now, Widespread Panic will perform.

The event began in 1970 at Beauregard Square, later known as Congo Square, a slave market where jazz originated with the slaves' chanting and dances. Growing success after a few struggling years led to the event moving to the New Orleans Fairgrounds. Jesus, I also remember betting on horse races there as a young man. I attended several of the early festivals at the fairgrounds, but didn't go to another until years later, when the event resumed after Hurricane Katrina.

Along with the music, the festival offers a great selection of Cajun, Creole and other varieties of New Orleans food. Sometimes I think of going just to get another helping of jambalaya.

You can have the Stones, Fleetwood Mac and Widespread Panic. I'm homesick to see New Orleans performers Irma Thomas, the Meters, the Neville Brothers and so on. I'd especially love to see master pianist Ellis Marsalis perform April 28 with his sons Wynnton, Branford, Delfeayo and Jason. Now in his 80s, Ellis played a big part in the festival's early success.

Every year when the Jazzfest rolls around, I think of my late friend Loftin, who had a complete collection of Jazz Festival posters. Hard to imagine that this will be the fifth Jazzfest he'll miss.

This year's poster shows the family of performers who have appeared at Jazz Fest, including those no longer with us like Professor Longhair and Fats Domino.

Many believe New Orleans won't survive. Old and new generations of Jazzfest musicians say otherwise.

"Game of Thrones" scene pays homage to TV classic "Davy Crockett"

"Game of Thrones" channeled baby boomer TV royalty Sunday night: Davy Crockett, "The King of the Wild Frontier."

In a poignant scene from the wildly popular Disney show of my childhood, Davy and his compatriots gather at night in the Alamo, awaiting the attack of Gen. Santa Ana's army the next day.

As campfires flicker in the darkness, Fess Parker as Crockett sings "Farewell to the Mountains" at the request of his old friend George, portrayed by Buddy Ebsen. The men sitting within the old fort's walls listen, contemplating their fate.

I flashed back to that magical Disney moment when Podrick sings "Jenny's Song" to Jaime, Tyrion, Brienne, Tormund and Davos as they sit around the fireplace at Winterfell on the night before their climatic battle against the White Walkers on "Game of Thrones." The GOT and Disney scenes share themes of home, honor, courage and death.

Crockett and the others at the Alamo didn't survive Santa Ana's army, and the odds don't look good for those at Winterfell against the Night King and his zombie army. But GOT fans expect Daenery's forces to somehow prevail. Unlike Davy, they have a couple of dragons.

Farewell, Stanley Plumly

Stanley Plumly, who died April 11 at age 79 of multiple myeloma, enriched my literary life. One of America's foremost poets and a noted Keats biographer, Plumly was a distinguished creative writing professor at the University of Maryland.

Early in his career, Plumly was my favorite professor at LSU,  transforming his English literature class into great performance. I believe that was the then rising young poet's first academic job.

A native of rural Ohio like James Wright, Plumly also turned a brutal childhood into enduring poetry. With his full beard, frequent laughter and deep voice, Plumly loved playing the role of the two-fisted poet with surprising wells of sensitivity. As he aged, his beard turned from the black I remember to snowy white.

Plumly's interpretation of James Joyce's "The Dubliners" left me with a lifelong love for the short stories, especially "The Dead," which I reread every January. After all of these years, I still remember Plumly's comments about Joyce's art.

As he advanced his career, I eagerly read Plumly's work in literary magazines and whenever he published a new collection. 

Then Plumly enjoyed late success as a Keats biographer. Following brilliant poems on Keats' life, Plumly wrote "Posthumous Keats," a collection of linked biographical essays. As a longtime lover of Keats, I was enthralled by Plumly's examination of the Romantic poet's career and posthumous fame after his death at age 25, believing that he would be forgotten.

"Posthumous Keats," along with Jackson Bates' definitive biography, are my favorite books on Keats. My passion for Keats was also awakened at LSU, thanks to an older professor, an immaculately dressed Englishwoman in whose class I was the only student.

Plumly's account in "Posthumous Keats" of the doomed young poet's horrendous carriage ride from Naples to Rome under the care of his loyal friend Joseph Severn is a literary masterpiece. Keats also made the brutal journey with a young woman suffering from an even worse case of tuberculosis than his. Severn's calm and the suffering and physical humiliations suffered by Keats and the young woman are rendered with black humor, pathos and compassion.

A subsequent book on Keats' attending a dinner in 1817 at the home of the artist Robert Benjamin Haydon along with William Wordsworth and Charles Lamb was not as compelling. But Plumly still captured the lifestyle and artistic culture of early 19th century London.

Plumly's death is the latest of an author whose work I constantly followed, joining John Updike, Philip Roth and others. Plumly leaves his wonderful poems, his brilliant books on Keats and the memory of a young poet awakening a callow college student to the riches of literature.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Montgomery, city of light and darkness

Martin Luther King's Dexter Avenue Baptist Church stands at the base of the hill that rises to the marble-domed Alabama State Capitol.

On the Saturday before Easter, a lady in a white dress and stylish hat invites visitors to the next day's service at the church from where the young pastor King launched the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955. The lady's smile is as bright as the spring sunshine, her voice as lilting as the afternoon breeze.

In the next block toward the Capitol stands a worn concrete monument, placed in 1947, one of the last years of lynchings in the South. The memorial's fading words note that Jefferson Davis' inaugural parade came down Dexter Avenue past that location on Feb. 18, 1861. The plaque also mentions that "Dixie" was first played as a band arrangement during the occasion.

Near the majestic state Capitol, a statue of Davis looks down from the hill to the historic vista below. Past the Lurleen Wallace state office building, a tower built by the Retirement System of Alabama stands behind an impressive fountain that gushes rhythmic jets of white water.

Chris' Hot Dogs, selling dogs covered with chili from a secret family recipe since 1919, sits in a modest quarters across the street. Nearby, the historic Kress department store building has been repurposed into apartments.

At the foot of Dexter Avenue, a pleasant fountain marks the spot where slaves were sold in the antebellum city. There, Market turns from Dexter into Commerce, a street of hotel chains and renovated 19th century buildings. Commerce heads to the Alabama Riverfront, where walking paths and concert sites have replaced the old cotton docks.

Like Charleston, S.C., New Orleans and other  deep South cities, Montgomery now acknowledges its dark past of slavery and suppression of blacks. That makes for wrenching historical juxtapositions.

In counterpoise, Montgomery saunters along with an easy-going Southern gentility. Like other small Southern cities, it supports the arts and restaurants that seek with mixed success to match the foodie meccas of bigger metropolises. A small but well-stocked museum honors the tortured life of country music legend Hank Williams, whose grave lies in a historic cemetery about a mile from downtown.

At the historic Alley in downtown Montgomery, the Legacy Museum explores the city's history of black oppression. Exhibits show the city's origins as a slave market, the Civil War, the South's post-Reconstruction terror campaign against blacks, the Jim Crow and segregation eras, and the Civil Rights movement begun by Rosa Parks and other brave women who refused to give their seats to whites and move to the back of the bus.

With video and text, the museum tells the story of the young newcomer King leading the boycott, and the brilliant organizing of a transportation network and walking campaign that carried the boycott to victory after more than a year.

A shuttle ride away, the Equal Justice Initiative's National Memorial for Peace and Justice honors more than 4,000 African-American men, women and children who were lynched across the South between 1877 and 1950.

The memorial's steel monuments list the victims from each county in the United States where lynchings occurred. Identifying the names and places represent a stunning feat of research. The steel monuments also list those whose names are unknown.

The lynchings seem to have peaked around 1906, corresponding to the era when Confederate memorials were being placed around the South. Disturbingly, lynchings occurred as late as 1950, including several listed in Georgia in 1947.

We might think of lynching as a rural or small-town phenomenon, but two of the longest lists come from Atlanta's Fulton County and New Orleans' Orleans Parish. The presence of city justice systems didn't dissuade vigilante acts of violence.

The memorial lies upon a hill that that looks down upon the city's small commercial district. As with Capitol hill, the memorial's serenity and beauty contrast with the legacy of violence it remembers.

On a lovely spring day, the day before Easter, the lynchings seem far away. Yet the recurring violent events of recent history show that the human heart has not progressed as the 21st century rushes forward. The names bear testimony that the struggle for peace and justice goes on.

 

 

 

Good Friday, 2019, Heading Westward

On a stormy good Friday morning in Atlanta, I read John Donne's "Good Friday 1613, Riding Westward," as has been my custom for many years.

Wonderful to reopen the Norton Anthology of English Literature and rediscover Britain's literary treasures.

We're headed westward ourselves for a mini-family reunion and history-steeped weekend in Montgomery, Ala.

Other family members are on their way to Fort Worth to cheer the LSU gymnastics team on as they seek a national championship.

As we depart, here is an Easter message from George Hebert's "Easter Wings."

O let me rise

            As larks, harmoniously,

France divisions return after Notre Dame Cathedral fire

The Notre Dame Cathedral fire united France and the world in grief for the 850-year-old monument at the heart of Paris.

That didn't last long. Donations by corporations and wealthy families to rebuild the cathedral quickly drew criticism from right and left.

The leader of the yellow vest protests that have shaken Emmanuel Macron's government sniffed that the families behind LVMH and L'Oreal would receive tax breaks, meaning the average French taxpayer would really pay for the rebuilding.

And Disney, which reaped enormous profits from a cartoon version of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," pledged a relatively meager $5 million.

Even Macron's vow to rebuild the cathedral in five years brought discord. Experts said a restoration likely would take as long as 20 years. A debate stirred over whether the restoration should add modern construction materials or aim for an illusory historical authenticity, which the cathedral had already lost.

The fire was the result of a restoration project that was scheduled to take at least 15 years. The old cathedral, extensively refurbished in the 19th century, was falling apart, a project that didn't excite as much passion as the fire's reconstruction campaign, as Slate's Henry Grabar pointed out.

As the fire burned, I imagined Victor Hugo's Quasimodo clambering upon the ancient roof to put out the flames. Absent the noble lover of Esmeralda, the Parisian firefighters performed heroically.

The Wall Street Journal Thursday detailed how a decision to stop the fire from spreading to the cathedral's signature bell towers saved the structure from collapsing. The WSJ also reported how the firefighters used water from the Seine River, at reduced pressure, to limit the fire's damage.

Notre Dame's construction in the Middle Ages came from a society united by religion and shared artistic values. The fire recalled one of the great books on medieval society, and its veneration of the Virgin Mary, Henry Adams' "Mont St. Michel and Chartres."

Since the French Revolution, France has been a steadfastly secular nation. Outside of Notre Dame, Catholic Masses are sparsely attended. My daughter said that during a high school stay in France, she and a couple of elderly women were the only worshipers.

Yet, the country remains intensely Catholic by culture. The French personality, with its talent for abstract thought and literature, love of sensual pleasure, and old-world inefficiency, derives from long centuries of Catholic influence.

Now, Western Europe is riven by social conflict, unable to reach agreement on whether Notre Dame should be rebuilt. Someone pointed out that the "forest" of ancient timber that fueled the fire can't be replaced; France no longer has a sufficient number of mature oak trees. In the past, ancient cathedrals ruined by fire have been rebuilt with modern construction methods, without loss of their authenticity.

While France's social divisions quickly split apart, the Notre Dame fire's aftermath brought a heart-warming show of unity in a leap in donations for three black churches in rural Louisiana burned by an accused arsonist. The Baptist churches in St. Landry Parish, in the heart of French Louisiana, received $1.8 million in donations.

France sees Notre Dame as the symbol of its historic greatness, which Macron wishes to restore. Now France must summon a unified will to rebuild Notre Dame.

 

 

 

When Nelson Algren picked up the phone, Simone de Beauvoir said "Bon Jour"

Imagine sitting in your shabby Chicago apartment, cooking dinner, when the telephone rings. It's 1947, so the scene's in the black and white of film noir.

A woman with a French accent is on the line. You hang up. The phone rings again. Wrong number, you mutter. Another ring, and this time you listen.

The woman with the romance of Paris in her voice is Simone de Beauvoir, noted French philosopher, writer and lover of Jean Paul Sartre. She invites you to come down to a "leetle cafe" in the luxurious Palmer House in downtown Chicago.

The call from destiny really happened to Nelson Algren, as detailed in Colin Asher's new biography of Algren, "Never So Lovely a Real." Algren's fateful meeting with de Beauvoir and subsequent torrid affair are detailed in a book excerpt published Thursday on the Literary Hub web site.

After understanding that the caller from out of the blue was indeed de Beauvoir, Algren traveled down to the Palmer House to meet the French intellectual, who was on a tour of the United States. From there, Algren took de Beauvoir on a journey through the raw Chicago he wrote about in works that had thrilled de Beauvoir. In the early morning, they ended up at Algren's apartment for a bout of wild sex, leading to a seven-month affair.

I'd read several positive reviews of Asher's biography, which could lead to an Algren revival. The author of "The Man With the Golden Arm," mostly remembered today for the gritty Otto Preminger-directed movie starring Frank Sinatra, if at all, Algren was the kind of proletarian writer who thrilled French existentialists like de Beauvoir.

The excerpt about Algren's meeting with de Beauvoir raised my interest in "Never a Lovely So Real." The account of the de Beauvoir-Algren fling is a fast, racy read, evoking Chicago's rough beauty, a piece that Algren himself might have written.

As Asher details, Algren rose from working class poverty to enjoy a brief spell of literary acclaim, including a National Book Award. After writing the less successful but some say better novel "A Walk on the Wild Side," Algren's career crashed, although he continued churning out magazine pieces.

Later in his career, he was credited with uncovering the wrong conviction of the boxer Hurricane Carter. Beset by mental problems, alcoholism and a self-destructive paranoia and anger, Algren died nearly forgotten except for a small coterie of followers. Yet, his work keeps being rediscovered.

Asher's widely reviewed biography should increase interest in Algren and his work. But judging from the excerpt, the book will stand on its own as a literary work, giving readers all they'll want to know about Algren and his troubled career.

Congratulations to Baton Rouge Advocate for Pulitzer Prize

I experienced an outpouring of pride at the Baton Rouge Advocate's Pulitzer Prize.

The newspaper where I began my career nearly 50 years ago received the local reporting award for a five-part series investigating Lousiana's unusual law that allowed juries to convict defendants on less than unanimous verdicts. An accused person could be convicted even if two jurors voted for acquittal.

Analyzing 3,000 court cases, the newspaper found that the system rooted in the Jim Crow era resulted in a 30 percent higher conviction rate for black defendants. The white supremacists who ruled Louisiana placed the jury procedure in the state constitution to strengthen "Anglo-Saxon" control, the newspaper found. 

Showing a local newspaper's power to bring positive change, the series resulted in legislation and overwhelming voter support of a constitutional amendment to require unanimous jury verdicts. The Advocate's editorial department was also cited as a Pulitzer finalist.

For years owned by the Manship family, which also published the late afternoon newspaper the State Times, which I grew up reading, the Advocate was always a good local newspaper without national ambitions. It extensively covered the Louisiana Legislature, LSU sports and local government.

The Pulitzer is affirmation of an unsually vibrant newspaper climate in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, which have grown closer together over the years. Bought by Dathel and John Georges in 2013, the Advocate began competing in New Orleans against the Times Picayune when it cut back on weekly print publication and moved to a more digital operation.

For a native Louisianian like me still fascinated by the state's politics and culture, the Advocate and Times Picayune are essential reading each day. While much has been made about the Internet killing newspapers, it allows long-distance access to local papers.

Along with coverage of LSU sports, I enjoy the daily columns of the Advocate's Stephanie Grace and Lanny Keller. Keller was cited along with the nationally known writer Danny Heitman and editor Peter Kovacs for the newspaper's editorial support of its news series.

My pride at the Advocate's outstanding work is matched by gratitude at my native state making a rare stand for justice. Louisiana has an appalling history of racial inequality in its political and judicial system. Following the Advocate's leadership, Louisiana did the right thing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tiger Woods comeback rivals those of Hogan, Venturi

Was Tiger Woods' win in the 2019 Masters the greatest comeback in golf history?

Washington Post columnist Thomas Boswell, the last remaining newspaper golf writer who summons the game's pastoral beauty, gives the nod to Woods' fifth Masters victory, 11 years after his last major win.

Former Post columnist John Feinstein in a Golf Digest article still gives the comeback title to Ben Hogan, who came back from a near-fatal auto accident to win several majors. Feinstein, who has written a number of lauded sports books, several on golf, wrote the most balanced assessment of Woods' winning his 15th major at age 43.

Although I've revered Hogan since boyhood, when I taught myself golf in the back yard with Hogan's "Five Lessons," I see Woods' comeback as equally remarkable.

While Hogan had to overcome severe injuries, most critically to his legs, Woods came back from four back surgeries as well as serious knee injuries. Two years ago, before successful spine fusion surgery, he told Masters champions at their annual dinner in Augusta that he was finished with golf.

Another comeback should be remembered: Ken Venturi's victory in the 1964 U.S. Open. Venturi won the title after several years of debilitating injuries and the wrecking of his once flawless swing with an ill-fated effort to add more driving distance.

Playing in 100-degree heat at Congressional Country Club in Washington, D.C., Venturi also battled severe heat exhaustion in the grueling 36-hole final. After Venturi's near death experience, the U.S. Golf Association changed the Open to an 18-hole final on Sunday.

One other comeback comes to mind: the late Gene Littler returned to the game in 1973 after defeating cancer.

Woods also persevered through the embarrassment of sex and drug addiction. As Feinstein pointed out, Woods in his Masters win showed himself as a much better human than the arrogant champion who in his early career intimidated opponents and displayed unprofessional behavior on the golf course, cursing at errant shots and unruly fans.

If such an award must be given, Woods rises to the top. His comeback combined elements of Hogan's and Venturi's. While Hogan's injuries sapped his stamina for walking, Woods' overcoming serious back injuries and well as knee injuries required months of painful rehabilitation. The back is the most essential part of the body for a strong golf swing. Woods also defeated serious psychological problems.

Each man faced different challenges, but showed equal courage in achieving daily small victories. They shared a faith that one day they'd be back winning tournaments.

Even in his glory years, Woods was notorious for always tinkering with his swing, going through several swing coaches. In returning to the top of the game, Woods rebuilt his swing from scratch, without consulting a swing coach. He still doesn't have such a golf guru, unless Olympics swimmer Michael Phelps, who supported Woods in his comeback, counts.

Now Woods has a simple, fundamental swing that produces accurate drives. As Feinstein said, Woods resembles a veteran pitcher who's lost his fastball and must depend on guile.

A telling moment showed that Woods now uses the mental side of golf more than the astounding talent of his youth. While competitors were knocking tee-shots into Rae's Creek on the devilish par 3 12th and suffering double bogeys, Woods calmly placed his ball to the left of the green and two-putted for a safe par. Announcer and former Masters champion Nick Faldo explained that Woods followed the Jack Nicklaus strategy of landing the ball on the green between the hole's back and front traps.

Woods' victory will rank among the most memorable in golf history. Some other historic moments come to mind: Francis Ouimet capturing the first American victory in the U.S. Open in 1913, Walter Hagen's rise as the first great U.S. professional, Bobby Jones' winning his first U.S. Open and his 1930 grand slam, Hogan's comeback victory in the 1950 U.S. Open at Merion, Byron Nelson winning 11 tournaments in a row in 1945, Hogan's 1953 British Open victory, Arnold Palmer's 1960 U.S. Open win with a closing 64, Jack Nicklaus' 1962 U.S. Open win over Arnold Palmer, Nicklaus' 1986 Masters win at age 46, and Woods' 1997 Masters win at age 22.

Now, like Hogan and Nicklaus, Woods looks to finish his career at the top of the sport, still contending for majors championships.