Joseph Blotner, 1923-2012
Posted November 27th, 2012
Jospeh Blotner
(1923-2012)
The seminal biographer of William Faulkner, Joseph Blotner, died last week at 89. He was authorized by the Faulkner family around the time of the death of the great author to write the biography that would take him many years to complete. Faulkner had been a mentor and friend to Blotner, who made numerous trips to Oxford for research. Immediately after Faulkner's death, Blotner went about the house with a device recording every book title in the house, published as The Library of William Faulkner: A Catalog. When his two-volume biography -- over 2,000 pages -- was released, there was a book-signing event at Duvall's clothing store on the square, as there was no bookstore in Oxford at the time.
Joseph Blotner also edited Faulkner's Selected Letters and, with Frederick Gwynn, comments from Faulkner's classes at the University of Virginia, Faulkner in the University, and he wrote the landmark biography of another great Southern writer, Robert Penn Warren: A Biography. He later revised and condensed his 2-volume work into one volume (a
mere 780 pages), which has always been in print and remains, after many
others, the standard biography of Faulkner. Joe Blotner was an
extremely amiable scholar, indeed, a gentleman, who, among other things,
enjoyed playing tennis and drinking a martini, possibly two, with Tommy
Ethridge and my father, the late Beckett Howorth, Jr. RH
The New York Times obit is here.
David Rees on CBS Sunday Morning
Posted November 27th, 2012
David Rees was here this fall with his new book, How To Sharpen Pencils -- "a practical and theoretical treatise on the artisanal craft of pencil sharpening, with illustrations showing current practice," and just recently he was seen in a Mo Rocca segment on CBS Sunday Morning. David is as stylish as he is astute, you will notice from his T-shirt choice in the clip. We still have signed copies (19.95) from this lovely little book, published by our friends at Melville House. RH
Baseball Legend Comes to Oxford
Posted November 16th, 2012We have just learned that Tony La Russa, one of the all-time winningest
managers in baseball will be signing ONE LAST STRIKE: FIFTY YEARS IN BASEBALL, TEN AND A HALF GAMES BACK, AND ONE FINAL CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON
at Square Books on Thursday, November 29th at 7pm.
-- Call or come by Square Books now to get your tickets to have your book signed and meet one of baseball's greatest managers.
After thirty-three seasons managing in Major League Baseball, Tony La Russa thought he had seen it all--that is, until the 2011 Cardinals. Down ten and a half games with little more than a month to play, the Cardinals had long been ruled out as serious postseason contenders. Yet in the face of those steep odds, this team mounted one of the most dramatic and impressive comebacks in baseball history, making the playoffs on the night of the final game of the season and going on to win the World Series despite being down to their last strike--twice.
Now
La Russa gives the inside story behind this astonishing comeback and
his remarkable career, explaining how a team with so much against it was
able to succeed on baseball's biggest stage. Opening up about the
devastating injuries, the bullpen struggles, the crucial games, and the
players who made it all possible, he reveals how the team's character
shaped its accomplishments, demonstrating how this group came together
in good times and in bad to become that rarest of things: a team that
actually "enjoyed" it when the odds were against them.
-- Call or come by Square Books now to get your tickets to have your book signed and meet one of baseball's greatest managers.
READ THIS BEGINNINGS & ENDS at MY BOOKSTORE
Posted November 14th, 2012
On Monday night Ron Borne attracted a large and very friendly hometown crowd for the event that included his book, Beginnings & Ends,
a selection of favorite first and last lines in stories by contemporary
Oxford writers. A fairly good part of that crowd consisted of the
writers themselves -- John T. Edge, Ace Atkins, Larry Wells, N
eil White
(who is also the publisher), Beth Ann Fennelly, Tom Franklin, Curtis
Wilkie, Chris Offutt, John T. Edge, Jim Dees, and the Most Distinguished
Writer in Residence, Jere Hoar. Each took a turn at the podium,
reading a spot or two of their stuff and some, a bit by others -- Barry
Hannah, Larry Brown, Dean Wells, and Willie Morris -- so that the
evening was almost wake-ish in fond remembrances of Oxford writers past. In fact, Dr. Borne said something like, "this is the way I hope my
funeral will be," didn't he?The night began with a pitch for Read This! Handpicked Favorites from America's Indie Bookstores, with an introduction by Ann Patchett. This little gem (Coffee House Press, $12
pb) recommends books from booksellers representing
twenty-five U.S. bookstores, including a few here at Square Books, and
is an excellent little toilet-side reference-book stocking-stuffer, if
it's not too early to say so. Then poet-bookseller Travis Smith began
reading the essay by Jack Pendarvis (who was home with that cold that
seems to be making its rounds in Oxford) that appears in another new
bibliobook, My Bookstore: Writers Celebrate Their Favorite Places to Browse, Read, and Shop (Black Dog & Leventhal, $23.95), containing essays by 82 writers on their favorite bookstores -- 
Barry Moser on Lemuria, Abraham Verghese on Prairie Lights, Edith Pearlman on Brookline Booksmith, John Grisham on That Bookstore In Blytheville,
a really interesting and fun tome. Travis's reading was nearly
complete when he was interrupted by cheering from the crowd -- for Jack,
who had magically healed and came forward to read his final paragraph. It is a lovely essay.There followed that complicated book-signing thing where lots of writers are involved, like herding cats. It was a you-had-to-be-there kind of evening, many leaving with a sigh, saying, "Oh, that was fun!" But we didn't know what to say to the person who at one point asked if we reckoned she could get one of Tom Franklin's books by what she called "on a kindle." She was clearly lost. RH
Ellen Douglas, 1921-2012
Posted November 9th, 2012
Richard Howorth with Ellen Douglas
Josephine Haxton, who wrote eleven books under the pen name Ellen Douglas, died Wednesday, November 7, 2012, at age 91. She has passed on to writers’ heaven and leaves behind a large imprint upon Mississippi cultural heritage and Square Books history, too.
Ellen Douglas was the first writer to do a book-signing at Square Books, just over a month after the store opened.
During plans to open the store I had learned that her novel, The Rock Cried Out, was to be published in the fall. I had not met her but knew that she had been a friend of my mother’s at Ole Miss, and I wrote to her to see if she might come to the store, as she was living in Jackson at the time.
“I would like to do an autograph party for you, if you feel you can drum up enough trade to make it worth our while,” she responded. “I’ve done successful ones and miserable ones and I know it takes a lot of promotion to pull one off.” University of Mississippi English professor Doreen Fowler wrote a good review for the Memphis Commerical Appeal; we did our best to promote the event, and on October 20, 1979, we sold forty-nine copies of The Rock Cried Out -- with one copy left for stock.
Ellen Douglas’s Apostles of Light was a 1973 National Book Award finalist. She received the Mississippi Institute for Arts and Letters Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. Many of her books, in which characters of family and community bring Mississippi’s lore and legacy to life, remain in print.
She returned many times to Oxford, where she taught creative writing at the University of Mississippi from 1979 to 1983, to the Oxford Conference for the Book, and to Square Books, where she gave a memorable reading, along with John Grisham and Larry Brown, on the occasion of our 25th anniversary.
Ellen Douglas was a masterful storyteller who was unafraid to peer into the fragile fissures of society and the human heart and tell the reader what she found. She leaves behind her three sons, Ayres, Richard, and Brooks Haxton, the poet, and their families. RH
Ellen Douglas was the first writer to do a book-signing at Square Books, just over a month after the store opened.
During plans to open the store I had learned that her novel, The Rock Cried Out, was to be published in the fall. I had not met her but knew that she had been a friend of my mother’s at Ole Miss, and I wrote to her to see if she might come to the store, as she was living in Jackson at the time.“I would like to do an autograph party for you, if you feel you can drum up enough trade to make it worth our while,” she responded. “I’ve done successful ones and miserable ones and I know it takes a lot of promotion to pull one off.” University of Mississippi English professor Doreen Fowler wrote a good review for the Memphis Commerical Appeal; we did our best to promote the event, and on October 20, 1979, we sold forty-nine copies of The Rock Cried Out -- with one copy left for stock.
Ellen Douglas’s Apostles of Light was a 1973 National Book Award finalist. She received the Mississippi Institute for Arts and Letters Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. Many of her books, in which characters of family and community bring Mississippi’s lore and legacy to life, remain in print.
She returned many times to Oxford, where she taught creative writing at the University of Mississippi from 1979 to 1983, to the Oxford Conference for the Book, and to Square Books, where she gave a memorable reading, along with John Grisham and Larry Brown, on the occasion of our 25th anniversary.
Ellen Douglas was a masterful storyteller who was unafraid to peer into the fragile fissures of society and the human heart and tell the reader what she found. She leaves behind her three sons, Ayres, Richard, and Brooks Haxton, the poet, and their families. RH
Ellen Douglas
1921-2012
Marisa Baggett signs SUSHI SECRETS at TWO STICK
Posted November 2nd, 2012
MARISA BAGGETT SIGNS
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7 AT 5PM
AT TWO STICK SUSHI BAR
Roll on over to Two Stick Sushi Bar to meet Mississippi native and sushi chef Marisa Baggett. Along with Marisa's delicious sushi rolls, Two Stick is preparing a specialty kiwi gimlet cocktail for the perfect accompaniment. Marisa's new book not only offers simple sushi recipes for the home cook but also educates the reader about the importance of seafood sustainability. Eat, drink and be educated!
