What makes Lillian Smith’s work endure? What makes any writer’s work endure? The relationship between an author and their text, and a text and its audience, is a cooperative experience — they hold hands, speaking to one another in a circle. This “collaboration of the dream,” as Smith refers to it in “Trembling Earth,” encourages artist and audience to collaborate in the construction of … Read More Lillian Smith’s Enduring Legacy
Lillian Smith’s Strange Fruit ends with the lynching of Henry McIntosh and the community members’ reactions to the murder. Following Ed Anderson murder of Tracy Deen, the townspeople, specifically the poor white mill hands, seek vengeance and they accuse Henry of murdering Tracy because Henry moved Tracy’s body off of the road into the palmetto bushes. The fact that Henry is innocent doesn’t matter. The mob, … Read More Community Complicity in White Supremacy in Lillian Smith’s “Strange Fruit”
Early in my career, I became immersed in the work of Ernest Gaines because I worked at the Ernest J. Gaines Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. This position allowed me to dig deep into Gaines’ work, utilizing the archives at the center as well as Gaines himself. I had the opportunity to sit down with Gaines, multiple times, and just talk. … Read More Southern Connections Between Lillian Smith & Ernest Gaines
“Darling, phone call for you.” “I’m so tired. Can you take a message?” “It’s Martin. He wants to know if you got the card he sent last week.” “I’ll be right there. . . . Martin, it’s so good to hear your voice. How are Coretta and the kids? . . .” Every time I go up to the Lillian E. Smith Center, I think … Read More The Presence of the Past on Screamer Mountain
A few weeks ago, the Lillian E. Smith Center lost Bill Watts, an important member of our community. Here is a tribute I wrote about Bill. The Lillian E. Smith Center on Screamer Mountain is a spiritual space. It’s a patch of land with a history deeply connected with the Civil Rights Movement. It’s a space of community and bonding, a space where humanity … Read More A Tribute to Bill
Interminable Rambling 