If you’re not familiar with Elizabeth Spencer’s work, now is a wonderful time to get to know one of Mississippi’s most highly regarded writers. I have the opportunity at Lemuria to work with many fine first editions. If I am unfamiliar with an author this is a great way to put my mind to the time when the books came out. Each first edition carries the artwork, marketing and language of that era. And so I pulled out some of the first editions of Elizabeth Spencer we have at Lemuria. Maybe you have some in your library at home?
I decided to investigate The Voice at the Back Door: A Novel. Elizabeth Spencer is well known for her short stories, but The Voice was intriguing to me since it had been recommended for the Pulitzer Prize in 1957, though the prize was never awarded to anyone at all. Additionally, the book addresses the racial tensions of the South. It was a brave book to write in 1956. Eudora Welty and Robert Penn Warren were champions for this novel on the emerging change in racial values in the South. Warren commented, “You aren’t going to stop reading [The Voice] very willingly.” After the publication of The Voice, respect and acclaim for Spencer’s writing only grew as she expanded her life experience from her hometown in Carollton, Mississippi, to Italy, Canada and North Carolina.
This year one of my special projects at Lemuria is to help revitalize our first editions rooms. I’m also honored to have been included in The Clarion Ledger’s new Mississippi Book Page in the Sunday edition. Not only can you read about the featured first edition (last week’s feature was The Voice), but you can also keep up with literary events and get the scoop on what Mississippians are reading.
Elizabeth Spencer will be signing her new book Starting Over on Tuesday, February 4th at 5:00, with a reading at 5:30.
Joe shares his thoughts Elizabeth Spencer’s new collection of stories here.
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