Written by David McCarty

 

Preternatural Knowledge: When I am shopping for my teenaged niece, I can tilt into Oz and say “she loves science, she is interested in
robotics, nothing with a pink cover, female protagonist” and not even a second passes before someone says “this is what you MUST get.” They are always right.

The Spirit of God Moved upon the Face of the Waters: in one of the
Secret Vaults of Lemuria (not unlike Uncle Scrooge’s money bin), there is a small bound volume of a talk given by two people at Millsaps College a few years ago. One was the artist Eudora Alice Welty, the other a person named Walker Percy. They spoke about post-apocalyptic perceptions of the New South. It is signed by both; she in her spidery cursive, he with a bolder sloping smear. For people of a certain faith, touching this little book is like taking communion.

Preternatural Knowledge, Part II: That when I walk to the counter
with an armload of books, sometimes Maggie hesitates—then says “who is this one for?” I’ll tell, and then she’ll gently say “why don’t you consider . . . .?” And point me to a different novel or collection.

She is always right.

The Spirit of God Moved upon the Face of the Waters, part II: Often musicians at a certain stage in life put pen to paper or keys to
screen to memorialize their travels, although it is sometimes
difficult to capture the grunts and screams of their instruments and
their fans from over the many decades. Lemuria has a soft spot for
these artists (indeed, if Lemuria were working itself through college,
music would be its night gig after a daytime of moving print). The
opportunity to hear from people who created the fabric of time + space (or those who chronicled their creation) can be transcendent.

Over the years, I have heard Robert Gordon reveal details about Muddy Waters, like a craftsman scraping faded paint from a mansion; Steve Earle mumble about life in the dark parts of Nashville; and towering over them all, because of Lemuria, shake the hand of Bobby Keys, who played saxophone on “Brown Sugar,” by the recording artists the Rolling Stones. Bobby Keys, who may or may not have played on “Return to Sender,” by Elvis Aron Presley; who for sure played on two different records with John Winston Ono Lennon. He signed a Carly Simon record for me.

Preternatural Knowledge, Part III: when a 33 1/3 book came in once about a Black Sabbath album, written by John Darnielle, my friend Simon (working at L at the time) tweeted at me that he was reserving me a copy, and that I needed to get up there and pick it up. He was right.

The Spirit of God Moved upon the Face of the Waters, part III: there is a guitarist from Tennessee named Winfield Scott Moore, III. In the 1950s, he played with a group called the Blue Moon Boys. Their lead singer and rhythm guitarist was billed sometimes as the Hillbilly Cat, or the Memphis Flash, or in a few cases, the King of Western Bop. The guitarist wrote a book, and Lemuria had him come speak about it.

I didn’t come to the event, on purpose, because I worried that if I
met Scotty Moore, who recorded “That’s All Right” with Elvis in 1954, that I would become overwhelmed, and start to cry.

Share