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Author: Lemuria (Page 3 of 16)

We Are the Music Makers

On October 13, 2014

In Blues, Music, Newsworthy, Southern Culture

About a dozen years ago, my book pal Katherine Walton introduced me to the fine work of Tim Duffy. His first book, Music Makers, was nearing publication and she wanted us to become friends. I loved Tim’s first book so much that Lemuria kept it in our blues section until it went out of print. The effort in that first book was special; and it was my introduction to the music of Willie King of Macon, MS. Willie’s music is inspiring to me personally, and fortunately I was able to develop a friendship with him before he passed in 2009.

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We Are the Music Makers is Tim’s new effort, put together with his lovely wife Denise, to celebrate the last 20 years of the Music Maker Relief Foundation and it’s work. Together they have helped over 300 musicians, arranged over 9.693 grants for artists, and have promoted 4,384 performances. They have produced CD’s and have released 1,996 songs by 365 partner artists. (A companion CD set is included in the new book)

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On October 11 of this year, Music Makers had a fun-filled music weekend in North Caroline to celebrate their 20th year of work. I had the good fortune to attend and hear over 50 Music Makers musicians share their stories and tunes for 2 days.

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Over the years with Music Makers, Tim has helped many Mississippi artists including Othar and Sharde Turner, Jack Owens, Joe Lee Cole, Como Mamas, Ironing Board Sam (of 930 Blues Cafe fame) and Willie King. Music Maker support continues, and two of their new artists are some of my favorites: New Orleans bluesman Ernie Vincent and my pal Willie James Williams, Willie King’s great juke joint drummer.

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Another way Music Makers is celebrating 20 years is in their traveling photo exhibit, which will be stopped at the B.B. King museum in Indianola from October 23 to November 30. I was able to experience this exhibit while in North Carolina and it is reflective of Tim’s amazing contributions to music today.

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On Wednesday, October 14 at 5:00, Tim will be at Lemuria to sign We Are the Music Makers. If you love the blues, come meet Tim and become a friend of Music Makers. I think it would be great fun for Mississippi to have more support for and with this fine organization.

We Are the Music Makers: Preserving the Soul of America’s Music Pictures and stories by Denise and Timothy Duffy Nautilus Press, 2014 $38

Let’s Talk Jackson Guest Post: Heat, Redfish, and Regret

By Lemuria

On October 8, 2014

In Gift Books, Southern Fiction

Written by Matthew Guinn, a Jackson native and author of the Edgar Allen nominated book The Ressurrectionist. The following selection is a part of an upcoming essay collection titled 601.

I came to Mississippi hoping to be a writer. I was just out of the University of Georgia, where I had read Larry Brown and been floored by his lyrical naturalism, and of course I was aware of the others—that grand pantheon running back to Faulkner and kept alive in that present day of 1992 by the likes of Larry, Barry, Steve Yarbrough, Richard Ford. Eudora Welty and Shelby Foote were still alive, and there were others to come: Tom Franklin, Cynthia Shearer, Donna Tartt. The concentration of literary talent was incredible.

Athens, Georgia, had that kind of artistic brilliance, but in music. The B-52s and R.E.M. had put the town on the map, and Widespread Panic was building its momentum; we used to go see them monthly at the Georgia Theater. I remember when ticket prices went up, from $3.50 to $4, some suspected that Panic had sold out.

It wasn’t too uncommon to cross paths with these musicians. Kate Pierson and Michael Stipe still lived in Athens then, and you might pass them on a streetcorner downtown, or shopping in Wuxtry Records, where the guitarist for Guadalcanal Diary worked. But Athens had a code regarding its celebrities: it was absolutely verboten to approach them. It was understood that you could perhaps nod in passing, but to speak would be a breach of decorum, and to engage one of these luminous talents in conversation would be downright gauche.

So perhaps you can imagine how I felt when, in the fall of ’92, in Jackson for the first time, with my soon-to-be fiancée and in-laws, eating at the Mayflower, I realized that the man at the table behind ours was Willie Morris. There, with a female companion and a brown-bagged bottle on the table, sat the former editor of Harper’s, the man who wrote North Toward Home and The Courting of Marcus Dupree. Eating broiled redfish like the rest of us.

“Don’t look,” I said, “but Willie Morris is at the next table.”

My future father-in-law looked over his shoulder—brazenly—at the table. Willie caught his eye and the two nodded to one another. “You should go talk to him,” my future in-law said. “Since you want to be a writer.”

I didn’t. Could not bring myself to interrupt his meal, to barge in, to impose on his time. I wouldn’t have in Athens and didn’t think I could in this new locale.

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What I didn’t realize at the time was just what it meant that Willie was a Mississippian, and a Jacksonian to boot. I hadn’t yet come to understand that in this new, strange terrain—with its flat vistas and searing temperatures—good manners took precedence over all else, that Mississippi holds itself to a higher standard of social graciousness than anywhere else. That Willie would have obliged me with a few minutes of his time—would likely even have asked me a few questions about myself.

I’ve come to suspect over the years—this has been my fourteenth Mississippi summer—that the heat has something to do with it. That manners do indeed, as Flannery O’Connor said, save us from ourselves. As though without them to hold us in check, we’d all snap from the heat index come July and August. And by September, we’d be down to the last Jacksonian standing.

God knows how much I could have learned from Willie Morris, how much a single conversation might have helped me with craft, tone, rhythm. In time, in Oxford, I would come to know Larry Brown. And find that he was a kind and generous man who made time to advise and help younger, struggling writers. That some unspoken standard obliged him to do it. I know now that Willie held himself to the same standard.

But I would never get to know Willie. Years later I was on a flight to Jackson from Atlanta with my squalling infant son on my lap, crying the entire trip. I’d shaken William Styron’s hand in the aisle when we boarded. I was thinking the entire flight, I hope Styron doesn’t put me together with this crying—I have aspirations to a writing career. Then, when we landed, I met Richard Ford at the baggage claim. From the same flight. Incredible. Staggering. Jackson.

They were flying in for Willie’s funeral. Too late to introduce myself, as I should have, that night in ’92, in the Mayflower. I could have. But I did not realize it at the time. Did not know, then, that Mississippi is that kind of place, that Jackson is that kind of a town.

Jackson: photographs by Ken Murphy is available now for purchase. To order a copy, call Lemuria Books at 601.366.7619 or visit us online at lemuriabooks.com.

Pulitzer finalist brings Civil War general to life in biographical narrative.

By Lemuria

On October 6, 2014

In Newsworthy

Article by Jana Hoops originally published in the Clarion-Ledger on Saturday, October 4 2014.

New York Times best-selling author S.C. Gwynne will mark the release of his highly acclaimed “Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson” with a stop at Lemuria Books at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

S.C. Gwynne (Photo: Special to The Clarion-Ledger )

This is Gwynn’s second venture with Scribner and his first release since the extraordinary reception of his “Empire of the Summer Moon” in 2010. It was the success of “Empire,” which earned him a spot as finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award, that enabled Gwynne to make that fortunate transition to full-time book writer.

He has spent most of his career as a journalist, working as a magazine writer and editor for both Time and Texas Monthly; and as a reporter for two daily newspapers. He is also the author of “Selling Money” and “Outlaw Bank.”

Gwynne holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Princeton University and a master’s degree in writing from Johns Hopkins University. He lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife and daughter.

“Rebel Yell” is a sweeping 672-page biographical narrative of the personal and military life of an enigmatic, brilliant Civil War general, and a detailed account of the conflicts Stonewall Jackson commanded for the Confederacy. You have included your extensive research efforts for this book in 60 pages of notes, bibliography and photo credits. How long did it take you to write this book?

About four years.

What inspired you to take on a project of this magnitude?

I have been fascinated by the Civil War for a long time and finally just decided to take a shot at it. What interested me most about Jackson was the idea of personal transformation — how an obscure, eccentric physics professor could, in 14 months, become the most famous military man in the world.

Tell me about the title of the book.

Thomas J. Jackson got his nickname “Stonewall” for his remarkable performance at the Battle of First Manassas, or First Bull Run, in 1861. After making a spectacular defensive stand against Union assaults, he ordered his men to charge, and “Yell like the Furies.” What the men of his five Virginia regiments then did was what later became known as the “Rebel Yell.” Since Jackson and his men invented it, I thought it would be a good idea for a title.

Who should read this book?

I have spent my career writing for general audiences, and I have written “Rebel Yell” the same way. I wanted it to be accessible to as many people as possible. I would assume my readers would have at least some interest in and familiarity with the Civil War, but they don’t have to be buffs or fanatics. I would hope that buffs would like it, too.

As a long-time journalist writing a biographical work about a historical figure, was it hard to keep your objectivity about your main character when you had “spent” so much time with him?

You bring up a good point, and as a reporter you understand the phenomenon. Over the years Jackson books tend to fall into two categories: either the writer loves him unconditionally and believes he can do no wrong or, more recently, the writer’s goal is to tear the Jackson myth down, expose his flaws.

My own feeling is that Jackson was a great and tragic American hero. He was a great man. I fully embrace his flaws. They are part of him and part of his greatness. I think that in many ways his idiosyncrasies are the most interesting things about him. You may have seen the movie “Patton.” What makes General George Patton interesting are his flaws — his vanity and ambition. And, what makes General Douglas MacArthur interesting — to me, anyway — are his flaws as much as his amazing talents. They are all American heroes.

Your accounts of Jackson’s personality show a dichotomous figure who was at once a devout Christian and a violent crusader for the cause of the South. Your book also describes him as a serious and eccentric leader, yet devoted to his family and his soldiers. In two years’ time, he rose from an obscure school teacher to a military leader of legendary proportions. Describe the figure you discovered through your vast research.

Jackson is a phenomenally complex character. I found him to be something of a dual personality. In public he was a stiff, odd, silent man with all sorts of eccentricities. In private with his two wives (he remarried after the death of his first wife) and sister-in-law he was joyous, sometimes boisterous, and loving. He loved Shakespeare and Gothic architecture, gloried in sunsets, was a first-rate gardener, and taught himself to be completely fluent in Spanish. This side of him was unknown to the public.

Why is Stonewall Jackson important in American history?

He was one of the most important factors in the first two years of the Civil War. His amazing partnership with Robert E. Lee changed the course of that war and very likely extended it. Without their victory at Second Manassas, Richmond might have fallen.

Jackson represented what the South considered to be the best of itself. He came along just when hopes were at their lowest. What the Confederacy had desperately needed, in a war that it was obviously losing at that point, was a myth of invincibility, proof that their notions of the brave, chivalrous, embattled Southern character were not just romantic dreams, proof that with inferior resources they might still win the war. Jackson gave them all that.

“Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson”By S.C. Gwynne

Scribner, Hardback, 672 pages, $35.

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S.C. Gwynne will be at Lemuria on Tuesday, October 7 at 5:00.

Let’s Talk Jackson Guest Post: The Medgar Evers Historic House

By Lemuria

On October 3, 2014

In Gift Books

Written by Minnie Watson, curator of the Medgar Evers Historic House

For those visiting Mississippi, Jackson is fast becoming the most popular place to be in terms of good food, great entertainment, wonderful historical sites to see, and fantastic service–all delivered with warm welcomes and friendly smiles. How do I know this? Well, this is what I hear on a daily basis from tourists who visit the Medgar Evers Historic House. No matter what state or country they call home, they tell me, “People in Jackson are some of the friendliest people we’ve ever met. Everybody speaks to you, give directions as to the best places to eat, shop and sites you need to visit.” They usually end their comments with “This is my first time in Jackson but it certainly won’t be my last.” I simply smile and say, “We’ll welcome you with open arms and a big smile.” When the Medgar Evers’ Historic House opened its doors to visitors some 17 years ago, one could not have not imagined nor understood the impact that this modest house, home to Medgar, his wife, and their three children, would have not just on Jackson and Mississippi, but the entire world.

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As curator of this Historic House, it has been my pleasure to welcome visitors from basically every State in the United States and other countries as well as. I cannot tell you the impact that this position has had in my life. People come to see where “Medgar Wiley Evers, Field Secretary for the Mississippi NAACP, lived and died.” Contrary to what they may have heard about Mississippi in general and Jackson in particular, while visiting the House they get a chance to see the South, Mississippi, and Jackson through my eyes and experience, as one who has lived in Mississippi all of my life. We share experiences, both good and bad, that happened during our growing up in a world perplexed with many problems. We usually come to the agreement that no matter what state we lived in, problems existed then and still do in some form or fashion. The difference, perhaps, is how we dealt and/or deal with the problems. As curator, I cannot tell you how many repeaters I have welcomed to Jackson and to the Evers House. As time goes on, I am sure there will be many, many more in the future. After all, Jackson’s “Welcome Mat” is always out and the Medgar Evers Historic House doors are always open.

Jackson: photographs by Ken Murphy is available now for purchase. To order a copy, call Lemuria Books at 601.366.7619 or visit us online at lemuriabooks.com.

Let’s Talk Jackson Guest Post: St. Paddy’s Day Parade

By Lemuria

On September 29, 2014

In Gift Books, Newsworthy

Jim PathFinder Ewing has written six books, published in English, French, German, Russian and Japanese. His latest is “Conscious Food: Sustainable Growing, Spiritual Eating” (Findhorn Press, 2012). His next book — about which he is mysteriously silent — is scheduled to be released in Spring, 2015. Find him on Facebook, join him on Twitter @EdiblePrayers, or see his website,www.blueskywaters.com

IrishGirl_CMYK It’s huge now, but back in ‘82 or thereabouts, the germ of what would become Mal’s St. Paddy’s Parade had an unlikely start as the brainstorm of, um, shall we say, a handful of “happy” people at the old George Street Grocery. A bunch of Clarion-Ledger and Jackson Daily News folk were sitting around and somebody – Orley Hood? Lolo Pendergrast? Raad Cawthon? — said: “You know, we ought to have a parade.”

Everybody thought that was a swell idea to just jump into their cars and go downtown whooping and hollering. Since at the time I had an MG convertible, they tried to get me to join the “parade,” so they could sit on the back with the top down and wave at people, but I had been “visiting” there for a while and didn’t want to get pulled over by police. They went on without me, circling the Governor’s Mansion, the Clarion-Ledger building, and other sites of interest, and came back all happy and boisterous — and thirsty for more liquid inspiration.

I don’t know if Malcolm White counts that as the first parade or not. But after that, the parade became a real event with several of the same characters involved. By the way, the chief of security at the bar was none other than longtime sheriff Malcolm McMillin, who was a moonlighting Jackson police officer at the time; so I guess you could say, he was in on it, too.

Jackson: photographs by Ken Murphy is available now for purchase. To order a copy, call Lemuria Books at 601.366.7619 or visit us online at lemuriabooks.com.

Let’s Talk Jackson Guest Post: We got here as soon as we could

By Lemuria

On September 24, 2014

In Gift Books

Written by Richard D. deShazo, MD, a Billy S. Guyton Distringuished Professor, and professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at the University Medical Center. Dr. deShazo hosts a weekly radio health and wellness show on MPB stations throughout the state called “Southern Remedy”.

We came to Jackson and the University of Mississippi Medical Center after having lived in many other locations; including Washington, DC, Denver, CO, Birmingham and Mobile, AL, as part of my career as a physician educator, administrator, and researcher. The first thing we noticed about Jackson was the extraordinary hospitality of strangers we received at almost every turn. My wife was startled when she was tapped on the back by a stranger in the grocery store while she was searching for a grocery item. When she turned, fearing she was going to be accosted as would have been the case in other locations, she was met with a big smile from another customer who said, “Honey, can I help you find something? I have been shopping here forever.” This was something we had never experienced. When we visited churches, we felt welcome in every one immediately.

One of our initial roles was to recruit new faculty to UMC, and during the time I was a department chair here, we assisted over 60 new families in coming to Jackson to serve in various medical roles at UMMC. Their experiences were always similar to ours, and we never feared sending them into the community for a sampling of what life was like here because they were always pleasantly surprised. It was easy to recruit people to jobs at UMMC once we got them here to see what a great place Jackson is to live.

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As each day goes by, we discover new, interesting things about Mississippi. The convenient location and the hospitality and diversity of folks in the Delta, the pinelands, the coast, and of course, the greater Ole Miss community in the northeast are unique to our state. As the saying goes, our family was not born in Mississippi, but we got here as soon as we could.

Jackson: photographs by Ken Murphy is available now for purchase. To order a copy, call Lemuria Books at 601.366.7619 or visit us online at lemuriabooks.com.

WellsFest!

By Lemuria

On September 22, 2014

In Newsworthy

Written by Keith Tonkel, pastor of Wells United Methodist Church and founder of WellsFest.

WellsFest began with a wedding. When the pastor to refused an honorarium, the Malcolm White family said, “Let’s do something that would express our thanks, and mean something to Wells Church and our city.”

Some folks from Wells were contacted, and WellsFest was born. The festival, first of its kind in the city thirty-one years ago, retains a “first” in its intent of offering an “alcohol and drug free” day of great music, food, fellowship, and creating a sense of community that includes many different folks from different places.

WellsFest has no admission fee, begins with a 5K race/walk/fun run, and ends with a “circle of service” made up of those who gave time and energy to put it together, run the festival, and then take it down at the close of the day. Across the years at each circle, kids from Jackson Prep held hands with people from the Rankin County prison—all kinds all colors and people holding on to say, “Hey, we had a day of fun and service that will help a deserving group.” This year’s donation recipients are Partners To End Homelessness and they have hopes for a new van to try to get the people they serve rides to work. We hope they’ll get it.

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We had a selfish beginning in the early 80’s. One half of the first proceeds went to help renovate our inner city church building. Since then, every penny of the proceeds after expenses goes to the group chosen as the year’s recipient. The little church in the inner city has raised just at a million dollars and has had the joy of extending measurable help to several worthy groups.

The WellsFest intent is to offer an affordable day of celebration with top notch music, food, and everything else; and help those who help others. WellsFest is all this and more. The “more” is hard to understand and describe, but it exists. Come and see…

WellsFest is this Saturday, September 27. Don’t miss it!

Jackson: photographs by Ken Murphy is available now for purchase. To order a copy, call Lemuria Books at 601.366.7619 or visit us online at lemuriabooks.com.

Let’s Talk Jackson: She has her grip on me

By Lemuria

On September 16, 2014

In Gift Books, Newsworthy

“Later they took him to Jackson and that explained it; he was crazy.” – Shelby Foote, Follow Me Down: A Novel

“Justin, why in the world would you ever want to live in Jackson? You must be crazy.” There is no telling how many times I’ve been asked that question, and every time someone asks me, “Why Jackson?” I simply say, “For some reason, Jackson has always had her grip on me.”

Growing up in a small rural community outside of Pelahatchie, Jackson was the city where we would go eat and go shop once a month. I also remember as a child, my Godmother’s uncle was the day manager at the Sun-n-Sand Motel. Many of my childhood summer days were spent by the pool at the Sun-n-Sand, and our nights would end at The Iron Horse Grill. Even though I grew up in Rankin County, I had a very interesting and unique perspective of Jackson. It is one of the reasons I love Jackson.

As a high school student, I remember spending every Monday and Thursday on Seneca Street in Fondren. It was a beautiful ranch style house and my piano teacher lived and taught from her home studio. It was at her house that I learned how to play Debussy, Gershwin, Beethoven, and even Carole King. I can remember those afternoons and evenings of playing scales, trying to make my clumsy hands go up and down the keys of her Steinway grand Piano. As a reward for my practicing and playing, we would always go to Cups to treat ourselves to coffee. My piano teacher’s house was recently sold and she no longer lives there, but I often find myself driving down Seneca, remembering those piano lessons that seemed to have lasted hours upon hours.

Jackson: She has her grip on me. Jackson grabbed me as a child, held me as a teenager, and now she holds my hand as an adult. I stay here, and I live here because I love Jackson. I’ve found a place of belonging and a community that not only accepts me, but a community that makes me a better person. Will I always live in Jackson? Probably not; However, I get the feeling that no matter where the road of life takes me, Jackson will forever have my heart.

Written by Justin

Jackson: photographs by Ken Murphy is available now for purchase. To order a copy, call Lemuria Books at 601.366.7619 or visit us online at lemuriabooks.com.

Let’s Talk Jackson: Lemuria defies e-book trend

By Lemuria

On September 15, 2014

In Gift Books

The following article was written by Jerry Mitchell and published on August 2, 2014 in the Clarion-Ledger.

Photography by Ken Murphy

In a day where many prognosticators regard bookstores as forgettable relics and e-books as the unstoppable future, one bookstore is defying the odds and publishing its own $75 book.

That bookstore is Lemuria, which is releasing a 183-page photo book about Mississippi’s capital city this week.

If there is another bookstore in the U.S. going into the high end of publishing like this, Richard Howorth, past president of the American Booksellers Association, doesn’t know about it.

Decades ago, some bookstores did dabble in publishing, he said. City Lights bookstore in San Francisco became a publisher. So did the Beehive in Savannah, Ga.

But that was before department stores gave way to mall stores and then to megastores and ultimately to online bookstores, such as Amazon.

John Evans was born in 1950 — 14 years before Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.

In his early 20s, he spent much of his time buying records and books in his native Jackson. “I didn’t have much direction,” he said.

After Be-Bop Records opened in 1974, he decided to take his own shot at a business, he said. “I thought I might as well open a bookstore.”

He began writing book publishers and asking his friends to suggest books to order. Soon, sales representatives filled his small apartment.

Lemuria (named after the mythic civilization) was born, he said. “I formed the company two weeks after I was 25.”

By 2002, it had become such a beloved independent bookstore that when author Elmore Leonard decided to hold seven book signings in North America, Lemuria was one of them.

The fall of the economy and the rise of e-books began to devastate bookstores. In 2011, Borders closed its remaining 400 stores.

To survive, many bookstores moved beyond books to sell all sorts of other merchandise, and some even embraced e-books. Evans loved physical books, and that’s what he stuck with, he said. “I saw all that as opportunity to say, ‘We are a real bookstore, and we will live or die by that.’ “

Looking for ideas to rebrand Lemuria, Evans read “The New Rules of Retail” by Robin Lewis and Michael Dart.

In that book, authors suggested retail in 2020 might look most like Apple, with a product created, produced and marketed by the same company.

Would there be a way, Evans wondered, of producing a product that neither Barnes & Noble nor Amazon could sell? If so, that could become a way to redefine Lemuria, he thought.

Not long after, photographer Ken Murphy contacted Evans to get his opinion on whether he should do a sequel to his successful book that featured photos on Mississippi.

In studying that book, Evans noticed only a few photographs from the capital city and suggested to Murphy there was more of a need for a photo book about Jackson than a second statewide book.

They eventually decided to do just that, he said. “I didn’t want it to just be a book of photographs. I felt like there needed to be a photographic plot, a stream of consciousness.”

For the next year, Evans juggled his two jobs of running Lemuria and editing the photo book. “From a cash flow perspective, it was difficult — cash flow and having the energy,” he said.

The printing, including a planned second printing, cost six figures.

While Evans remained busy, something happened in the book industry.

Over the past year, the sales of hardcover books rose 9.5 percent, and the sales of e-books fell 0.5 percent, said Howorth, who once taught Bezos at a class for prospective bookstore owners. “That helps to explain why Amazon’s stock is down 10 percent. We’re reaching a plateau.”

Jamie Kornegay, owner of Turnrow Books in Greenwood, praised what Lemuria has done and said he hopes it becomes a model for what others can do.

He sees his job as the battle to preserve the physical book, he said. “If we cede e-books to this generation, that’s it.”

Evans doesn’t believe he retains as well when he sits and reads at a computer. “I think the jury is still out on how memory works,” he said.

He sees many in this new generation favoring the tactile over the virtual. “My best young bookseller is choosing to read physical books,” he said. “They’re real.”

By the time Evans arrived in May at the Book Expo in New York, word of what his little bookstore in Mississippi had done had spread.

Some booksellers told him it was a great idea.

He shot back, “It’s a lot of work.”

Evans believes the physical book will not only survive but endure.

“Yes, a physical book takes a little more effort, but the opportunity you have to read a physical book is about as pleasurable as any experience you can have,” he said. “It’s irreplaceable.”

Contact Jerry Mitchell at (601) 961-7064 or jmitchell@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @jmitchellnews on Twitter.

Jackson: photographs by Ken Murphy is available now for purchase. To order a copy, call Lemuria Books at 601.366.7619 or visit us online at lemuriabooks.com.

Let’s Talk Jackson: Q&A with Ken Murphy and Lisa Newman

By Lemuria

On September 10, 2014

In Gift Books

The following article was written by Jana Hoops and was published on August 2, 2014 in the Clarion-Ledger.

With a desire to support and promote “what is good about Jackson,” photographer Ken Murphy and Lemuria Books owner John Evans have teamed up to create Jackson: Photographs by Ken Murphy, the first published pictorial account of Mississippi’s capital in more than 15 years.

Nearly two years in the making, the book includes close to 200 photos that capture the culture and vibrancy of the city, as it documents many of Jackson’s most familiar places and scenes.

Murphy, who lives and works as a commercial/art photographer in his hometown of Bay St. Louis, holds a BFA in documentary, editorial and narrative photography from the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York. He has authored and published two other award-winning coffee table books: My South Coast Home and Mississippi. His third book, Mississippi: State of Blues, was a collaborative effort with Scott Barretta.

Also contributing to the book was Lisa Newman, who wrote the plate details for all 186 photographs. Newman grew up in Jackson, Tennessee, then lived overseas and in various places around the South before she made a “very conscious decision” to move to Jackson seven years ago. With a background in teaching, she joined the staff at Lemuria as a bookseller and has written for the store’s blog for several years.

The oversized volume is being offered with a choice of four different covers: Lamar Life (standard), the Welty House, Fondren Corner; and Lemuria Bookstore.

Ken Murphy

Please tell me about your association with John Evans and Lemuria Books. How and why did the two of you decide to do this book?

Ken: I met John while selling my first book, “My South Coast Home,” back in 2001. I found him to be very knowledgeable and very willing to share that knowledge. From then on, I referred to him as my “book guru.” I would run all of my ideas by John to see what he thought. That is how Jackson came about. I was bouncing around the idea of a “Mississippi Volume II” book when John thought of the Jackson book. His belief in the project made me believe in it as well, even though I was a little dubious at first. Being from the Coast, I did not know Jackson, so I wasn’t sure that I could make enough photographs for a 180-page coffee table book.

Can you give an overview of the types of subjects in this book?

Ken: We tried to include everything that makes Jackson what it is, and that is its people, restaurants, historic buildings, museums, clubs, parks, and events. What you will see in this book are only positive aspects about Jackson. We will leave the negative stuff to the media.

How many images are in the book? How long did it take to complete the photography?

Ken: There are 186 photographs in the book. We started talking about Jackson in August of 2012. We pulled a deal together and got started shooting on St. Paddy’s Day 2013. I spent right at 12 months making photographs, so I would say it has taken two years from conception to having the books in the store, which is a record for me. I’m not sure how many shots I really took but we had a good list to work with, from the beginning. As we went down the list, it would change, depending on the location and my ability to get a photograph to represent it.

How did you choose which subjects made the cut?

Ken: The places and/or people in the book were selected by John and his team at the bookstore based on its, or their, importance to the Jackson culture. But this doesn’t mean that the photographs in this book are the only defining features about Jackson. That would not be true. As for making eliminations, it was simple. Either the place was no longer there, the person was unavailable, or it was just too hard to make what I thought would be a satisfactory photograph.

What is your hope for this book?

Ken: I hope it energizes the Jackson culture in a way that will be positive and beneficial to the citizens of Jackson as well as the rest of Mississippi. I hope this book will educate people about the true Jackson, while enlightening lifelong residents and visitors alike with an entertaining armchair tour. One of the reasons I wanted to publish a photographic coffee table book was to help dispel negative stereotypes about Mississippi.

I only hope that the world sees Mississippi in a positive light, literally. If my books can help do that and folks are inspired to get out and experience the real place, Mississippi, then I feel I’ve been successful.

Lisa Newman

Why did Lemuria Books decide to publish this photographic account of 21st century Jackson?

Lisa: We were continually getting requests for a photographic book on Jackson. The last one was published in 1998 by Walt Grayson and Gil Ford Photography and is now out of print.

A book celebrating the beauty of modern Jackson was long overdue, and Lemuria knew the work of Ken Murphy would result in one of the classiest books on Jackson — ever.

As the writer for the plate details of nearly 200 photos, your work covers eight full pages. How long did it take you to fact-check and write?

Lisa: It took me several months, but keep in mind that I was writing them at Lemuria while continuing many of my usual bookseller responsibilities.

How did you conduct the research?

Lisa: Ken requested input from every place he visited, and we received some response. I also immersed myself in every Jackson history book I could get my hands on.

The online catalog for the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, along with other historical preservation sites, were great sources, as were current websites of many of the businesses.

Were there details that surprised you?

Lisa: The main courtroom in the Old Federal Building had one of the most surprising stories. It features a mural commissioned by the Works Progress Administration in 1938. Ukrainian painter Simka Simkovitch was asked to paint a typical representation of life in Mississippi. For many years, the mural was kept behind a curtain because of the reminder of the cruel injustice which was the backbone of the Old South economy. Today, the building is being repurposed as a multi-use facility and has taken on the name of Capitol & West. I think this photo of the courtroom is a great example of how Jackson is moving forward to create a new identity. We will have to see what happens to the painting.

We also included exterior and interior shots of Tougaloo’s Woodworth Chapel. The breathtaking chapel was a hub for civil rights workers.

Jackson

Photographer: Ken Evans

Publisher: Lemuria Books

Price: $75

Jackson: photographs by Ken Murphy is available now for purchase. To order a copy, call Lemuria Books at 601.366.7619 or visit us online at lemuriabooks.com.

Author: Lemuria (Page 3 of 16)

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