How long have you worked at Lemuria? Two Years this January.
What do you do at Lemuria? Just a part-time bookseller. I spend a lot of time in the poetry section, and I do a lot of the literal heavy lifting in the store.
Talk to us what you’re reading right now. Matthew Guinn’s The Scribe, Derrick Harriel’s Cotton
How many books do you usually read at a time? At least two, and always of differing genres. If I’m deep into a novel, for instance, I like to take a break and read some poems or nonfiction.
Favorite authors? Oh, jeez. Hang on. This is going to take a while.
Langston Hughes, Sylvia Plath, Walt Whitman, Robert Pinsky, Major Jackson, Kiese Laymon, Mark Twain, Mark Doty, Beth Ann Fennelley, Tom Franklin, Toni Morrison, Eudora Welty, William Faulkner. I’ll quit now, but I could go on for pages.
Any particular genre that you’re especially in love with? I unabashedly love the poems. I’ve been reading it all my life–always drawn to the density and economy of words. My master’s degree is in creative writing with an emphasis in poetry, and I’m currently slinging a book manuscript around hoping for a publisher to pick it up.
What did you do before you worked at Lemuria? I was (and still am) a high school English teacher. I love it as much as I love selling books.
If you could share lasagna with any author, dead or alive, who would it be? What would you ask them? Hmmmm. I’m starving right now, so I’m having trouble thinking past the lasagna. Isn’t it just lovely stuff? Either the Irish poet Seamus Heany or Eudora Welty. I wouldn’t ask anything, really. I’d just shut up and listen. And eat lasagna. Mmmmm.
If we could have any living author visit the store and do a reading, who would you want to come? The poet Edward Hirsch. His book-length poem Gabriel is a book that everyone needs to read—even if you’re not into poetry. Y’all, just trust me on this, please.
If Lemuria could have ANY pet (mythical or real), what do you think it should be? My 5-year-old son kind of is the store pet already. Also, a talking yellow Labrador Retriever with a British accent. I’d like to have tea and scones with him in the booth.
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