Pirate's Alley Faulkner SocietyWords & Music

The Books Of Words & Music 2011

To get the most out of your Words & Music, 2011 experience, we highly recommend that you do your literary homework, starting now, as there are lots of wonderful books by participating authors! Advance reading will give you the wherewithal to engage with them intelligently during Question and Answer sessions which are part of each discussion event and during our social hours: at breakfast, during Literature & Lunch, and at evening entertainment events.

To order in advance, you may call Faulkner House Books at (504) 524-2490 with credit card information. If you live out of town, there will be nominal shipping charges, (which are less than sales tax!) Faulkner House Books is offering a discount of 10 percent on all new books ordered with our convenient Words & Music Book Order Form. To complete your form,CLICK HERE!. You can print out the form and fax it to Faulkner House Books at (504) 522-8725, call us, or email your order to info@wordsandmusic.org

ORDERS THROUGH US BENEFIT THE FAULKNER SOCIETY
Don't forget when purhasing these books that purchases by e-mail through the Faulkner Society will benefit the Faulkner Society, which receives a percentage of net proceeds for all such purchases. Send your orders to Faulkhouse@aol.com.

Books By 2011 Words & Music Faculty Members: Fiction

GIVING THE CLASSICS NEW LIFE

The work of these authors provide great examples of how to revisit a classic and using that work of art as a jump start for creating a new work of literary art for contemporary audiences.

TOM CARSON
Carson, film critic for GQ Magazine and author of a previous novel, the highly entertaining
Gilligan's Wake, who has always been a huge fan of F. Scott Fitzgerald and his master work
The Great Gatsby, has created an homage to Fitzgerald by taking a barely mentioned character from The Great Gatsby, Pamela, the child of Daisy and Tom Buchanan, and inventing a long and rambunctious life for her. Daisy Buchanan's Daughter is a great romp through the "American
Century" and titillating commentary on the art, fashion, and politics of the 20th century.

PAULA MCLAIN
Ms. McLain'e new bestselling novel, The Paris Wife, is a marvelous revisiting of material about which literally millions of words have been written about, namely American literary icon
Ernest Hemingway. Her novel is based on Hemingway's first wife Hadley Richardson and her life with Hemingway in Paris during The Moveable Feast era of the 1920s. Makes you want to re-read Hemingway's memoir. Especially terrific combined with seeing Woody Allen's brilliant new film Midnight in Paris. Both the novel and the film evoke beautifully the self-centered arrogance of the young Hemingway, grasping for fame and fortune.

SENSE OF PLACE AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

TED MOONEY
Author Ted Mooney has accepted the Society's invitation to join the Words & Music, 2011 Faculty. Mooney will address Sense of Place and The Impact of the Information Revolution . Knopf recently published Ted Mooney's new novel, The Same River Twice, which we strongly
recommend. Mooney, a Dallas-born American novelist and short story writer, has published three previous novels: Easy Travel to Other Planets (1981), Traffic and Laughter (1990), and Singing into the Piano (1998). The Same River Twice has elements of a mystery but is basically an existentialist examination of whether a life story is preordained or has possible alternative endings. Mooney is an exceptional writer. His sense of place is impeccable and reading his scenes set in Paris is comparable to reading passages by an incredibly talented literary man making love to a beloved woman. His novel is valuable to writers seeking to improve their scene-setting and character development. All of Mooney's characters are well drawn, believable, and highly engaging, if not always lovable. Mooney also served as the senior editor of Art in America from 1977 to 2008 and currently teaches at the Yale University Graduate School of Art. His understanding of the international art scene and his love of visual art are are obvious throughout the novel.

THE INFORMATION CULTURE

TED MOONEY
Mooney's first novel, Easy Travel to Other Planets, was awarded the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction by the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, was also a finalist for the American Book Award, and was mentioned in Larry McCaffery's list of the 100 greatest books of the 20th century.This novel introduced the term "information sickness," which has since been used in various contexts as a symptom or result of overexposure to all
forms of media.

SHORT FICTION

MOIRA CRONE

What Gets Into Us, a remarkable collection of short stories by Moira Crone, also author of two other short fiction collections, The Winnebago Mysteries and Dream State, and the novel, A Period of Confinement. Ms. Crone was awarded the Robert Penn Warren Prize for her body of work in the Spring, 2009.

Books By Words & Music Faculty Members: Non-Fiction

RODGER KAMENETZ
Poet, essayist, non-fiction author, teacher, and popular lecturer, Rodger Kamenetz will judge the poetry category of the 2011 William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition. For the last several years, Rodger has been deeply involved in research and analysis of what our dreams mean, research which produced the compelling book, The History of Last Night's Dream: Discovering the Hidden Path to the Soul. Since this the non-fiction work was published Rodger has continued his research and, during Words & Music, he will address The Importance of Last Night's Dreams in the Global Village. Kamenetz is the bestselling author of The Jew in the Lotus, Stalking Ellijah, and Terra Infirma, a brilliant memoir about the author's relationship with his mother in his dreams after her death. For more on Rodger and his work, Click Here!

 

Books By Faculty Members About New Orleans

RANDY FERTEL
Randy Fertel, author of the new book, The Gorilla Man and the Empress of Steak is the son of Rodney Fertel, a true New Orleans eccentric who ran for Mayor the year Moon Landrieu won on a single plank platform: Get a Gorilla for the Zoo. He didn't win but he made the campaign far more enjoyable, frequently campaigning in a gorilla suit and/or safari get-up complete with pith helmet. He also kept his campaign pledge and bought not one but two gorillas for the Audubon Park Zoo. Randy's mother was the charming and talented business woman, Ruth Fertel, who created Ruth's Chris Steak House and made a fortune by turning it into a popular national chain. The local restaurant was the center of local political life for as long as Ruth owned it. No one associated with politics in Louisiana would have even considered missing a lunch at Ruth's the day before the election. Randy has been a patron of the Society's Words & Music festival since it was created in 1997 on Faulkner's 100th Birthday. We highly recommend this highly entertaining memoir full of the kind of knowledge about New Orleans worth savoring. For more information on Randy and his memoir, Click Here!



Good Books About Writing

Manuscript Makeover by Elizabeth Lyon, also author of The Sell Your Novel
Tool Kit and A Writer's Guide to Fiction.

Aspects of the Novel by E. M. Forster, the timeless classic by E. M. Forster, described by The New York Times Book Review as “An admirable and delightful reflection of the mind. Paperback, $13.00

The Art of Fiction: A Guide for Writers and Readers, by Ayn Rand, Edited by Tore Boeckmann.  “All writers have to rely on inspiration.  But you have to know where it comes from, why it happens, and how to make it happen to you,” Ms. Rand explained.
Paperback, $15.00

On Teaching and Writing Fiction by Wallace Stegner, edited with a Foreward by his daughter-in-law, Lynn Stegner. Ms. Stegner won the Faulkner Society’s gold medal for Novel in 2005 for Because A Fire Was In My Head, which has since been published to wide acclaim.
The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers by John Gardner, who as famous as a teacher of writing as he was for his own works.  Highly recommended for all writers, not just the younger generation. Paperback, $13.95 

Secrets of the Zona Rosa: How Writing (and Sisterhood) Can Change Women's Lives, (Henry Holt) by Rosemary Daniell, one of the best writing coaches in the country. Paperback,

All Fires the Fire, a collectors limited edition chapbook of poetry on hand made paper by Andy Young, published by Faulkner House Books.

Alphabet Juice, a delicious cocktail of words and what words mean to us, by the witty Roy Blount, Jr., who has 21 books to his credit, including If Only You Knew How Much I Smell You: True Portraits of Dogs and Be Sweet, a memoir and the Penquin Biography Robert E. Lee, along with recent collections of essays: Feet on the Street: Rambles Around New Orleans and Long Time Leaving: Dispatches from Up South.

More Good Books for Readers

Classics for Pleasure by Michael Dirda, Pulitzer Prize literary critic for The Washington Post, whose books also include: Caring for Your Books, Book by Book: Notes on Reading and Life; Bound to Please, Readings: Essays and Literary Entertainments; and An Open Book: Coming of Age in the Heartland.




His Lovely Wife, a novel by Elizabeth Dewberry, 2008 Writers' Chair for Words & Music, who also is author of the novels, Many Things Have Happened Since He Died, Break the Heart of Me, and Sacrament of Lies, which is set in Louisiana.


The Good Pirates of Drowned Bayous, the latest non-fiction work by career journalist and fiction writer Ken Wells whose works of fiction include four well-received novels of the Cajun bayous, Meely LaBauve, Junior's Leg, Logan's Storm, and Crawfish Mountain.


Handling Sin, a classic novel of the South by Michael Malone, along with his trilogy: Uncivil Seasons, Time's Witness, and First Lady. Michael's new novel is Four Corners of the Sky, another wonderful mystery in this witty author's inimitable style.


The House on First Street, a memoir by Julia Reed, the very witty essayist for Vogue magazine, food columnist for The New York Times Magazine and regular commentator for various news media, including CNN

The Importance of Peeling Potatoes in Ukraine, a collection of poetry by Mark Yakich, is a 2008 release by Penquin.

The Moon in the Mango Tree , a dazzling novel of family history by Pamela Binnings Ewen, successful turned writer, who has been a finalist in the Faulkner Society's literary competition.


My New Orleans: Ballads to the Big Easy by Her Sons, Daughters, and Lovers (Simon & Schuster), edited by Rosemary James, who also is author of Plot or Politics?

Not Enough Indians, a comic novel called by popular Hollywood personality and author Harry Shearer.


Orleans Embrace with The Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carre by T.J. Fisher, called by the San Francisco Chronicle "A compendium... passionate reflection... love letter to this seductive place with its distinctive history, character, and architectural style."


Perpetual Care, a darkly humorous collection short stories by James Nolan, won the 2007 Jefferson Press Priz



The Secret Lives of People in Love, a brilliant collection of short fiction by Simon Van Booy


Songs for the Missing by Stewart O'Nan and other works of fiction by O'Nan, including especially Snow Angels, A Prayer for the Dying, The Good Wife, Last Night at the Lobster. Also, non-fiction titles: The Circus Fire, with Stephen King, and Faithful, the story of the 2004 Boston Red Sox.


Stealing Athena by Karen Essex, also author of the national and international best-selling novel, Leonardo's Swans, about the rivalries among the powerful women painted by the great master when he was employed by the Duke of Milan; and the historical novels, Kleopatra and Pharaoh.


Touchstones, a Journey Through Poems in Xenophobic Times, the most recent collection of poetry by Gordon Walmsley.


What Gets Into Us, a remarkable collection of short stories by Moira Crone, also author of two other short fiction collections, The Winnebago Mysteries and Dream State, and the novel, A Period of Confinement. Ms. Crone was awarded the Robert Penn Warren Prize for her body of work in the Spring, 2009.


Faulkner Society events are made possible in part by support from The Arts Council of New Orleans, the City of New Orleans, and the Decentralized Arts Funding Program of The Louisiana Division of the Arts; the J. J. and Dr. Donald Dooley Fund and administrator, Samuel L. Steele, III; Bertie Deming Smith and the Deming Foundation; the Hearst Corporation and Debra Shriver, Vice President; the Law Firm of Deutsch, Kerrigan & Stiles; the English Speaking Union; Rosemary James, Joseph DeSalvo and Faulkner House, Inc; Randy Fertel and The Ruth U. Fertel Foundation; Arthur & Mary Davis, Quint Davis, and Pam Friedler; Alexa Georges; the Louisiana State Museum; Elizabeth McKinley; Hotel Monteleone; Mr. & Mrs. Hartwig Moss, III; Theodosia M. Nolan, Tia and James Roddy, and Peter Tattersall; Parkside Foundation; Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre; Anne and Ron Pincus; Other Press, a Division of Random House; E. Quinn Peeper and Michael Harold; Spring: A Journal of Archetype and Culture: Nancy Cater, Editor; the State Library of Louisiana; Judith "Jude" Swenson in memory of her late husband, James Swenson.

 
Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society
624 Pirate’s Alley, New Orleans, LA 70116
phone: (504) 586-1609 or (504) 525-5615
fax: (504) 522-9725
info@wordsandmusic.org
Join Our E-News List