Blackjacks & Blue Devils

Stories by Jerry Wilson

Publisher: Mongrel Empire Press

ISBN: 978-0-9833052-5-5

When author Carter Revard reviewed Blackjacks & Blue Devils, he wrote, "Steinbeck could have learned a lot from this book." So, I was intrigued enough to buy it. I mean, that's really something to say about one of the Great American Novelists, and it sets up quite the expectations.

It's possible that Revard was referring to the idea that Steinbeck could learn brevity from Jerry Wilson. Where John was notoriously long-winded, Jerry was VERY short and sweet. But all jokes aside, here is my take on Revard's comparison: both Steinbeck and Wilson set out to encapsulate the spirit of America's past. Our pioneerism (I looked that up, and it is NOT a word apparently, but I like it anyway. What can I say, perhaps I'm a linguistic pioneer?) These stories reveal American heart. Our cruelty, our greed, our lust. Our assiduous work ethic. Wilson's theme takes us through the landscapes of Oklahoma, those stretches of dry earth where history rises like a dust storm. And yes, The Grapes of Wrath begins in Oklahoma, too - but I believe Wilson's book accomplishes something very different.

While I am refuting Carter Revard's claim, I am also giving a nod to Wilson, who is genuine and true to his own style - not copying Steinbeck or attempting to beat out other novelists of the frontier. Instead, he is shining new light on old backdrops, illuminating voices that strike the heart in a different way.

Wilson's book is a series of snapshots. It is a flip-book through Central American history. His fluid writing style and piercing descriptions pulled me into quick breaths of time: The Dust Bowl, Oklahoma Land Runs (which, to be honest, I didn't know about before reading this book), the Depression and bootlegging. These quick snapshots of the past are characterized by strong emotion and people who just as well could be real.

Mongrel Empire Press strives to find quality, thoughtful literature without regards to genre, discipline, or author biographies. As its name implies, its publications are a wild mix of styles, genres, and topics - though the press does admit to a little favoritism toward Oklahoma authors. Nevertheless, it is refreshing to see a press that isn't concerned about sticking to a marketable theme, but merely high-calibre writing.

#tbt Oldie Books

I recently came into possession of a 12-part Wordsworth collection. It was printed over a century ago…and this particular collection has never been read. How do I know this? Because the pages have never been cut.

It's fun, doing things the "old way" as I read a long epic poem titled "The Excursion." I have to cut open each page like a present as I move through the book. I wish I'd come across Part I of this poem, "The Wanderer," in high school because it encapsulates how I felt as a teenager - and how I still feel at times - yearning to wander freely in the mountains. (A romanticized notion, I realize! Wordsworth's appreciation of nature has always captured me).

These books were printed in 1911 and are bound with fabric. I think the reason they survived for so long is because whoever owned them kept them in a personal library with some measure of climate control. I'm picturing the previous owners as socialites who preferred to show off their books rather than read them - but of course, my imagination could be way off! But there has to be some reason why the books have zero damage from humidity, and no wear and tear. And best of all, they have never been opened in a hundred years. A part of me wonders if I should keep them unopened to maintain the value of the books - but what is the point of keeping them if I don't read them? Books are meant to be opened!

Introducing…Oldies of the Month #tbt - Leaves of Grass

I'm a collector of old books. There's something about their smell, the sound of the hand-cut pages, the weight of their leather binding, that creates an unmatched beauty lost with ebooks and paperbacks. Book covers today can be awesome - I know you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but I love a good one! A lot of time is put into their design and printing, but not like when they used to do it by hand.

Most of my books hail from the 19th century and early 20th…back in the day of steam-powered iron presses. Cloth bindings became more popular in the 20th century, and then paperbacks in the 21st, which is why I value a rare leather-bound book, its cover engraved by hand and its pages painted with gold.

It's remarkable that these books managed to stay so intact for 100+ years. Each page is jagged because they were cut by hand, each cover embossed with gold lettering.

This special segment is fitting for this blog because the old classics - Burns, Whitman, Longfellow - were first either self-published or printed by small presses. So I'm introducing a new type of #tbt…Oldie Books, where I'll share a gem from my book library to appreciate the old ways.

My #tbt today is Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman. This book is a true encapsulation of the work inside! It is one of a kind, from 1900, with some incredible features. See for yourself:

 Title page, written by hand

Review of Adam Klein's - THE GIFTS OF THE STATE -

February's book recommendation is…

The Gifts of the State

Editor: Adam Klein

Publisher: Dzanc Books

Price: $14.95 paperback, $7.99 ebook

Link: Buy Here

You'd think I would choose an uplifting book for such a depressing month as February. Not so fast. We're in the thick of winter's threads, days of cold and grayness weaving endlessly, but I guess you could look at things this way: I picked a book that makes it seem like life ain't so bad anyway.

I really respect what Adam Klein did with this collection of short stories. He took a group of Afghan students in Kabul and asked them to find an authentic voice of fiction for Afghanistan. As Klein says in the introduction, fiction is not at the forefront of Afghan concerns, so it doesn't yet get the attention it deserves.

This collection is unique because it provides us with Afghan voices. This is a chance to hear from people who grew up in Afghanistan through its erratically violent political tides, who can tell these important stories in a way that an outsider cannot. The stories have been written first-hand in English, so neither are we seeing these words through the filter of a translator. (Of course, one could argue that a truly "authentic" Afghan voice would be writing in its native tongue, but let's consider who the audience is for this book. Isn't it important that Americans - who have occupied their land since 2001 - pick this up to understand the heart within this country?)

This collection of varying stories provides something a novel cannot: a broad scope. Afghanistan has seen occupations by communist Russia, Islamists, the Taliban, and America. It has been plagued by guerrilla warfare since the 60s. But that is just the political history. We must not forget the people who suffered through it, the ones who had to make crucial choices for the sake of their families, the ones who still wanted love and peace and happiness. What was it like for Afghanis to find out about 9/11 from the sound of a forbidden radio? What was it like to look up to a father who joined the mujahideen to fight communists? What was it like to avenge a sister's rape and murder? What was it like to guide US soldiers through unpredictable terrain? What was it like to run a forbidden bookstore, or feel lust, or play a forbidden rabab, during Taliban rule?

The writing itself doesn't have the innovativeness of David Foster Wallace or the lyricism of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. But that's not the point of this book, I don't think. The content and voices are what matters. It opened my eyes to things I never thought about. It put me in shoes I've never walked in before. Isn't that what a book is for?

Review of xTx's -BILLIE THE BULL-

My January recommendation is BILLIE THE BULL by an author known as xTx. That name's easy enough to remember, right?

Publisher: Mud Luscious Press / eprint: Dzanc Books
Price: $10.00
Link: http://www.dzancbooks.org/billie-the-bull-by-xtx/


The first time I read Billie the Bull, I grasped for more. xTx says a lot with very few words, but while this book only takes a couple hours to read, every chapter is charged with meaning, symbolism, and layered emotion - which is why the moment I finished it, I read it again. And again.

In the fashion of xTx's writing (she likes lists), I will enumerate what this tale is about:
1) A giant woman
2) An insatiable man & his collector
3) A big son
4) A normal-sized son
5) The death of a bull

Admittedly, in the end I wanted Billie to be at peace with her past, or at least find something happier than the torment she faces as a woman with gigantism. But what I wanted is irrelevant. Given that xTx parallels Billie's story with the savage reality of bullfights, you can pretty much predict that there's going to be carnage.

I'm not saying I'm an advocate for sunshine endings just for the hell of it. I'm just saying this book left me silent and contemplative for the rest of the day. I was struck by Billie's words:

One might say that you can never leave these sorts of things behind; that the scars they made are permanent. Scars that stay with you no matter if you choose to leave them where they lay, or if you hold them tight so they can remind you of what they make you think you are.

Dzanc describes this book as a story of a mother's love for her son. Which is true. However, I think it's about something else. It's about how society treats a spectacle. It's about collective bloodthirst. For me, it has a taste of feminism and animal rights, but you don't have to read it through that lens. In all, it gives us a glimpse of what it's like to be "the bull," a reality that transfers to many walks of life.

I'm recommending this gem based on xTx's engrossing language and unique storytelling. I don't recommend it if you want something straightforward. Some questions are left unanswered or hidden in a puzzle of words, but while the end is unsettling, it is complete.

Review of SYBIL BAKER'S -TALISMANS-

My December book recommendation is Talismans by Sybil Baker

Publisher: C&R Press

Price: $14.95

Link: http://www.crpress.org/2010/12/13/talismans-stories

How fiercely do our actions rely on our sense of identity? For Elise, everything is driven by her acute awareness that she is parentless. Her father, a Vietnam War veteran, left for Thailand when she was only a child. Shortly afterward, his new wife sent news that he'd drowned. Her letter was accompanied by a photo of him, which Elise carries with her as a talisman during her travels later in life.

No matter what hidden artifacts she finds while rummaging through her mother's belongings, Elise cannot understand why her father left for this otherworldly place. For that, it is no mystery why she is misguided in love, only pursuing foundationless relationships with empty futures. All of her burning questions remain unanswered when her mother dies suddenly, tragically, in a car accident.

After her mother’s passing, Elise has no strings tying her to home. Death, loss, and the absence of familial attachment have left her numb. In an effort to reattach herself to life - or perhaps shed her attachment to the past - Elise goes on a journey through Southeast Asia. She retraces her father's steps through Thailand, hoping to find the same sense of peace he had sought years before.

Sybil Baker’s Talismans is a series of vignettes strewn together, leading our protagonist forward – not toward understanding but to a greater sense of peace. The chapters alternate between third person and first person, though the focus remains on Elise – a literary device that has the effect of constantly pulling us close and pushing us away, the same way Elise treats the people around her. It’s as if we keep going under water, then coming up for clarity.

Elise connects deeply with the cultures she encounters in South Korea, Thailand, and Cambodia. She does her best to separate herself from the average “Western” tourists, the ones who assume enlightenment through superficial experiences. No doubt, Elise measures people by the amount they have suffered, like her. Baker plays upon common Western attitudes of dominance, ownership, and control as she descriptively paints Elise's surroundings.

Elise can be a dislikable person, but perhaps that is what makes her so relatable. She is lost, confused, and self-absorbed. Her search for identity is something we all can relate to, regardless of whether parents are present in our lives.

Without a doubt, Baker's novel takes hold of the reader. Her poetic style and perceptive descriptions animate everything within, creating a story that both captivates and causes serious introspection.