Indigo by Beverly Jenkins
The first collection of nonfiction by one of the few truly important American writers of our time (Sam Lipsyte). Gathering pieces written during the past three decades, Indigo ranges widely in subject matter and tone, opening with Cleve Dean, which takes Padgett Powell to Sweden for the World Armwrestling Federation Championships, through to its closing title piece, which charts Powell's lifelong fascination with the endangered indigo snake, a thinking snake, and his obsession with seeing one in the wild.Some things in between include an autobiographical piece about growing up in the segregated and newly integrated South and tributes to writers Powell has known, among them Donald Barthelme, who changed the aesthetic of short fiction in America for the second half of the twentieth century, and Peter Taylor, who briefly lived in Gainesville, Florida, where Powell taught for thirty-five years. There are also homages to other admired writers: Flannery O'Connor, the goddesshead; Denis Johnson, with his hard honest comedy; and William Trevor, whose Collected Stories provides the most literary bang for the buck in the English world.
A throughline in many of the pieces is the American South--the college teacher who introduced Powell to Faulkner; the city of New Orleans, which can render the improbable possible; and the seductions of gumbo, sometimes cooked with squirrel meat. Also here is an elegy for Spode, Powell's beloved pit bull: I had a dog not afraid, it gave me great cheer and blustery vicarious happiness.
In addressing the craft of fiction, Powell ventures that writing is controlled whimsy. His idiosyncratic playfulness brings this collection to vivid life, while his boundless curiosity and respect for the truth keep it on course. As Pete Dexter writes in his foreword to Indigo, He is still the best, even if not the best-known, writer of his generation.
Jenkins, Beverly: - Ms. Jenkins is the nation's premier writer of African-American historical romance fiction and specializes in 19th century African American life. She has 30 published novels to date. She has received numerous awards, including: five Waldenbooks/Borders Group Best Sellers Awards; two Career Achievement Awards from Romantic Times Magazine; a Golden Pen Award from the Black Writer's Guild, and in 1999 was named one of the Top Fifty Favorite African-American writers of the 20th Century by AABLC, the nation's largest on-line African-American book club. She has also been featured in many national publications, including the Wall Street Journal, People Magazine, Dallas Morning News and Vibe Magazine. She has lectured and given talks at such prestigious universities as Oberlin University, the University of Illinois, and Princeton. She speaks widely on both romance and 19th century African-American history. To learn more about Beverly Jenkins and her award-winning novels of historical and contemporary romance, please visit www.beverlyjenkins.net. Beverly Jenkins is also on Facebook. Or you can always snail-mail Beverly: Ms. Beverly Jenkins Post Office Box 1893 Belleville, MI 48112
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780595002023 |
| ISBN 10 | 0595002021 |
| Title | Indigo |
| Author | Beverly Jenkins |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | iUniverse |
| Year published | 2000-08-20 |
| Number of pages | 372 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |