Courtesy: Thacker Mountain Radio
Thursday night’s Thacker Mountain Radio, which occurred in conjunction with the Oxford Conference for the Book, featured three authors – two more than are usually present, and four musical acts.
“Tonight’s event is really special,” Savannah Coleman, sophomore International Studies major, said. “There are so many different authors and artists on the show and so many genres of literature and music.”
Before the event began the room was buzzing, filled with many regulars and a large number of Oxford Conference for the Book attendees, some of whom had never before stepped foot in Oxford.
David Vann, the prizewinning author of Legend of a Suicide as well as many others, is one of those people.
“Thacker Mountain is a fantastic radio show, so I was really happy to be invited as one of the authors,” Vann said. “Barry Hannah is one of my favorite writers, but I’ve actually never been to Oxford before.”
Vann read an excerpt from his latest work, Aquarium, a coming of age tale about a 12-year-old girl with a troubled home life. Judging by the response from tonight’s audience, this novel is sure to be as successful as all of Vann’s other work, if not more so.
Following Vann, Kent Russell left the audience reeling with his reading of an essay about the time he spent at a “juggalo” conference. This reading, featured many “expletives,” the term Kent hilariously used as a euphemism for the many obscenities in his story. Russell read from his latest work, the essay collection and memoir titled I Am Sorry to Think That I Have Raised a Timid Son, which is about society’s view of masculinity as well as Russell’s relationship with his father.
Preston Lauterbach, author of the book The Chitlin Circuit, rounded out the evening’s line up of writers with not a reading but a “fireside chat” about the fascinating and intensively researched history detailed in his latest work, Beale Street Dynasty. The audience discovered that the history of Memphis also involved an incredibly large number of individuals from Mississippi.
“Thacker Mountain Radio is a Mississippi asset, and it’s something loved by everyone who attends” said Timothy Steenwyk, sophomore Engineering major. “Tonight, the strong literary influence really set the tone for the evening.”
The show was certainly not limited to literary talent, however. The Yalobushwackers, the house band for TMR, began and ended with show with fun, rousing tunes. Lonnie Holley, an artist from Atlanta who has only recently forayed into music, graced the show with a flamboyant piano and singing performance.
Not related to Lonnie, Claire Holley, an award-winning songwriter who hails from Mississippi, sang a soulful, beautiful rendition of a Beth Ann Fennelly poem. Later, delivering a gospel song he wrote himself, Marshall Ruffin displayed intriguing vocal and musical talent.
“Thank you to Oxford,” Kent Russell said in closing. “Thank you for Thacker Mountain; thank you to everybody here. I will try to come back and not make a fool of myself.”
– Alex Martin
