Wofford’s Blood (Mercer University Press 2024) is a stunning work of historical fiction based on the life of James Daugherty (J. D.) Wofford, a half White, half Cherokee, who became a conductor and interpreter on the Trail of Tears. Author Donna Coffey Little tells readers in an “Author’s Note” at the beginning that the interviews […]
Dawn Major’s Book of Note: “The Way from Me to Us” by Mike Coleman
December 2, 2024 by Leave a Comment
Introduction I had heard Mike Coleman’s name circling my friend’s group of authors for a while, but I hadn’t yet had the chance to personally meet him and then I a read a piece he wrote for WELL READ Magazine titled “An Ekphrasis Moment: Good for the Soul” about French artist Henri Matisse’s painting, The […]
“Yoke & Feather” by Jessie van Eerden
November 27, 2024 by Leave a Comment
Yoke & Feather by Jessie van Eerden (Dzanc Books 2024), described as “a collection of braided essays,” is an intimate yet sweeping search for the “everyday sacred,” the small prayers and essential longings underlying our daily striving for connection, fulfillment, and as yet unrecognized need. Linking seemingly discordant experiences so apt they ring harmonious as […]
“Driving Naked” by Katherine Vaccaro
November 27, 2024 by Leave a Comment
Katherine Vaccaro has a great sense of adventure and a disarming sense of humor as evidenced in Driving Naked, her debut memoir. Whereas I knew someone who actually drove to McDonald’s naked, Katherine’s naked driving is more metaphorical; she and her husband loved nudist camps and collectible cars. Kathy met Eddie at a Mensa event […]
“Girl at the End of the World” by Erin Carlyle
November 26, 2024 by Leave a Comment
Someone once noted that the world of childhood ends when one of two things happen. When we become aware of the presence of evil in the world. Or when we develop the ability to reflect honestly and with some degree of intelligence on the past. Both of those lines of demarcation can be clearly observed […]
“I Could Name God in Twelve Ways” by Karen Salyer McElmurray
November 26, 2024 by Leave a Comment
The Sufi mystic and poet Rumi wrote, “There are a hundred ways to kneel and kiss the ground.” In prayer, in supplication and humbleness, in homage, in desperation for healing and peace. The ground we claim or that claims us. A foreign ground we travel for exploration and enlightenment. Home ground, dismissed, wished for, finally […]