By James L. Dickerson
Mojo Rising
Masters of the Art
“Mojo Rising” is a short story anthology that includes stories by Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Faulkner, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Eudora Welty, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Tennessee Williams, Richard Wright (generally regarded as one of the top three African American writers in American history), noted Civil War historian and novelist Shelby Foote, author Willie Morris (legendary editor of Harper’s Magazine in the 1960s, novelist, and journalist), American Book Award winner Ellen Gilchrist (who contributed a previously unpublished story), Elizabeth Spencer (graduate of Belhaven College and Vanderbilt University; University of Mississippi creative writing instructor; five-time winner of the O. Henry Award for short fiction), Stark Young, former drama critic for the New York Times and author of bestselling novel “So Red the Rose,” and novelist and short writer Ellen Douglas, whose work has appeared in The New Yorker and in the O. Henry collection of prize stories.
Available formats: Hard cover, paperback, and eBook
With perennial favorites such as Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” and a previously unpublished story by Ellen Gilchrist, this anthology is a little treasure trove from a region which constitutes a veritable gold mine of literature. Mojo Rising is as valuable to the neophyte as to the connoisseur.
– Peter Cooley, Professor of English, Director of Creative Writing, Tulane University
Mojo Rising: Masters of the Art: An outstanding collection of stories by some of the most renowned Southern writers. Highly recommended.
– Robert W. Hamblin, Professor Emeritus of English and Founding Director, Center for Faulkner Studies. Southeast Missouri State University
The two Mojo Rising anthologies showcase an extraordinarily rich group of writers from a region bordered roughly by Memphis, New Orleans, and Nashville. Volume One highlights writers who established the area’s rich heritage in the twentieth century, including, among others, the literary giants William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Tennessee Williams, and Richard Wright. Volume Two, assembling fiction from a wide variety of exciting contemporary writers, testifies to the region’s ongoing literary flourishing. These are superb collections—read them and get a glimpse into the mysterious depths of what James L. Dickerson calls the Mojo Triangle.
– Robert H. Brinkmeyer, Jr., Director, Institute for Southern Studies, University of South Carolina
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CONTENTS
Introduction
By James L. Dickerson
11
A Rose for Emily
By William Faulkner
27
Why I Live at the P.O.
By Eudora Welty
40
Jalous Business
By Stark Young
57
Mama’s Old Stucco House
By Tennessee Williams
67
The Boy in the Tree
By Elizabeth Spencer
81
Big Black Good Man
By Richard Wright
99
A Christmas Story
By Ellen Gilchrist
117
Luke and the Legionnaires
By Willie Morris
128
Shots in the Dark
By Shelby Foote
155
On the Lake
By Ellen Douglas
184
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
James L. Dickerson
After a career as a journalist for three Pulitzer Prize-winning dailies, The Commercial Appeal of Memphis, the Clarion Ledger-Jackson Daily News, and the Delta Democrat-Times of Greenville (MS), James L. Dickerson began a career as a full-time author. His book Mojo Triangle: Birthplace of Country, Blues, Jazz and Rock ‘n’ Roll earned a first-place award from the Independent Publishers Association, and two music-related books, Goin’ Back to Memphis (since republished as Memphis Going Down) and That’s Alright, Elvis, co-written with Elvis Presley’s first guitarist, Scotty Moore, were finalists for the prestigious Gleason award. He co-wrote a second book with Moore titled Scotty & Elvis. This is his first movie rights sale. Two of his books have been translated into Chinese by publishers in China. The Italian language rights to Colonel Tom Parker were sold to a major publisher in Italy.
Dickerson was the editor and publisher of Nine-O-One Network, at one time the third-largest circulation music magazine in the United States, behind Rolling Stone and Spin. The magazine was the first magazine published in the South to obtain newsstand distribution in all 50 states. The magazine also had distribution in most European countries. In Russia, it was read by underground radio announcers who worked to overthrow Communist Party domination.
Dickerson is the editor and publisher of Sartoris Literary Group, one of the most successful non-academic trade book publishers in the South. Sartoris has been licensed to publish the works of William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Tennessee Williams, Richard Wright, Shelby Foote, and others.
As a freelance writer and book critic he has worked for the Toronto Star, Baltimore Sun, BookPage, Good Housekeeping, Playboy, Penthouse, Omni, the Tennessean, and others. A longtime resident of Memphis and Nashville, Dickerson now lives in the Metro Jackson, Mississippi, area.