Texas Pecan: National Coffee of Texas

Today is National Coffee Day, so I reckon I'll celebrate what I consider the National

Coffee of Texas. Yes, indeed, it is a fine day to celebrate Texas pecan coffee, which I sometimes drink by the bucketload. My wife, Martina, is also a fan of Texas pecan, and when she goes back to Europe, she always takes packages to give to family and friends. Considering the rarity of this Lone Star specialty in Bohemia, the coffee is always a smash hit.

And just for kicks, here is an article that includes the coffee-related lyrics found in ten songs by Texas native Lyle Lovett.

https://www.theeagle.com/entertainment/spotlight/java-jams-coffee-has-permeated-lyle-lovett-s-music/article_af2987a4-0445-5061-b8c1-cc5bc3483156.html

   

A Collector of Songs

Folklorist John Avery Lomax was born on this day in 1867 in Goodman, Mississippi, though his family moved to Texas before his second birthday. In Texas, Lomax lived near the Old Chisholm Trail and after hearing the old cowboy songs while growing up decided to write down the words to the songs. This early interest transformed into an occupation, and Lomax traveled the nation collecting folk songs, with his Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads being published in 1910. Lomax, who was among the founders of the Texas Folklore Society, is also known for introducing the nation to the music of Lead Belly, whom he met at Angola in Louisiana. The folklorist died in Mississippi in 1948.

Here is a Lomax recording of Doris McMurray singing "This Little Light o' Mine." The recording was made near Huntsville, Texas, in 1939. 

To learn more about John Avery Lomax, please follow the link to the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) article, which is the source from which the majority of the information in this blog post originated.

https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/flo07

  

Austin Bound

"Ink Upon the Furrows," a new story set in Waylon County, was named the winner of the 2018 Texas Observer Short Story Contest last Thursday. I am thankful to Judge Natalia Sylvester and the Texas Observer for this dream come true; and I am grateful to the people, both living and departed, whose influence made this story possible, including my late stepfather, Randy Kunze, who, when I told him I had been offered a job in Northern Bohemia, handed me a Czech phrasebook and encouraged me to do what he had always dreamed of doing, move to Europe.

At this time I would like to announce that I will be joining the other Texas Observer Short Story Contest finalists for a reading at a Texas Book Festival Lit Crawl event in Austin on October 27 at Gelateria Gemelli, 1009 E. 6th Street. The event will start at 9:30 pm. If you live in Austin, will be in Austin, or would like to be in Austin for the Bookfest, please mark your calendar. Thanks again to all of my friends and family for your unflagging support. I couldn't make it without you.

  

  

Wedding Kolaches

My wife, Martina, arrived back in Texas last night after visiting her mother in the Czech Republic. When she opened her suitcase, she smiled and showed me the fresh wedding kolaches she had ordered from a bakery in her little town in Northern Bohemia.

Traditionally, wedding kolaches are served at nuptial events as well as given away to coworkers and neighbors. We, of course, are already happily married, but Martina liked the idea of bringing little bite-sized kolaches back for folks to sample.

Cream, poppy seed, and hazelnut wedding kolaches

  

The Writer from Indian Creek

Lately I've been as busy as ol' Beelzebub himself and consequently have not written a blog post in what seems like ages. I have, however, bought a few books, The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter among them, and I have been trying to read at least a short story or a couple of poems each night before going to sleep. 

When I first read Katherine Anne Porter many years ago, I was young and restless with a head full of Kerouac and Hemingway. I was hardly ready to truly appreciate the National Book Award winner from Indian Creek, Texas. Today I am delighted by the richness of her work and look forward to reading more of it.

In this interview, Porter says that when she was a child nobody told her what to read or not to read, which, in my opinion, allows a person to pursue his or her own interests and become an independent thinker. At 26:42, the great author gives her advice for aspiring writers.