Poet: David St. John

I recently read The Auroras by the poet David St. John. He writes about ghosts and razors and dulcimers and rain. He writes about Haight-Ashbury and Pere Lachaise and the Mojave. He uses words that satisfy my mind. He explores sentiments that I too have felt. A poet that can make you feel that his poems are your own is one for the ages.

Alejo Carpentier

I recently finished The Kingdom of this World by the Cuban writer Alejo Carpentier. Kundera mentioned him in an essay, and I was curious. Now I understand what Kundera was talking about. Carpentier packs a lot of punch into this short novel about Haiti, and his prowess is evident from the novel's beginning. It is said that Carpentier is the father of magic realism, and never before did I realize how much magic realism owes to the African tradition. I guess there is something new to be learned every day.

Oxford American

The winter issue of the Oxford American digs deeply into Texas music. The piece about Paul English, Willie Nelson's drummer, is outstanding. English comes from Fort Worth, and the article mentions places like the Four Deuces, the high-end gambling den of yore, as well as the underworld elements that influenced English in his early days. The article also expresses the spirit of old Jacksboro Highway and gives insight into a mentality that I always considered to be the default setting when I was growing up. This issue also includes an article on Guy Clark as well as a piece on the murder of Deep Ellum fiddler Prince Albert Hunt, who was gunned down by a jealous husband in 1931.

We Pointed Them North

I recently read Larry McMurtry's Sacagewea's Nickname, an excellent book of essays on the American West. In one of the essays, he mentions We Pointed Them North, which he considers the best of cowboy autobiographies. Reading it, I saw how the book must have influenced Mr. McMurtry's Lonesome Dove. Teddy Blue Abbott's understanding of the big picture in the late nineteenth century must have been very helpful for Mr. McMurtry in his research. After reading this book, I agree with Mr. McMurtry. We Pointed Them North is outstanding. Not only is it an illuminating primary source, it is also a quick, entertaining read, something many of us appreciate.  

Gypsy Playboys

This week we saw the Gypsy Playboys play here in Fort Worth. One band member called western swing "jazz on cornbread," a line that I enjoyed. The band is quite talented, and they move seamlessly among genres. They are as comfortable with Bob Wills as they are with Django Reinhardt. Their repertoire includes Central European Romany tunes as well as the kind of music one would imagine hearing in New Orleans during the Depression. If you are interested in the sounds of bygone times, check them out.

With a pistol in his hand

After reading a recent article by Dagoberto Gilb in Texas Monthly, I decided to finally read Americo Paredes' With his pistol in his hand. Paredes' treatment of "The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez" is exceptional. He questions J. Frank Dobie's version of the Cortez story as well as Webb's views on the Texas Rangers. Paredes dissects the famous folk ballad, giving the reader a good understanding of the development of the border corrido. In his analysis, he includes several Spanish variants of the corrido with an English translation. The book is a great read for the historian, folklorist, musicologist, or fiction writer mining for ideas.

Gary P. Nunn in Luckenbach

We had the good fortune to attend Gary P. Nunn's Christmas Ball at Luckenbach this year. The youngest dancers on the floor were less than a year old, and the oldest were perhaps in their eighties. The atmosphere was exceptional. It was truly peace on earth, goodwill toward man, woman, and child. And any time you have the opportunity to hear "London Homesick Blues" played where the famous Viva Terlingua! album was recorded, life is good.