We Lived and Breathed It—The Old South

This Delta Girl is proud to be going back
—back to Clarksdale—
this time to sign some books 
and I want you to be there with me!

The Tourism Building
In Historic Downtown Clarksdale, Mississippi
Saturday, August 11, 2012
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

I know—I've been away for a long, long time. But I did go back nineteen years ago and after that trip, I began to write HOUSE NOT MADE WITH HANDS. I couldn't give up on it and some fourteen years later, I got it published. Here's a little excerpt from chapter one of my first book, my memoir, my love for the Mississippi Delta . . .

By the time the late fifties rolled around, my interest was not the surreptitious exodus out Fourth Street to Highway 61 North, for I knew nothing of it. Nor was it neighboring Tunica and the casinos, not yet a twinkle in Mississippi's eye. It was those oak-shaded streets—West Second, Catalpa, School, and Oakhurst Drive. It was Alan's and Powers' and Shankerman's department stores. And oh, yes, Westbrook's Drive-In, where we sat in our cars eating hamburgers and listening to our favorite fifties' tunes. But far beyond that, it was a dusty road, some mimosa trees, and a long green trail that led to the Indian Mound and true love already sparked from a tune by Clarksdale's own Sam Cooke called 'Darling, You Send Me'.



And now... now, I'm going back, and this time I will bring my books—all three of them—for they are all published and another one is in the writing now.

Thank you, JIMMY GILES! You have made it possible for us to gather at the Tourism Building in Clarksdale, and I hope we will pack out the place. Thanks to my friends, my dear old CHS-ers for putting this on for me and at such a fantastic time of the year—BLUES FESTIVAL!  What a poignant setting to promote a book about the Old South and those who lived and breathed it. We were all in it together. So thank you, Emmie Lou and Glenda and Kathleen and Maggie, and I'm sure so many more who will be involved in hospitality for this event. I am grateful to all of you.

Thanks to all of my Oxford and New Albany and Ripley friends who have purchased my books and have shared them about the Hills and Delta of Mississippi. I look forward to getting to Water Valley in Yalobusha County for a signing, hopefully in October.

Until we meet in Clarksdale—
My best to all of you,
Jane Bennett Gaddy
Trinity, FLA







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