by Jason Carney
I am asking for myself as much as for this stranger.
The End
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I encourage everyone to BUNNY UP!
I would like to express a special gratitude to Karen G. and Kate Shuster for their wonderful insights and complete honesty.
Craig, Daylon, Chris, Sean, and Eddy, I ain’t got the words for what I feel for y’all.
I would like to thank the following groups, organizations, and persons: Clebo, Gno, Jason Edwards, Bob “Whoopee Cat” Stephens, Rockbaby, Dallas Poetry Slam, Fort Worth Poetry Slam, Seattle Poetry Slam, Tara Hardy, Mike Henry and Phil West, Austin Poetry Slam, Danny Solis, ABQ Poetry Slam, Matthew John Connelly, Laura E.J. Moran, Henry Sampson, Scott Woods, Poetry Slam Inc., Lynne Procope, louderARTS Project NYC, Naz and Dahled, Ekabumi, Oakland and Berkeley Poetry Slams, Taylor Mali, Urbana Poetry Slam NYC, Mo Browne and the Nuyorican Poets Café, Jeanann Verlee, Union Station magazine, OKC Slam, Daniel Roop, Amye Archer, Mr. Jim Warner, Pank, Marc Smith, Patricia Smith, Roger Bonair-Agard, Ann Morrison, Arley and Judy, Jay and Eddy and their families, Dennis Arnold, Wallace Dunbar, Mr. and Mrs. George Bourgeios, Port Veritas, Will Gibson, Geoff Trenchard, Marty McConnell, Kevin Coval, Bryonn Bain, Greg Polvere, Michael Pavlov, the College Agency, Inkera, Bluz, Carlos Robson, the Asia Project, Katie Wirsing, Bertrand Boyd III, Al Letson, Jeff Kass, Regie Gibson, Gerry Quigley, Jack McCarthy, Ray McNiece, Buddy Wakefield, Beau Sia, Bill MacMillan, Gabrielle Bouliane, Thomas H. and Allison D., Taz, Mack Dennis, Abdul-Kenyatta, Amy Weaver, Vic, Zach, Stefan, Wilkes University, Dr. Bonnie Culver, Dr. J. Michael Lennon, Susan Cartsonis, Kaylie Jones, Akashic Books, Nancy McKinley, Jaclyn Fowler, Amber Diamonds, Literary Lions, Tracy Tine, Opalina and Carlos, Uncle Brooks and Aunt Joy, Mrs. Collins, Scotty, and the rest of the Collins brothers, Danny H., anyone who has ever given me a place to crash and a spot to perform, and all “slam” poets everywhere.
JASON CARNEY, a poet, writer, and educator from Dallas, is a four-time National Poetry Slam finalist and was honored as a Legend of the Slam in 2007. He appeared on three seasons of the HBO television series Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry. Carney has performed and lectured at many colleges and universities as well as high schools and juvenile detention centers from California to Maine.
Also available from Kaylie Jones Books
Unmentionables by Laurie Loewenstein
Sing in the Morning, Cry at Night by Barbara J. Taylor
The Love Book by Nina Solomon
Foamers by Justin Kassab
We Are All Crew by Bill Landauer
Little Beasts by Matthew McGevna (forthcoming)
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, by any means, including mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the publisher. Some names in this memoir have been changed to respect the privacy of those individuals.
Published by Akashic Books
©2015 by Jason Carney
e-ISBN-13: 978-1-61775-338-1
Paperback ISBN-13: 978-1-61775-301-5
Library of Congress Control Number: 2014907317
Kaylie Jones Books
www.kayliejonesbooks.com
Akashic Books
Twitter: @AkashicBooks
Facebook: AkashicBooks
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.akashicbooks.com
ABOUT KAYLIE JONES BOOKS
an Akashic Books imprint
The increasingly commercial nature of mainstream publishing has made it difficult for literary writers to find a home for their more serious, thought-provoking works. Kaylie Jones Books will create a cooperative of dedicated emerging and established writers who will play an integral part in the publishing process, from reading manuscripts, editing, offering advice, to advertising the upcoming publications. The list of brilliant novels unable to find homes within the mainstream is growing every day.
It is our hope to publish books that bravely address serious issues—historical or contemporary—relevant to society today. Just because a book addresses serious topics and may include tragic events does not mean that the narrative cannot be amusing, fast-paced, plot-driven, and lyrical all at once.
Kaylie Jones
New York, NY
January 2014
ALSO AVAILABLE FROM KAYLIE JONES BOOKS
Unmentionables, by Laurie Loewenstein
"Exceptionally readable and highly recommended."—Library Journal (starred review)
Unmentionables has been selected by the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association as a Midwest Connections pick for January 2014!
"Engaging first work from a writer of evident ability." —Kirkus Reviews
"Marian Elliot Adams’ . . . tale is contagiously enthusiastic." —Publishers Weekly
"Unmentionables starts small and expands to touch Chicago and war-torn France as Laurie Loewenstein weaves multiple points of view together to create a narrative of social change and the stubbornness of the human heart." —Black Heart Magazine
"A historical, feminist romance in the positive senses of all three terms: a realistic evocation of small-town America circa 1917, including its racial tensions; a tale about standing up for the equitable treatment of women; and a story about two lonely people who overcome obstacles, including their own character defects, to find love together." —Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
"Unmentionables is a sweeping and memorable story of struggle and suffrage, love and redemption . . . Loewenstein has skillfuly woven a story and a cast of characters that will remain in the memory long after the book’s last page has been turned." —New York Journal of Books
Marian Elliot Adams, an outspoken advocate for sensible undergarments for women, sweeps onto the Chautauqua stage under a brown canvas tent on a sweltering August night in 1917, and shocks the gathered town of Emporia with her speech: How can women compete with men in the work place and in life if they are confined by their undergarments? The crowd is further appalled when Marian falls off the stage and sprains her ankle, and is forced to remain among them for a week. As the week passes, she throws into turmoil the town's unspoken rules governing social order, women, and Negroes. The recently widowed newspaper editor Deuce Garland, his lapels glittering with fraternal pins, has always been a community booster, his desire to conform rooted in a legacy of shame--his great-grandfather married a black woman, and the town will never let Deuce forget it, especially not his father-in-law, the owner of the newspaper and Deuce's boss. Deuce and his father-in-law are already at odds, since the old man refuses to allow Deuce's stepdaughter, Helen, to go to Chicago to fight for women's suffrage.
But Marian's arrival shatters Deuce's notions of what is acceptable, versus what is right, and Deuce falls madly in love with the tall activist from New York. During Marian's stay in Emporia, Marian pushes Deuce to become a greater, braver, and more dynamic man than he ever imagined was possible. He takes a stand against his father-in-law by helping Helen escape to Chicago; and he publishes an article exposing the county's oldest farm family as the source of a recent typhoid outbreak, risking his livelihood and reputation. Marian's journey takes her to the frozen mud of France's Picardy region, just beyond the lines, to help destitute villagers as the Great War rages on. Helen, in Chicago, is hired as a streetcar conductor surrounded by bitter men who resent her taking a man's job. Meanwhile, Deuce struggles to make a living and find his place in Emporia's wider community after losing the newspaper.
Marian is a powerful catalyst that forces nineteenth-century Emporia into the twentieth century; but while she agitates for enlightenment and justice, she has little time to consider her own motives and her extreme loneliness. Marian, in the end, must decide if she has the courage to face small-town life, and be known, or continue to be a stranger always passing through.
LAURIE LOEWENSTEIN grew up in the flatlands of western Ohio and now resides in Rochester, NY, where Su
san B. Anthony was arrested for voting in 1872.
Unmentionables is available in paperback from our website and in bookstores everywhere. The e-book edition is available wherever e-books are sold.
Sing in the Morning, Cry at Night by Barbara J. Taylor
Named a Best Summer Book for 2014 by Publishers Weekly!
Named a Pick of the Week for the week of June 30th by Publishers Weekly!
“An earnest, well-done historical novel that skillfully blends fact and fiction.” —Publishers Weekly
“A profound story of how one unforeseen event may tear a family apart, but another can just as unexpectedly bring them back together again.” —Publishers Weekly, Best Summer Book for 2014
“A fantastic novel worthy of the greatest accolades. Writing a book about a historical event can be difficult, as is crafting a bestseller, but Barbara J. Taylor is successful at both.” —Downtown Magazine
“Taylor’s careful attention to detail and her deep knowledge of the community and its people give the novel a welcome gravity.” —The Columbus Dispatch
“One of the most compelling books I’ve ever read . . . a haunting story that will stay with the reader long after reading this novel.” —Story Circle Book Reviews
“Rave reviews are pouring in for this historical novel of a family tragedy.” —The Halifax Reader
“This haunting story of tragedy and hope in an early twentieth century mining town is . . . an expertly crafted arrow that shoots straight for the heart. Reminiscent of classics such as How Green Was My Valley . . . this book is a must-read for fans of character-driven, authentic historical fiction.” —Amy Drown Blog
“This is an incredibly well written novel that has the kind of historical accuracy and details that make reading historical novels a treasure. . . . Not to be missed.” —She Treads Softly
“The story may have a sad premise, but Taylor convinces the reader to join her in the tale, as we watch bewildered Violet try to find a space in her new world.” —A New Day
“A beautiful, haunting book . . . heartbreaking and moving, and ultimately beautiful.” —Constantly Reading Momma
“No one without a heart as big and warm as Barbara Taylor’s possibly could have written a story about a family tragedy that’s infused with so much hope and love, humor, mystery, and down-to-earth wisdom. This is a book I’ll want to give to people. I could not put it down and can’t wait to be captured again by the next book this wonderful human being writes.” —Beverly Donofrio, author of Astonished: A Story of Evil, Blessings, Grace, and Solace
“Not since reading Richard Llewellyn’s How Green Was My Valley fifty years ago have I felt such empathy and love through fiction for a place, a time, and a people. Sing in the Morning, Cry at Night is a book of equal power and beauty, a bittersweet tale set in early-twentieth-century Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania, the heart and soul of America’s anthracite coal-mining region, a place where Grace and Grief—now, as then—walk hand in hand.” —Sara Pritchard, author of Help Wanted: Female
“The world of Christian miners—the hard core of the anthracite mining industry in northeast Pennsylvania—is beautifully evoked by Barbara J. Taylor in this remarkable novel. I found myself drawn back to its pages, living deeply in its world as I read. The sense of place—a place I know well, as I grew up there—is vividly realized. This is a lyrical, passionate novel that will hold readers in its thrall. A first-rate debut.” —Jay Parini, author of The Last Station
Almost everyone in town blames eight-year-old Violet Morgan for the death of her nine-year-old sister, Daisy. Sing in the Morning, Cry at Night opens on September 4, 1913, two months after the Fourth of July tragedy. Owen, the girls’ father, “turns to drink” and abandons his family. Their mother Grace falls victim to the seductive powers of Grief, an imagined figure who has seduced her off-and-on since childhood. Violet forms an unlikely friendship with Stanley Adamski, a motherless outcast who works in the mines as a breaker boy. During an unexpected blizzard, Grace goes into premature labor at home and is forced to rely on Violet, while Owen is “off being saved” at a Billy Sunday Revival. Inspired by a haunting family story, Sing in the Morning, Cry at Night blends real life incidents with fiction to show how grace can be found in the midst of tragedy.
Sing in the Morning, Cry at Night is available in paperback from our website and in bookstores everywhere. The e-book edition is available wherever e-books are sold.
MORE FROM KAYLIE JONES BOOKS
The Love Book, by Nina Solomon
Foamers, by Justin Kassab
We Are All Crew, by Bill Landauer
Little Beasts, by Matthew McGevna
About Akashic Books
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