It is probable this writer has better work. Rubin has some fame as a journalist, professor, publisher and mentor of writers. In this introduction he eIt is probable this writer has better work. Rubin has some fame as a journalist, professor, publisher and mentor of writers. In this introduction he explains that the “sketches and stories “ were written and published separately but cover a similar time period (1930s and 1940s) when he grew up in Charleston. Most of the stories at least partially take place there. He admits to massaging the original pieces to make the book seem more of a unified work. Sometimes the pieces are very autobiographical, some lean mostly toward non-fiction and some feel very fictional. There is a first person narrator to help hold things together.
Somehow the book lacks cohesion for me and some of the topics weren’t fascinating. His Charleston is not the tourist’s Charleston and although the title proclaims Uptown/Downtown, little of downtown Charleston appears in the pages. Transportation does show up as a theme throughout whether it be local trains—the Boll Weevil, regional trains, working boats, small liners, or streetcars. It is roughly arranged by the author’s childhood to adulthood. As a Jew he had a particular type of Charleston childhood.
Definitely the 30s and 40s history and memoir touches here were the best part of the book for me....more
This is a very nice introduction to the Gullah tradition of making Sweetgrass baskets. The baskets have been made for many years in Charleston and LowThis is a very nice introduction to the Gullah tradition of making Sweetgrass baskets. The baskets have been made for many years in Charleston and Low Country South Carolina. The photos are great.
It’s getting harder to buy these baskets made from traditional patterns brought with enslaved people from West Africa. The Gullah people on rice and indigo plantations made these baskets from local grasses to make money while living on plantations or to supplement their earnings after emancipation. They have always been sold in the city of Charleston at a couple of locations, on roadside stands going north out of Charleston and at certain museums in the North such as in New York City. They definitely are works of art.
Unfortunately, many children of basketmakers are no longer interested in learning the craft, the grasses are being lost to development and the prices are getting high for the average person (they take a lot of time and effort to make). That is not really covered in this book. Also, the book doesn’t have all that much about the baskets. Most of the writing is spent on history and culture, which was fine with me. There are probably better books out there on the Sweetgrass baskets themselves....more
I didn’t really warm to the first half of this book relating to the early families and history of Charleston. One issue is that there is repetition asI didn’t really warm to the first half of this book relating to the early families and history of Charleston. One issue is that there is repetition as the author describes what happens to several members of the Heyward family (same story different houses). Good editing could have solved that sort of problem. Without the author’s personal family information, the early part of this book is dry.
Early history of Charleston is important in understanding why things are as they are today. Margaret Middleton Rivers Eastman as you can see from her name has prominent family connections. It may seem just snobbishness but the Middleton connection, where she uses documented family history and lore plus great photos and illustrations, is obviously the high point of the book. There is a useful bibliography at the end.
As the author tells you, there was a brief time when Charleston was the richest city on the Atlantic coast. She tells the story of its highs and vicissitudes. One “peek” as promised in the title is the fun story of Jack Kennedy at the beginning of WWII when he was briefly a lodger in the Middleton house on the battery....more
We all love a story with mystery and the devil. Robert Johnson’s life would appear to offer both. Tom Graves helps us filter through the small amount We all love a story with mystery and the devil. Robert Johnson’s life would appear to offer both. Tom Graves helps us filter through the small amount of known facts and a lot of the legends. It’s brief but then so was Johnson’s life. He was the charter member of the 27 club—famous musicians such as Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, Brian Jones, Amy Winehouse and Jimi Hendrix who never made it to the age of 28. That alone is myth worthy.
Graves introduces us to Johnson, who was born in 1911 in the Mississippi delta. Cotton work was horrible and the lives of black and white workers was misery. Not surprisingly if something else was available, escaping that life would be a huge plus. One of the very few ways to get out was musical talent.
We learn the pitifully few documented facts about Johnson—applications for marriage licenses, recording sessions in ‘36 and ‘37 which left us with 42 surviving songs. He died in 1938. A revival of interest began in the 1960s. And so to the myths. Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads (really?), he was really a country bumpkin (no), he died poisoned by strychnine (doesn’t fit but bad moonshine might), three or four different people say they held his head as he was dying after one painful night—or three weeks.
If you prefer to cherish the myths you may not fully appreciate this book but it is very good at giving you a feeling for the place and time....more
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