:Bill's Book Blog:

I’ve been meaning for a long time to look more closely into the early films directed by one of my favorites, Alfred Hitchcock. Most of us are familiar with his later classics: “North by Northwest,” ‘The Birds,” “Psycho,” and “Vertigo” surely among them. But Hitchcock didn’t get to America until 1940, when he directed “Rebecca;” he had learned his craft directing more than 20 films in Great Britain before that time, going all the way back to the era of the silent cinema.

Most of those early films are in general circulation and can be fairly easily (and cheaply) viewed. They are fascinating, especially the silent movies, showing Hitchcock as a very young man — he was born in England in 1899 — who already possesses a singular vision behind the camera. His earliest films have been lost, but his third film and first thriller, “The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog,” made in 1926 survives. As one critic writes, in spite of certain conventions, it is visually clever and “is virtually a textbook for Hitchcock’s later work” with its theme focused on an innocent man wrongly accused of a crime.

“The Ring” from 1927, another silent film, also sparkles with inventive direction including the director’s good use of close-ups of his actors. His last complete silent film, “The Manxman” (1929), apparently has met with little critical praise, but its admittedly melodramatic tale of love and guilt — magnificently photographed on the Isle of Man — nonetheless is sustained by some compelling moments from Hitchcock.

Moving into the early talkies, Hitchcock oversaw several notable films with his growing craft and confidence, digging into a theme of deception, particularly among those of law and order who prove false in “Blackmail” (1929) and later in the unusual “Rich and Strange” (1932) exploring the extremes of life and death. For those accustomed only thinking of Hitchcock only in a master of suspense, some of these films will come as quite a surprise. Several are light comedies, and as mentioned earlier, a melodrama, and yet few are boring or unviewable for most modern audiences.

Several collections of these early films may be found in circulation, and libraries will be a good source to find many. Online are several multi-CD sets, reasonably priced and rewarding for those who would like to sample a part of the Hichcock canon they don’t know. It’s fun to see the director’s recurring techniques, from the swooping overhead camera shots to the blurring of sound between a woman’s scream and a train’s whistle to the presence of birds (always a sign of chaos). And you can also spot Hitchcock himself in many of the films with the cameo appearances that many viewers came to expect in each later movie.

There are several books about Hitchcock’s films and several biographies which provide good overviews of his life and work. Among them are Donald Spoto’s “The Dark Side of Genius,” “Hitchcock Piece By Piece” by Laurent Bouzereau and Patricia Hitchcock, “Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light” by Patrick McGilligan and “Hitchcock on Hitchcock: Selected Writings and Interviews.”

The Townsend Award for Fiction is a major Georgia literary prize that has followed a bit of a winding path since its inception. They began back in 1981, named to honor Jim Townsend, the founder of Atlanta magazine and a fine writer who served as an inspiration to a number of young authors. Over the years since his passing, however, the Townsend family apparently lost interwest and is no longer involved in the award though it continues to carry his name. Instead, it is administered by Georgia Perimeter College and the Georgia Center for the Book, with assistance from several other organizations.

This background, of course, matters not nearly as much as the award itself and the writers who have been chosen to receive it over the years. They include a pretty fair group of whom you may have heard: Alice Walker, Terry Kay, Philip Lee Williams, Mary Hood, Ha Jin, Ferrol Sams and others. It’s a significant award by any name, however, and the ten nominees foror this year have just been named. They are, in alphabetical order:

Daniel Black forPerfect Peace

Lynn Cullen for Reign of Madness

Ann Hite for Ghost on Black Mountain

Joshilyn Jackson for Backseat Saints

Collin Kelley for Remain in Light

Thomas Mullen for The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers

Andrew Plattner for A Marriage of Convenience

Josh Russell for My Bright Midnight

Joseph Skibell for A Curable Romantic

Amanda Kyle Williams for The Stranger You Seek 

If you’re looking for a good fiction reading list, go no further. This is a great one. They are all Georgia writers, or writers with strong connections to this state, and they represent a great diversity in showcasing literary talent around these parts.

The winner of the Townsend Award — given every other year, by the way — will be announced at a gala reception on the evening of April 26 at the Atlanta Botanical Garden (not exactly known as a literary salon, but it’s lovely nonetheless). We’ll have details about tickets posted shortly. In the meantime, the Center for the Book and the Southern Academy of Literary arts at GPC have chosen a panel of three out-of-state judges who will make a decision among the ten nominees, but we’ll all have to wait until April 26 to find out who’s the winner. We hope you’ll want to join us there for the festivities, and to hear from keynote speaker, the prize-winning  novelist Anne Beattie.

It’s fun to make fun of the quality of television programming. Much of it deserves scorn. (You know who you are.) But there are some high points, and not just on PBS or some of the pay-per-view channels. I’m thinking specifically of NBC’s family drama, “Parenthood,” that appears on Tuesday evenings.

Now in its second season, this is a show that thrives on its good writing — something we admire whether it comes in books, plays, films or on television – and an outstanding ensemble of actors. It a one-hour show that could have descended into the status of soap opera, and it does indeed have some of those hallmarks. But the qualilty of the writing lifts it above that, constantly surprising us with the complexity of its many characters, young and old.

“Parenthood” is probably known best for its accurate, sometimes painful presentation of a young boy with Aspergers, but it is the interactions between the adults, between the adults and their children, and between the children that show us lives that seem very real. It’s hard not to connect to some of the people and the situations on “Parenthood.”

There are some other shows on television with sparkling good writing and acting — “The Good Wife” comes to mind — but I don’t think there’s a finer example of the difference that quality writing harnessed to good acting can make than this underrated and, sadly, under-viewed, show. I urge you to check it out before the executives at the network decide to shut it down.

For those of us at the Georgia Center for the Book, 2011 has been a very rewarding year. We’ve grateful to everyone who has supported our programs around the state, and we promise we’ll do all we can to bring you more interesting, informative and entertaining events during the coming year. We invite you to check out our schedule online at this site. and, most importantly, we wish you all a very Happy New Year!

Warning: This is not the usual literary blog that follows in this space. Please consider it, instead, something of a holiday caution/advisory for air travelers. A few years back I used to write a regular travel column, and the airlines frequently were the topics of interest. Most of the columns devoted to that subject ended with this piece of counsel: the airlines are not your friends. No matter what they claim, they are not your friends. Proceed accordingly.

This topic comes to mind once again in the turbulent wake a couple of recent flights, in which most of the ways that airlines demonstrate their unfriendliness were all too plainly visible. Readers should be aware, however, that what is coming does pertain to airline customers, like me, who fly as cheaply as possible, and who therefore suffer the most consequences. Those who can afford higher priced tickets and upgrades may well be excused from the discussion.

Dissatisfaction begins, of course, with advertisements in print and on television that emphasize the millions of dollars airlines are putting into improving their in-flight relationships with customers: flat-bed seats, chef-prepared meals, plenty of baggage space, etc. Those improvements will not be part of the economy class experience, though. There, planes with 2-3 seating across have been abandoned in favor of those seating 3-3 across for domestic flights, narrowing the roominess options and enabling the airlines to cram more people into ever-tighter places.

What about your carry-on luggage? Well the numbers of carry-ons carried on has multiplied many times since the airlines began charging for checked luggage. There is a modest amount of additional space in overhead bins, but not nearly enough to come close to taking care of what we bring on board now. On my flights, customers dragged bags the size of refrigerators on board without a negative word from airline gate agents. Whatever happened to limiting the size of carry-ons? One airline now charges for carry-ons; it could become a trend (especially if others charge by the pound).

“Safety is our first concern,” tout the airlines. Good thing, because service is pretty much gone these days in our long, narrow coach sections. Meals have disappeared, snacks are paid for, and getting your soft drinks and peanuts can take an hour or more on a crowded flight (and they’re all crowded). I’m mostly sympathetic to flight attendants; they’re called on to do way too much for too many in too short a time. And safety is their first concern.

Ever look at a flight schedule recently? A flight from Atlanta to New York carries a flight time of about one hour and 45 minutes. Your schedule probably lists it as requiring two hours and 45 minutes. That’s designed to take into account airport congestion and prevent a late arrival, which can make the airline look bad. And this is happening with airlines having cut back on their flights to save money, a corporate-smart thing to do, not least because it enables CEO’s and top administrative types to be assured to large annual salary increases at the expense of most airline workers who get little or no increases each year. But I digress …..

The argument goes that taking everything into account, airfares are about as cheap now as they were 20 years ago. Could be, but when you add in all the extra fees these days and the lessened family incomes, I am not so sure. What is for sure is those of us back in the miniaturized coach seats are getting a lot less. And I haven’t even gone into the matter of “attitudes,” at least partly because customers have been shamefully if occasionally understandably guilty of letting their tempers flare at perceived and real mistreatments.

There’s more. Of course. And maybe you missed the recent news from one airline, Delta, that it considers its passengers a captive audience for increased retail sales pitches on flights. “There are a lot of ways to make money beyond the basic sale of a seat between two points,” one Delta representative tells the local newspaper. Holy cow! That’s scary. Consider the ways …. no , on second thought, you consider them. I’m getting tired and angry.

So back to what I said at the top of this little entry, remember? The airlines are not your friends. At least to those of us sitting in the rear of the plane. But it’s Christmas, so let’s be cheerful. I wish all of you a good holiday flight. May the really obese guy coming down the aisle not claim the middle seat next to you!

We’ve been hearing a lot about the 150th anniversary of the Civil War in these parts. And the Georgia Center for the Book has done its share of programming examining various impacts of the war beyond the battlefield maneuverings. But we’re coming up on another war commemoration, and hardly anyone seems to be talking about it.

It’s the bicentennial observance of the War of 1812, a war that most people these days remember only sketchily if at all. There was that thing about the British burning the White House — that happened in 1814 –and Dolley Madison saving some paintings from the torch, and then we pretty much skip to Andrew Jackson defeating the British at the Battle of New Orleans (that was 1815). Here in Georgia, not a whole lot happened in those years that will be remembered, which is probably why the state doesn’t have any formal plans for an observance that I could locate.

The standard history of Georgia by Kenneth Coleman confirms that this state was not in the center of the action. “Georgia’s defense efforts tended to be more talk than reality,” Coleman writes. Most Georgians detested the British and supported the war, and there was some movement of the state militia here and there — mostly to Spanish-held coastal Florida — but little was actually accomplished. There had been some Indian incursions on the southern border, but those really didn’t come to a head until several years later. In short, it would probably be pretty hard to come up with a centerpiece for celebrating the War of 1812 in Georgia.

But then, we’re not alone. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of hoopla even in some areas where there was fighting. The New York Times reported recently that the state of New York is largely indifferent to the bicentennial, and in places farther to the north the commemorations seems muted. The Canadian government, however, has earmarked $28 million to support as many as 100 battle re-enactments, according to the Times, so if you head across the border you may find some activities.

For Georgia, the next several years are much more likely to be recalled for the Civil War events. There are and will be a number of books published about the Civil War , but I have been unable to find anything new coming about the War of 1812 in this part of the country. So please feel free to fashion your own celebration or whatever. I’m a little shy on suggestions, though it seems pretty certain there are some disenchanted voters who think the torch ought to be put to the White House and Congress once again.

Atlanta is fortunate to host an expanding food community. The city boasts some notable restaurants and a number of chefs of uncommonly high quality. And there are certainly more people than ever for whom the food culture matters. If you doubt that, try getting an eleventh-hour Saturday night reservation at one of the area’s finer restaurants. And don’t write me with your complaints when you can’t secure a table.

Further evidence of the enthusiasm for a “new” cuisine comes with a couple of cookbooks from local writers that have appeared recently. One is by the delightful Virginia Willis called “Basic to Brilliant, Y’All,” a book that offers some familiar Southern dishes with innovative and intriguing ways to present them at home. The other is by the very fine chef at Five and Ten and Empire State South South, Hugh Acheson. His just-published book is “A New Turn in the South,” with wonderfully engaging ways of preparing seasonal and local ingredients.

Both books are special, as are their authors. (Both have appeared this fall at the Georgia Center for the Book to talk about their work; hope you were there.) Both show off creativity and an extraordinary craft. And both have collected the sort of praise from a culinary aristocracy that others would die for. Hoorahs fill the back of Virginia’s book from the likes of Bobby Flay and Frank Stitt. Hugh gets accolades from Mario Batali, Scott Peacock and Matt and Ted Lee. 

These are both books that tell us something about who we are. There are few things more elemental to life than eating after all, and few things providing refined pleasure more than good eating. Both books come with stories, too, stories of how the authors came to their kitchens, how family played key roles in learning, and how hard work and persistence does pay off.

As we go into the holiday season, a time filled with thoughts of food, you might want to look closely at what Virginia and Hugh have produced: these are not coffee table books, they are literally and figuratively kitchen books. I suspect they’re likely to make you want to get your cooking on.

For many readers, Georgia’s Janisse Ray is best known as an essayist. Books like “Ecology of a Cracker Childhood” and “Wild Card Quilt” represent stirring examples of powerful memoirs firmly rooted in nature and our natural environment. But before she was an essayist, Janisse was a poet, and she still lives a life in which poetry plays a preeminent role. It is not with import that she recalls her father telling her many years ago that “saints and poets will inherit the earth,” and that she then “determined to be one or the other.” (Apropos of little, I suppose, the effort at being a saint would seem to me to be the more difficult of the two possible paths, though either for most of us surely would come to a dead end.)

Janisse’s first published book, I believe, was a poetry chapbook published a half dozen years before “Ecology of a Cracker Childhood.” Though that tiny volume is almost impossible to find now, some of the poems from it appear in Janisse’s most recent collection, “A House of Branches.” Those who came to the Georgia Center for the Book last month to hear her read some of them know what compelling pieces they are and how inspiring they can be especially when heard spoken by the author.

“A House of Branches” is a substantive collection that evokes, at times, a landscape that might have seemed familiar to William Bartram. It is as southern as the author, a celebration of and hymn to the elements and the elemental, of seeing and touching what surrounds us, and of giving it our benediction of responsibility. “Let it not be said in passing through this world/you turned your face and left its wounds unattended,” she writes.

The scenes she describes, whether in the woods or the waters or the sky, are lovely and lyric. But they urge us not just to appreciate  but to become involved, as she vows to do: “I’ll pay more attention/I’ll write down glimpses.”  Whether drawing mils from a cow, walking through a field of fireflies, or seeing the hawk soaring over the hardwoods, she is that keen observer and recorder, the one who sees in our needs and nature’s needs a coming together: “The flower loves the sky that loves the bog/that loves how the fly loves even the frog.”

“A House of Branches” is a book about the love — maybe even the ecstasy — of a poet’s journey. It has a narrative simplicity and purpose that give many of the poems a transcendent grace. It’s really a lovely book and certainly one that admirers of Janisse Ray shouldn’t be without. My copy already has acquired a dog-eared familiarity that feels as comfortable as a kiss.

It’s a good time to welcome an old friend who’s now sporting some new duds. It’s The Chattahoochee Review, a literary friend that has been around these parts for the last 30 or so years. Only now it has a new look and a new editor while continuing to pursue its mission of offering Georgians some high quality writing from a diverse group of talented writers.

The Review has been fortunate to have been overseen by some very good folks, most recently Marc Fitten, an accomplished novelist who has that career to pursue after his success as editor for much of the first decade of the 21st century.  His successor is Anna Schachner, who has come aboard with an entire new editorial staff. Such a complete overhaul suggests trouble, but honestly there’s so much good work to be found in their first issue that I don’t think there’s any cause for worry.

There’s some outstanding poetry in this issue, and why not with contributions from the likes of Fred Chappell and Natasha Trethewey? The fiction pages include strong contributions from Anthony Varallo, Timothy Schaffert and Kevin Wilson, among others. And there’s a generous selection of reviews, nonfiction pieces and even a bit of art. Altogether, it’s an eclectic package that satisfies as it points to more to come.

The Review is funded again by and produced through Georgia Perimeter College. Academic support can be a very tricky business — politics is hardly a stranger in the halls of ivy, you know — so let’s cross our fingers that this will mean longevity and opportunities for growth. There are a number of outstanding small literary journals around Atlanta and Georgia — The Georgia Review enjoys a richly deserved national reputation, for instance — and it’s a good feeling to know that one of their number is ready to hold its own. Congratulations to Anna and her staff and best wishes!

It’s become one of the most anticipated literary events in a state now bursting with them. It’s the annual Georgia Literary Festival — the 13th version — coming up Saturday, October 15th at the lovely Northeast Georgia community of Sautee Nacoochee. Don’t know where that is? You’re not alone, but it’s well worth discovering. If you’ve heard of Helen, Ga. — the faux-Bavarian town in the Appalachian foothills — then you’re just about there; Sautee Nacoochee is only five miles south of Helen, or no more than 90 minutes from Atlanta.

There are lots of reasons to savor that little journey. Of course it’s fall, so you can enjoy the cooler weather and changing leaf colors. And you can most definitely take part in Helen’s annual Octoberfest. But the literary festival offers something unique: a dip into the rich and exciting literary life of this part of our state. It’s a free, one-day event that brings together more than a dozen authors, storytellers (and even musicians) for a celebration of the connection between writers and readers. It’s similar to but much smaller scaled than the Decatur Book Festival, but it offers most of the same pleasures with a cast of characters that is all-Georgia. And honestly, that adds up to a fun day!

You can find the details elsewhere at this site by clicking on “Literary Festival.” But you’ll want to know right away that the festival’s keynote opening talk will come from one of this state’s most inspiring and acclaimed authors, Barbara Brown Taylor. A former Episcopal priest in Atlanta, she is the author of a pair of deeply thoughtful books about faith and living and is, not surprisingly, one of the finest speakers you’ll ever hear. Her program begins at 10 a.m. Saturday morning.

Throughout the day there will be a wealth of writers — poets, artists, historians, novelists, essayists — talking about their work, signing books and chatting with festival-goers. It’s all very informal and low-key, whether you’re there to hear about the remarkable Foxfire program, meet the noted poet Mildred Greear, learn about the life of the late Lillian Smith or discover insights into pottery making from a master, John Burrison. There will be lots of vendors, lots of food, and lots of time to get books signed. And it’s free — except for the books and food, of course.

The festival is one of the major annual projects of the Georgia Center for the Book, and its funding comes in large part through the Georgia Humanities Council. It’s an event designed by and for Georgians, and we hope you’ll want to come enjoy it. The festival moves to a different cite around the state each year. In 2010 it was held in Statesboro, and next year’s festival will shift all the way down to Jekyll Island. But no matter where it lands, we can just about guarantee you’ll quickly find there’s no more rewarding way to celebrate the literary richness and diversity of the state of Georgia. So c’mon up and join us for the fun!