The Last Outpost of Time

7/9/07 

                          “All that we see is but a dream within a dream.”
                                                                   -Edgar Allan Poe

…A few lines today from the Georgia coast…some news to report in streamline fashion…A new Blind Willie McTell book hit shelves in London this week and will soon be released in the U.S and reviewed here.

I’m looking forward to my press copy of Merle Haggard’s new bluegrass CD. Also, the long-awaited ex-Drive By Trucker—Jason Isbell’s new CD interests me for review. Speaking of reviews, look for Sly Stone’s first interview in 25 years in an upcoming issue of Vanity Fair.

A new fiction story, The Bayou Sideshow, profiles a gritty southern tale. For me, storytelling remains the axis for Swampland’s Mystery And Manners. Storytelling remains the all in all. Southerners have always been the best storytellers. Countless examples we all know prove this sentiment…whether it’s hearing your grandfather telling stories from the Book of Revelation around the midnight lamp…or hearing a neighbor telling first-hand accounts of war, post-traumatic stress, and how the government turns its back on heroes….a country preacher’s last sermon…a Hank Williams song…Faulkner, Cormac, Flannery, Harry Crews, Paul Hemphill all prove great southern storytellers. Any heart-rending or joyous dramatic fact of every day life told by a seasoned storyteller weaves everyday human fabric into timeless art. For me, the intention is to suspend critical moments in time by re-telling facts in a meaningful order. That’s the fulcrum of this cause…

Returning to South Georgia and North Florida always conjure fond memories and stories about friends and family for me. Where land meets water a mysterious last outpost of time reminds anyone of their own mortality and a condition of their soul in the great beyond. As the wheel of time rolls on you can almost see ghosts of old slave ships floating in the mist beyond the marsh on those dark waters. This is the land of the Sea Island Singers…

In a day or so, I’ll post recent soul food tour stops. A couple surprises linger later in the week so be sure to check back in every day or so. I intend to visit another great storyteller Stanley Booth this week, which I’ll report on his activities in a few more days. I shot today’s dusk coastal photograph from a remote seaside location. Duty calls. Don’t be a stranger, and be sure to support your local Farmer’s Market…Until later,

James Calemine
JCalemine@swampland.com

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