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You Live and Learn. Then You Die and Forget It All: Ray Lum's Tales of Horses, Mules and Men
A livestock trader and auctioneer offers his intuitive insight into human nature, chronicling a life of travel in which he encountered depression, dirt farmers, blacks and whites, wealthy ranchers, outlaws, conmen, politicians, and more. Original. 250,000 first printing.
251 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1992
About the author
William Ferris
47 books7 followersDr. William R. Ferris is considered one of the foremost American authors and scholars of Southern Art. He is the former chairman of the National Endowment of the Humanities, and co-founded the Center for Southern Folklore in Memphis, Tennessee.
Ferris was also the founding director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi, and is the co-editor of The Encyclopedia of Southern Culture. Ferris received his B.A. in English Literature from Davidson College in 1964, an M.A. in English Literature from Northwestern University in 1965, and a Ph.D. in folklore from the University of Pennsylvania in 1969.
Dr. Ferris’s scholarship has focused on southern African American folklore and culture through a variety of media, including print, sound, film, and photography. Having taught at Jackson State University, Yale University, and the University of Mississippi, he was appointed in 1997 by President Bill Clinton to be chair of the National Endowment of the Humanities, a post held by Ferris for four years. Ferris was vital in the efforts of NEH to broaden public awareness of the humanities.
Ferris is the author of ten books, including “You Live and Learn, Then You Die and Forget It All” and his most recent work, “Give My Poor Heart Ease” which was published in November 2009. He is the recipient of the Charles Frankel Prize in the Humanities, and has been honored by the Blues Hall of Fame for his book entitled “Blues from the Delta” which was deemed as one of the “Classics of Blues Literature.” Ferris is a member of the History Department faculty and currently serves as the Senior Associate Director of the Center for the Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
In 1991, Rolling Stone magazine named him among the top ten professors in the United States.
Ferris was also the founding director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi, and is the co-editor of The Encyclopedia of Southern Culture. Ferris received his B.A. in English Literature from Davidson College in 1964, an M.A. in English Literature from Northwestern University in 1965, and a Ph.D. in folklore from the University of Pennsylvania in 1969.
Dr. Ferris’s scholarship has focused on southern African American folklore and culture through a variety of media, including print, sound, film, and photography. Having taught at Jackson State University, Yale University, and the University of Mississippi, he was appointed in 1997 by President Bill Clinton to be chair of the National Endowment of the Humanities, a post held by Ferris for four years. Ferris was vital in the efforts of NEH to broaden public awareness of the humanities.
Ferris is the author of ten books, including “You Live and Learn, Then You Die and Forget It All” and his most recent work, “Give My Poor Heart Ease” which was published in November 2009. He is the recipient of the Charles Frankel Prize in the Humanities, and has been honored by the Blues Hall of Fame for his book entitled “Blues from the Delta” which was deemed as one of the “Classics of Blues Literature.” Ferris is a member of the History Department faculty and currently serves as the Senior Associate Director of the Center for the Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
In 1991, Rolling Stone magazine named him among the top ten professors in the United States.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 2, 2023
Horses mules and men
Simple trade in southern heat
Modernity weighs
Simple trade in southern heat
Modernity weighs
March 6, 2014
mp3. Book has 224 pages.
by William Ferris (1992)
Narrated by Michael Kramer
Books On Tape Inc (1995) Book #3670. 0001265898/1985444-001.
Out of print.
___________________
Introduction
Chapter 1 - School Days
Chapter 2 - Dog Days
Chapter 3 - Up and Down That Dog
Chapter 4 - Rattlesnakes, Coyotes, and Wild Horses
Chapter 5 - Eight Thousand Horses
____________________
Ray Lum (1891-1977) was an American original, a one-of-a-kind figure. In this book he speaks his mind in a colorful folk dialect and tells of the world in which he presides. Mules were his main interest. His home and his auction barn were in Vicksburg, Mississippi, but in trading he fanned out over twenty states and even into Mexico. Over several years William Ferris tape recorded many long conversations with Lum. In them Lum gives the ins and outs of livestock auctioneering, cheery memories of rustic Deep South culture, and a philosophy of life that is grounded in good horse sense.
Review From Publishers Weekly
Born in 1891 in rural Mississippi, Ray Lum traveled the South for 60 years as a respected livestock trader and auctioneer, collecting rich experiences he retold--even at universities and folk festivals--in a colloquial, humorous and generous voice. Ferris, coeditor of the Encyclopedia of Southern Culture , interviewed Lum (who died in 1977), and notes that his life "bridged the disparate worlds of black and white, of old and new, of South and West." Lum's tales, organized into six chapters of narrative, might better be chopped into episodes, but they remain valuable for those interested in such folklore. His language is vivid (a cemetery is a "marble orchard") and his voice wise (when he loses money on an early deal, the lesson is, "You don't absolutely have to have, you can do without"). Among many adventures, Lum bested cheating gypsies who offered a pretty but vicious horse, ate barbecued rattlesnake, made a deal for wild Texas horses and barely avoided the outlaws Bonnie and Clyde. "I'm fine," said Lum in his old age. "I just need to have my speedometer set back." This book lets him live on.
Review From Library Journal
Ferris serves a slice of Southern life in this presentation of the wit and wisdom of Ray Lum, livestock trader and auctioneer. Born in 1891 in rural Mississippi, Lum bartered horses and mules throughout the South and Southwest. He recalls his travels and life experiences with the passion and color characteristic of a consummate storyteller. These personal reflections are a tribute to a way of life gone by and a preservation of its memory. The volume opens with a foreword by Eudora Welty [not on audio book:] and concludes with an extensive bibliographic essay and endnotes. Full of humor and the drama of life, this book will delight a wide range of readers.
See the film "Ray Lum: Mule Trader" By William Ferris (aka Bill Ferris)
http://www.folkstreams.net/film,97
Other Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_...
http://www.amazon.com/You-Live-Learn-...
by William Ferris (1992)
Narrated by Michael Kramer
Books On Tape Inc (1995) Book #3670. 0001265898/1985444-001.
Out of print.
___________________
Introduction
Chapter 1 - School Days
Chapter 2 - Dog Days
Chapter 3 - Up and Down That Dog
Chapter 4 - Rattlesnakes, Coyotes, and Wild Horses
Chapter 5 - Eight Thousand Horses
____________________
Ray Lum (1891-1977) was an American original, a one-of-a-kind figure. In this book he speaks his mind in a colorful folk dialect and tells of the world in which he presides. Mules were his main interest. His home and his auction barn were in Vicksburg, Mississippi, but in trading he fanned out over twenty states and even into Mexico. Over several years William Ferris tape recorded many long conversations with Lum. In them Lum gives the ins and outs of livestock auctioneering, cheery memories of rustic Deep South culture, and a philosophy of life that is grounded in good horse sense.
Review From Publishers Weekly
Born in 1891 in rural Mississippi, Ray Lum traveled the South for 60 years as a respected livestock trader and auctioneer, collecting rich experiences he retold--even at universities and folk festivals--in a colloquial, humorous and generous voice. Ferris, coeditor of the Encyclopedia of Southern Culture , interviewed Lum (who died in 1977), and notes that his life "bridged the disparate worlds of black and white, of old and new, of South and West." Lum's tales, organized into six chapters of narrative, might better be chopped into episodes, but they remain valuable for those interested in such folklore. His language is vivid (a cemetery is a "marble orchard") and his voice wise (when he loses money on an early deal, the lesson is, "You don't absolutely have to have, you can do without"). Among many adventures, Lum bested cheating gypsies who offered a pretty but vicious horse, ate barbecued rattlesnake, made a deal for wild Texas horses and barely avoided the outlaws Bonnie and Clyde. "I'm fine," said Lum in his old age. "I just need to have my speedometer set back." This book lets him live on.
Review From Library Journal
Ferris serves a slice of Southern life in this presentation of the wit and wisdom of Ray Lum, livestock trader and auctioneer. Born in 1891 in rural Mississippi, Lum bartered horses and mules throughout the South and Southwest. He recalls his travels and life experiences with the passion and color characteristic of a consummate storyteller. These personal reflections are a tribute to a way of life gone by and a preservation of its memory. The volume opens with a foreword by Eudora Welty [not on audio book:] and concludes with an extensive bibliographic essay and endnotes. Full of humor and the drama of life, this book will delight a wide range of readers.
See the film "Ray Lum: Mule Trader" By William Ferris (aka Bill Ferris)
http://www.folkstreams.net/film,97
Other Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_...
http://www.amazon.com/You-Live-Learn-...
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews