Susie James
asked
Ed Baldwin:
I am a Carroll Countian (Miss.) and have been a fan of Mississippi John Hurt for years! I take it "Sliding Delta" is historical fiction? I'd love to win a copy! A graduate of MSCW in 1970, I've written stories and poems of my own as well as doing a good deal of historical research after my return to Carroll County in the mid to late 1980s.
Ed Baldwin
Susie,
It is historical fiction in that it is about well known people who have long since passed away. John Hurt died in 1966. But, the story is a coming of age story that takes place in 1965, and some of us who were around then are still alive. I did a lot of research, reading the remarkable book Mississippi John Hurt, His Life and Times, by Philip Ratcliffe, and Moanin' At Midnight, the Life and Times of Howlin' Wolf by James Segrist and Mark Hoffman.
I travelled as a door to door salesman during the middle 1960s and spent a lot of time in small towns in Mississippi. I lived in Memphis and went to the Club Handy several times; once seeing Albert King perform. My brother was a musician and made a record in the old Sun Studio on Union. Though I can read music and played an instrument in high school, I have no musical talent. I bought a lot of blues records and compared playing and performance styles, then tried to put that into musical terms to explain what the old bluesmen were actually doing.
In addition to the story about blues music are tales of the railroad, including the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad. It was that railroad that had the "Sliding Delta" train that went from Greenwood to Grenada that Hurt mentions in his song by that name. Also, the main line of the Illinois Central runs through the area and there are stories of that.
The Voting Rights Act was passed the summer of 1965, and there was transition in Civil Rights going on. I witnessed, and put in the story, bigotry and discrimination. I also saw kindness and consideration between the races, and believe that is part of the history also.
I hope you'll read Sliding Delta, and would enjoy hearing from you afterward to know if you enjoyed it and feel it accurately reflects what you remember.
It is historical fiction in that it is about well known people who have long since passed away. John Hurt died in 1966. But, the story is a coming of age story that takes place in 1965, and some of us who were around then are still alive. I did a lot of research, reading the remarkable book Mississippi John Hurt, His Life and Times, by Philip Ratcliffe, and Moanin' At Midnight, the Life and Times of Howlin' Wolf by James Segrist and Mark Hoffman.
I travelled as a door to door salesman during the middle 1960s and spent a lot of time in small towns in Mississippi. I lived in Memphis and went to the Club Handy several times; once seeing Albert King perform. My brother was a musician and made a record in the old Sun Studio on Union. Though I can read music and played an instrument in high school, I have no musical talent. I bought a lot of blues records and compared playing and performance styles, then tried to put that into musical terms to explain what the old bluesmen were actually doing.
In addition to the story about blues music are tales of the railroad, including the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad. It was that railroad that had the "Sliding Delta" train that went from Greenwood to Grenada that Hurt mentions in his song by that name. Also, the main line of the Illinois Central runs through the area and there are stories of that.
The Voting Rights Act was passed the summer of 1965, and there was transition in Civil Rights going on. I witnessed, and put in the story, bigotry and discrimination. I also saw kindness and consideration between the races, and believe that is part of the history also.
I hope you'll read Sliding Delta, and would enjoy hearing from you afterward to know if you enjoyed it and feel it accurately reflects what you remember.
More Answered Questions
Georgia hillstrom
asked
Ed Baldwin:
thank you for the friend request I like this site goodreads, I have not found another site as easy to connect with authors and other readers. This will be the first book of yours that I am reading. Are some of the characters in your books based on people you have met in your lifetime? Do you ever finish a book and after thought wish you had added more to a situation or character?
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more