In these twenty tales about rural politics in Appalachia, collected in his book “32 Votes Before Breakfast,” Jesse Stuart reminds us that there’s nothing new about political conflict and intrigue.
One of these stories follows Mose Winthrop, the Kentucky moonshiner who charters a bus to take a group of his best customers on a trip to Chicago to cheer their Wildcats to victory. Influenced by partaking liberally of his own “herbs,” Mose is inspired to delegate himself Governor of Kentucky. He names various other members of the group Lieutenant Governor or Secretary of State or Attorney General. The pseudo-Governor and his fellow office holders have a high old time, coming and going. Restaurants along the way are delighted to serve complimentary meals to the Governor and his party, in return for a rousing speech, handshakes all around, and plenty of autographs on paper napkins for the paying customers.
In accordance with his usual custom, Jesse Stuart has come up with a bag of winners, irresistibly titled. Primarily of Scotch-Irish or English stock, the inhabitants of Stuart’s fictional word bear old-fashioned names. There’s “Sweetbird for Sheriff” for one, and “Huckleberry’s Diehards” for another. Many of these stories had never been published before “32 Votes” appeared in 1974.
In this, his thirty-fifth book, Stuart deals with connivance and conflict as old as the Kentucky hills where his stories take place. Stuart seldom strays far from his birthplace when he’s seeking subjects for a story, a poem, or a novel.
In his short stories, Stuart has created a place and wedged it into the imagination of the American reading public. Readers open a collection of his stories, and they are immediately confronted with the natural world of Appalachia – a world of dark hills in the winter and flowing hills in the spring.
Reading Stuart stories, we experience the rich dialect of early twentieth century Appalachia. He presents the language of his people. “Fittified,” “hold your tater,” “a gone goslin,” “hunker down,” and “jump the broom” represent dozens of words and phrases that appear naturally and easily in his narrations.
Not surprisingly, the late Poet Laureate of Kentucky also uses metaphors to energize his highly imaginative prose. “Uncle Uglybird climbed slowly up the little foxpath that wound like a snake up the steep bluff toward the ridge. . . The August sun beamed from the sky like a white agate marble.”
“32 Votes before Breakfast,” a collection of twenty stories filled with comic gusto, is one of several Stuart short story collections available at the Jesse Stuart Foundation at 4440 13th Street in Ashland.
This book is the topic of discussion for the July 29 meeting of the Regional Readers, a book club that meets at the JSF the last Tuesday of every month (March through November). Coffee and conversation at 2:00 pm; book discussion begins at 2:30 pm. This reading group is a service the JSF has provided to the community for more than three decades. Other than purchasing each month’s reading selection, there is no charge, and the public is invited to attend. Please join us. You will make new friends that will last a lifetime.
For more information or to make a purchase, call 606-326-1667 or email jsf@jsfbooks.com.
By James M. Gifford
JSF CEO & Senior Editor
In these twenty tales about rural politics in Appalachia, collected in his book “32 Votes Before Breakfast,” Jesse Stuart reminds us that there’s nothing new about political conflict and intrigue.
One of these stories follows Mose Winthrop, the Kentucky moonshiner who charters a bus to take a group of his best customers on a trip to Chicago to cheer their Wildcats to victory. Influenced by partaking liberally of his own “herbs,” Mose is inspired to delegate himself Governor of Kentucky. He names various other members of the group Lieutenant Governor or Secretary of State or Attorney General. The pseudo-Governor and his fellow office holders have a high old time, coming and going. Restaurants along the way are delighted to serve complimentary meals to the Governor and his party, in return for a rousing speech, handshakes all around, and plenty of autographs on paper napkins for the paying customers.
In accordance with his usual custom, Jesse Stuart has come up with a bag of winners, irresistibly titled. Primarily of Scotch-Irish or English stock, the inhabitants of Stuart’s fictional word bear old-fashioned names. There’s “Sweetbird for Sheriff” for one, and “Huckleberry’s Diehards” for another. Many of these stories had never been published before “32 Votes” appeared in 1974.
In this, his thirty-fifth book, Stuart deals with connivance and conflict as old as the Kentucky hills where his stories take place. Stuart seldom strays far from his birthplace when he’s seeking subjects for a story, a poem, or a novel.
In his short stories, Stuart has created a place and wedged it into the imagination of the American reading public. Readers open a collection of his stories, and they are immediately confronted with the natural world of Appalachia – a world of dark hills in the winter and flowing hills in the spring.
Reading Stuart stories, we experience the rich dialect of early twentieth century Appalachia. He presents the language of his people. “Fittified,” “hold your tater,” “a gone goslin,” “hunker down,” and “jump the broom” represent dozens of words and phrases that appear naturally and easily in his narrations.
Not surprisingly, the late Poet Laureate of Kentucky also uses metaphors to energize his highly imaginative prose. “Uncle Uglybird climbed slowly up the little foxpath that wound like a snake up the steep bluff toward the ridge. . . The August sun beamed from the sky like a white agate marble.”
“32 Votes before Breakfast,” a collection of twenty stories filled with comic gusto, is one of several Stuart short story collections available at the Jesse Stuart Foundation at 4440 13th Street in Ashland.
This book is the topic of discussion for the July 29 meeting of the Regional Readers, a book club that meets at the JSF the last Tuesday of every month (March through November). Coffee and conversation at 2:00 pm; book discussion begins at 2:30 pm. This reading group is a service the JSF has provided to the community for more than three decades. Other than purchasing each month’s reading selection, there is no charge, and the public is invited to attend. Please join us. You will make new friends that will last a lifetime.
For more information or to make a purchase, call 606-326-1667 or email jsf@jsfbooks.com.
By James M. Gifford
JSF CEO & Senior Editor
