Ace scout Deuce Richardson sent up a smoke signal Saturday morning, alerting me to a new writer stalking the forest trails and desert traces of the Frontier Partisans wildlands. He is a kinsman, I know, though I have yet to learn his name.
This backcountry (and beyond) still was fired up just this month. It’s called Hillbilly Highways: Country Noir, Hillbilly Studies and Texas Country. Oh, hell yes…
Hillbilly Highways focuses on the cultural folkway of the people who immigrated to the Appalachian backcountry from the border regions of England and Scotland and Ulster Ireland and from there (on hillbilly highways) to Oklahoma and inner California, Detroit and Houston. My people. Steve Earle epitomized that diaspora in his song Hillbilly Highway.
Yes, he did.
Scotch-Irish Frontiersman. Art by David Wright.
The “About” page is a well-turned historical thumbnail on what a hillbilly is and where they came from, tying the history in with the genre of Country Noir. Anybody who cites David Hackett Fischer and James Ellroy on the same damn page is my kinda people. I mean it; we’re spiritual kin. I also like the way he closes the intro off:
Who the fuck are you that I would care? Hey, fuck you too buddy. I went through some shit but now I pretend to be refined so they let me do fancy stuff. Sometimes I write real good and you oughta stick around and see. I grew up Southern Baptist and working class in rural, southern Appalachia, and I was a first-generation college graduate. If that ain’t country I’ll kiss your ass.
*
This feller H.P. reads a lot. I mean a LOT. He’s a Daniel Woodrell fan, which earns him street (woods?) cred from me. Says his favorite Country Noir writer is Ron Rash. Heard of him lots; never read him. You know what that means…
But a great deal of his reading is in the fantasy genre. He’s got another blog that covers that territory, called Every Day Should Be Tuesday (cuz that’s when publishers drop books). As I’ve written before, I don’t read much fantasy, but some of the most important books and writers in my world worked that genre: Tolkien, Frank Herbert (Dune) and, of course, Robert E. Howard.
The man gets Howard — no surprise given his background and predilections. Anybody who titles a post “Howard Wrote Like Hank Williams Sang” and “Robert E. Howard Was The Texas Tolkien” is playing my tune.
H.P. spent a summer on a critical reading of Conan stories — pastiche as well as Howard’s originals. And he has this to say about our Frontier Partisan compañero John Maddox Roberts.
Roberts may be the best of the Tor pastiche authors. Robert Jordan may be a better storyteller and wrote his best prose in his Conan books, but Roberts “got” Conan in a way that Jordan did not.
Well, yeah.
Anyway, I’m in. Thanks, Deuce.
deuce says
Always glad to help, hoss.
felonious monk says
At last! now we are getting somewhere, thanks you Deuce, pitch perfect!
Maybe now I’ll find some more leads, having just “landed” on the isle of Lewis
for some Gaelic psalms.
Ken Burns is doing a new series on Country with as basis a new revised
edition of (50th anniversary!) Malone & Laird’s Country Music USA, can
anyone give me a heads up on that?
Ron Rash ? my dear Jimbo I’m sorry but you must!
And another thing, to prepare for future developments vis a vis persistent
frontiers have a look at The Other Slavery_Andres Resendez.
No shortage of reading material I know, but ain’t it grand!
JimC says
I know, I know…
Rick Schwertfeger says
Felonious Monk: I’ve scanned through Rash’s novels; and a number seem interesting. Do you have recommendations of which one or ones this Rash rookie should start with?
felonious monk says
World Made Straight is coming out as a movie soon, might start there.
One Foot is considered a classic by many, I really like Serena but then
I am a rookie too and very rash!
JimC says
See what you did there…
felonious monk says
I ‘m holding myself in check for your sake old mate, yes that’s right
what with a trapline coming up, know there’s new one on the Pony Express
and what of Tommy Orange ? And then there’s this:
God, War and Providence_Roger Williams
Frontier Rebels_Patrick Spero
Like I said, ain’t it grand, working my way thru Diamonds, Gold and War.
Country Noir, Rhodes, Persistent Frontiers and bananas and it still hangs
together for me is that mad or what?
It’s like the story arc of Peaky Blinders: apex predator becomes politician.
Von Clausewitz in reverse: politics is the continuation of war by other means.
Don’t believe me? have a look at Winslow’s twitter feed, it’s enough to make
a grown man cry!
JimC says
Thanks for the head up on Frontier Rebels. I may be south of the border right now, but I’ll take a vacation in the 18th century for that one.
Mad? Maybe. But it DOES all hang together — that’s a source of endless fascination for me. I’m honing in on one manifestation of that but there are plenty of others. My problem for a while there was I was trying to flock shoot instead of picking my bird.
I think that formulation is more accurate than Clauswitz’s original. The Russians sure know it.
Damn, I think we’re having fun…
Rick Schwertfeger says
This should be terrific. And right up two of my alleys: the working class alley and the Southern alley. I mean, the guy pictures himself with a Lone Star beer. I believe this may be a message sent from my “roots” to make a u-turn back from all the delicious craft beers I’ve been drinking. I’m gonna buy me another six-pack of Lone Star in his honor. Tall boys, however; cans only if necessary. 🙂
JimC says
Well, I’m talking out of school, cuz the craft-beer explosion started just as I was stepping out of the arena, but…
Let’s just say that Conan would drink either or both with equal relish!
felonious monk says
As long as you put on some Tail Gators or Leroi Brothers you should be right.
Then cast your eyes over:
Woody Haut: It’s A Noir World, and
Red Necks – a short fiction @ The Bitter Southerner
deuce says
‘Roberts may be the best of the Tor pastiche authors. Robert Jordan may be a better storyteller and wrote his best prose in his Conan books, but Roberts “got” Conan in a way that Jordan did not.’
Today is JMR’s birthday, BTW.
JimC says
Hail!