Some liken him to Will Rogers. Others call him the rural South’s Garrison Keillor. No matter who he is compared to, Harry Wayne Addison is truly a marvel of contemporary storytelling. His books successfully capture the simple values and family icons and ideals of growing up in North Louisiana during the depression. Through vignettes from his childhood, he offers simple morals of life from a simpler place and time. Creating a true-to-life Winesburg, Ohio of the south, Addison’s stories evoke both tears and unrestrained laughter.
These unabridged audio versions of Addison’s work bring out the homestyle feeling of North Louisiana storytelling. Best listened to while rocking an afternoon away on the front porch, these cassettes are amusing and inspiring.
“I know Mama was a con man, ’cause back during the depression, she had all of us kids thinking tripe was deep-sea fish. And I never doubted Papa was a ‘born-again Christian’, ’cause I’ve heard him say blessin’s over leftover tripe, and it took a man of God to say it the first time!”
In this charming collection of reminiscences, Harry Addison fondly recalls growing up in rural North Louisiana in the 1920s and 1930s. In his warm, folksy style, Addison recounts memorable events—a tent revival meeting, the great Mississippi River flood—as well as the joys and sorrows, the successes and disappointments of country life. His affectionate descriptions bring to life the unique characters of his boyhood. Amusing, uplifting, inspiring, these pieces capture all the better parts of the human spirit.