summer 2012 / 47
CLASSNOTES
in 1960—with a mention of BSC—and the other on the John
Kennedy assassination in 1963 entitled
The Carousel Club
.
The
author of three previous biographies, he resides in Cincinnati.
Dr. Glenn Feldman ’83 and ’89
is the
author of
Painting Dixie Red: When, Where,
Why, and How the South Became Republican
(
University Press of Florida, 2011). Feldman
is a historian and professor in the College
of Arts & Sciences at UAB and the author of
several other books.
Finley Bullard Evans ’95
of Birmingham released a memoir
entitled
Two of ’Em in There: A Southern Writer’s Journey to and
Through the First Year of Twin Motherhood
(
CreateSpace, 2011).
Her first book of poetry,
Third
Girl,
was released in November
2010
by Plan B Press. Her
poetry most recently appears in
Louisville Review
and
The New
Renaissance
literary magazines.
Birmingham writer
Gin
Phillips Ashe ’97
first drew
accolades in 2008 for her
debut novel
The Well and the Mine
(
Riverhead Books, an imprint
of Penguin, 2012), winning Barnes & Noble’s Discover Award.
Now she is a back with her second book
Come in and Cover
Me
,
which already is getting rave reviews
in publications such as
Elle
.
The book is
about a passionate archaeologist excavating
ancient sites in New Mexico.
A series of exclusive gourmet brunches
featuring BSC alumni authors kicked
off this past spring. The Books, Brunch
&
BSC presentation is sponsored by the
college’s Office of Alumni Affairs. Speakers in the series—which
ended in early September—were Ashe and Whetstone as well
as
Dr.Tennant McWilliams ’65
,
who discussed and signed
copies of his book
The Chaplain’s Conflict: Good and Evil in a
War Hospital, 1943-45
(
Texas A&M University Press, 2010);
Sena Jeter Naslund ’64
,
who discussed
“
Writing Novels and Reconfiguring
Classic Narratives” and signed copies of
her newest book,
Adam & Eve
(
William
Morrow & Company, 2010); and
Howell
Raines ’64
,
who discussed “Three Modes
of Storytelling” and signed copies of his
book
My Soul is Rested
(
Penguin Books,
1977).
BSC
Alumni Authors Bookshelf
Check out the recent publishing success of Birmingham-
Southern College’s alumni authors who write about everything
from history and archaeology to W.C. Handy and life with
twins. The books are available at chain and independent
bookstores and online retailers.
Nancy Huddleston Packer ’45
has
published a new book entitled
Old
Ladies
(
John Daniel and Company,
2012),
a collection of short fiction
about older women. Packer lives in
Palo Alto, Calif., where she continues
to teach, write, and publish short
stories.
BSC professor emeritus
Dr. Bob
Whetsone ’55
of Birmingham has
released his fourth book, a historical
fiction novel called
Cotton Mary
(
Lulu
Enterprises, 2011). The book is about
the life of a young girl growing up with an abusive father
who is forced into backbreaking labor in the cotton fields and
orphaned and pregnant as a young teenager.
Cotton Mary
has
received critical acclaim from the Alabama Writers’ Forum. His
debut novel,
Grave Dancin’
,
was published in 2006. His other
published novels are
Crystal Angel
and two
young adult novels—
Goober Joe
,
and the
recently released
Mystic Bat
. (
Copies of
Cotton Mary
,
Goober Joe
,
and
Grave Dancin’
also are available at the BSC Bookstore.)
In the book,
The Rise and Decline of the
Redneck Riviera: An Insider’s History of
the Florida-Alabama Coast
(
University of
Georgia Press, 2012),
Harvey H. Jackson III ’65
examines how
a Southern coastline became an iconic tourist
attraction. The “Redneck Riviera” is the stretch
of coast from Mobile Bay and Gulf Shores,
Ala., east to Panama City, Fla. Jackson is
professor and Eminent Scholar in History at
Jacksonville State University and is author,
coauthor, or coeditor of 10 books on various
topics in Southern history.
In his book
W.C. Handy
(
Knopf, 2009;
reissued by University of Alabama Press,
2010),
writer
David Robertson ’69
charts
W.C. Handy’s rise from a rural Alabama
childhood to becoming one of the most
celebrated blues songwriters of the 20th
century. Robertson just completed two
other novels: one on Alabama football
