27 Views of Wilmington: The Port City in Prose and Poetry

by Celia Rivenbark (Introduction), John Jeremiah Sullivan (Contribution by), Karen Bender (Contribution by)

Overview

27 Views of Wilmington: The Port City in Prose & Poetry is the latest in Eno's popular series of local anthologies. The book showcases the literary life of one of North Carolina's most popular cities by featuring the works of more than two dozen hometown writers. The result is a mosaic of perspectives about life in the Port City in a variety of genres--journalism, history, fiction, poetry, and more.

To date, contributors include Wiley Cash, Nan Graham, Jason Mott, Gwenyfar Rohler, Melodie Homer, Kevin Mauer, Virginia Holman, Dana Sachs, Rhonda Bellamy, Susan T. Block, Hannah Dela Cruz Abrams, Emily Smith, John Jeremiah Sullivan, Bertha Boykin Todd, Philip Gerard, and more.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780989609234
Publisher:	Eno Publishers
Publication date:	10/10/2015
Series:	27 Views
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Eastern North Carolina native Celia Rivenbark is an award-winning newspaper columnist and the author of the New York Times bestseller You Can't Drink All Day if You Don't Start in the Morning, along with six other humor collections that blend her love of all things Southern with pop culture observations and general snarkiness. Her weekly humor column appears in newspapers across the country. Celia has appeared on "Good Morning America" and "Inside Edition" as a quasi-expert on how to avoid dressing your child like a skank. A four-time finalist for the James Thurber Award for Humorous Commentary, she lives in Wilmington.

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction by Celia Rivenbark

A Place Called Home

Winter Beach Run Emily Louise Smith

The Greens on Queen Rhonda Bellamy

Restorations Gwenyfar

Where You Find It Melodie Homer

Ode to My Backyard Robert Anthony Siegel

Close-Ups

Pine Straw & the Ocean Jason Mott

Dog & Wolf: The Time Between Hannah Dela Cruz Abrams

On Second Thought Dana Sachs

The Miracle of the Superama Magic Dreydl Karen E. Bender

A World Apart

Animals John Jeremiah Sullivan

“Spin” Sheila Webster Boneham

Love & Death in the Cape Fear Serpentarium Wendy Brenner

The Face of the River Virginia Holman

“The Sea Is a Collector” Jean Jones

Street Scenes

Ballads of Change Ashley Wahl

Gather ’Round the Table Jason Frye

Beer Is Love Kevin Maurer

Views from Before

Esther, Andy & Me: Azalea Festival 1958 Nan Graham

Fort Fisher, 150 Years Later Wiley Cash

Color Meets Light Susan Taylor Block

Views from 1898 & Beyond

A Tale of Two Cities Philip Gerard

A Successful Coup d’What? Bertha Boykin Todd

Our Past Is Current James Leutze

The Evidence of Things Unforgotten Marlon Rachquel Moore

“Coup” Michael White

Views in Fiction

The Future Behind Me Emily Colin

Ouroboros Daniel Norris

Editorial Reviews

The introduction of 27 Views of Wilmington: The Port City in Prose & Poetry is by my favorite North Carolina humorist and syndicated columnist Celia Rivenbark. And views include those by Ecotone editor Emily Louise Smith ( Winter light spares nothing on this island. ), novelist Jason Mott talking about the frigid early morning he lost his virginity in the backseat of a car in Hugh MacRae Park); Wendy Brenner on the Serpentarium and its intrepid owner; and Jim Leutze, former chancellor of UNC Wilmington, on what happened in Wilmington in 1898. If you want to get to know a town the way its residents know it, this is the book to buy. And, as they used to say on TV, Hey, kids. Why not collect the whole set! --Dannye Romine Powell, Charlotte Observer, Nov. 5, 2015

The recently-published anthology, 27 Views of Wilmington: The Port City in Prose and Poetry, compiles literary pieces from 27 accomplished, local writers--in addition to an introduction by Celia Rivenbark. It s produced by Eno Publishers--a very small non-profit that puts out about two books a year. 27 Views of Wilmington is the last in the 27 Views series, which now has eight different editions, spotlighting Charlotte, Chapel Hill, Asheville, Raleigh, and Greensboro among others. In writing about the collection, Ben Steelman of the StarNews said, This book is a tribute to the depth of our literary bench. --CoastLine, Nov. 19, 2015

Call me chauvinistic, but I think ours might be the best of the lot. This book is a tribute to the depth of our literary bench. Eno had so much writing talent to call upon, they didn t even use Clyde Edgerton. They do, however, publish the likes of John Jeremiah Sullivan ( Pulphead ), Wiley Cash ( This Dark Road to Mercy ), Jason Mott ( The Returned ), Karen Bender ( Refund ), Dana Sachs ( The Secret of the Nightingale Palace ), Wendy Brenner, Philip Gerard ( Cape Fear Rising ) and more. Celia Rivenbark wrote the introduction. There is, in short, plenty of good stuff in here. The anthology, however, poses quite a few questions. What, exactly, is Wilmington? There s plenty about Downtown, of course. For poet Emily Louise Smith, though, Wilmington means jogging on and around Wrightsville Beach. Hannah Dela Cruz Abrams writes about heading to Holden Beach for seafood, then swimming in the Brunswick surf on a rare night of bioluminescence. Cash takes the trek to Fort Fisher and, naturally, chats with some re-enactors. Daniel Ray Norris heads as far as White Lake.

Another question: When is Wilmington, or which Wilmington do you mean? For Smith, Wings is a beach landmark. (She s too young to remember Newell s, which came before it.) Nan Graham -- who was in the Azalea Festival court the year of Esther Williams and Andy Griffith -- remembers the old Fergus Ark, the floating restaurant which predated the battleship. Rivenbark remembers the old Princess Street newsstand and its mascot, the yellow cat Rusty, who used to frustrate aging roues by curling up asleep on the girlie magazines. At its best, 27 Views is like a gemstone that reflects off different facets. Jason Mott has funny and poignant memories of making out in a parked Honda in Hugh MacRae Park. StarNews contributor Jason Frye goes to an oyster roast; StarNews alumnus Kevin Maurer samples the beer and the memorabilia down at The Fat Pelican in Carolina Beach. --Ben Steelman, StarNews, Sept. 20, 2015

From the Publisher