-
The sun is shining for me, despite the day-long rain
I am grateful to Margaret Sullivan and The Washington Post for the story about me in today’s paper. Sullivan is the media columnist, and her work usually appears in the Style section. When she called, she said my experience with The Last Lynching in Northern Virginia was not the type she usually writes about–her most recent columns…
-
‘The Other Side of Eden’ to debut in Warrenton in May
In some ways, Tom Davenport’s new film is a companion piece to my book, The Last Lynching in Northern Virginia. But in other ways, it is very different. Viewers will soon have a chance to see these similarities and differences. The Other Side of Eden: A Southern Tragedy will premiere next month in Warrenton. The…
-
The university and the library: Two places I like
I remember how happy and proud I was when I found my name on the shelves at the University of Mary Washington bookstore in Fredericksburg. The year was 1993, and I had agreed to teach there. One of my responsibilities as a new adjunct was to tell the bookstore which texts I would use in…
-
Why no mention of the Klan?
The first thing that Daniel de Butts said to me when we met last week was, “Why didn’t you say anything about the Klan in your book?” De Butts assumed that I had been pressured by prominent Fauquier County residents to keep any reference to the Ku Klux Klan out of The Last Lynching in Northern…
-
Have thumb drive, will travel
I expected to promote The Last Lynching in Northern Virginia after publication, but I didn’t realize that promotion would take the form that it has. I thought I would go to signings, sit behind a table, and talk to those who wanted to buy the book. I’ve done that and enjoy it very much. But I’m…
-
A story of persistence is supposed to end this way
David Sam asked an interesting question last week: Is it persistence or delusion that compels a person to write a book and work tirelessly to get it published? I would answer persistence, and Sam would too. Persistence paid off for him. Sam is president of Germanna Community College, in the Fredericksburg area, and a published…
-
How I published my book, in three easy steps
A University of Mary Washington student wrote me recently to say that he wouldn’t be able to attend the program that Germanna Community College is sponsoring next month on getting your first book published. Germanna invited me to be part of the program, and the student asked, “Could you lend me some of your advice…
-
When the topic is lynching, people want to hear
The question was a familiar one, but my answer was new, an admission that I had never made before. Yesterday, at a presentation before the members of Mary Washington ElderStudy, an audience member asked, “Why did you pursue this project?” He and others before him seemed puzzled that I would devote time and energy to…
-
One set of facts but two different stories
Tom Davenport and I have worked together on this project for many months. We’ve shared files and photographs and joined forces for more than a dozen interviews. But I’ve always known that the film he’s making will be different than the book I wrote, The Last Lynching in Northern Virginia. Tom has a more complicated story…
-
I write in praise of Rankin’s True Value
You would think I had won the lottery the way I was hootin’ and hollerin’ around here this morning. The reason was my conversation with Ken Rankin of Warrenton. Ken is a member of the family that founded and operates Rankin’s True Value Hardware. I learned about his store yesterday when talking to Adam Kidd,…
Author & Lecturer
Jim Hall 