Episode 12: Michael Gaspeny with Ray Koob
Episode 12 Promo
Michael Gaspeny
Michael Gaspeny with his dog, Ollie. (Photo by Lee Zacharias)
Michael Gaspeny’s novel about blues, race, and football—'A Postcard from the Delta’—was published in October by Livingston Press. He’s the author of the novella in verse, ‘The Tyranny of Questions’ (from Unicorn Press), and the chapbooks ‘Re-Write Men’ and ‘Vocation’. He has won the Randall Jarrell Poetry Competition and the O. Henry Festival Short Fiction Contest. For hospice service, he received The (North Carolina) Governor’s Award for Volunteer Excellence.
Michael taught journalism and English for nearly forty years, mainly at Bennett College and High Point University. As a reporter in Arkansas, he covered Bill Clinton’s first race for national office. His stories about that campaign have been frequently quoted in biographies of the former president. A native of Norfolk, Virginia, Michael received degrees from Randolph-Macon College, the University of Richmond, and the University of Arkansas, where he gained an MFA in writing fiction.
Ray Koob
Ray is co-host, with Markus Goldman, of the Imbalanced History of Rock And Roll podcast, another proud member of the Pantheon Podcast Network. Ray and Marcus are polished radio pros from Philadelphia, and their podcast offers a Rock & Roll history lesson that gives listeners a unique perspective on its rich history.
About This Episode
HIGHLIGHTS:
On this episode of Rock is Lit . . .
Michael Gaspeny and I talk about
Our experiences launching debut novels and the advice we’d give new authors who are about to launch their first books
The backstory that inspired Michael to write the novel ‘A Postcard From the Delta’
Blues as the main character in the novel’s religion and what the Blues means to Michael
When the Blues first grabbed Michael
How the British Blues Explosion of the 1960s helped white kids discover classic Blues musicians
The appropriation issue
Michael’s experience visiting Clarksdale, Mississippi in the late 1990s
Why making pilgrimages to music-related sites is so important to music lovers
Racial issues present in the novel
Ray Koob and I talk about
His podcast, Imbalanced History of Rock and Roll, and some of the episodes he’s done on Delta Blues (see the Imbalanced History of Rock and Roll website for more on those episodes)
Defining characteristics of Delta Blues and some of the most well-known players
Why Robert Johnson had the most unique style amongst all the Delta Blues musicians of his era, the legend about him selling is soul to the devil at the crossroads, his mysterious death
The earliest Delta Blues recordings—facilitated by John and Alan Lomax
Delta Blues as inspiration for the Skiffle movement in England in the 1960s
The few recorded female Delta Blues musicians, like Memphis Minnie
Bessie Smith’s tragic death/the effects of racism on the music and artists of the early to mid-20th century
The history, lore, and Blues-related sites in Clarksdale, MS
Contemporary artists playing and recording Delta Blues
MUSIC AND MEDIA IN THE EPISODE IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE:
(Copyright Free) Acoustic Delta Blues—Instrumental
“Modern Love” by David Bowie
“Smokestack Lightnin’” by Howlin’ Wolf
“You Can’t Love What You Ain’t Never Had” by Muddy Waters
“Earth Angel” by The Penguins
“Cross Road Blues” by Robert Johnson
“I’m Ready” by Muddy Waters
“Nothin’ But The Devil” by Rory Gallagher
“You Got to Move” by Mississippi Fred McDowell
“Milk Cow Blues” by Freddie Spruell
“Me and the Devil Blues” by Robert Johnson
“When the Levee Breaks” by Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe
Clip from the movie ‘Crossroads’
“Serves Me Right to Suffer” by John Lee Hooker
LINKS:
Digital Dying Blog post on Michael Gaspeny, https://www.funeralwise.com/digital-dying/the-deathbed-poet-how-one-man-makes-poems-of-lifes-last-hours/
North Carolina Writers’ Network, articles on Michael Gaspeny, https://www.ncwriters.org/news/blog/tag/michael-gaspeny/
Imbalanced History of Rock and Roll Podcast’s website, https://imbalancedhistory.com/
Imbalanced History of Rock and Roll Twitter, @ImbalancedHisto
Imbalanced History of Rock and Roll Facebook
