NOTE TO CHRIS LETTERA

[jamesleeburke]

Dear Mr. L.,

I'm supposed to stay inside the "Comments" thread, but I wanted to thank you for your nice post on the LDMSAS thread. That's a fine endorsement. I have always believed I portrayed Hack unfairly many years ago, and for that reason I wrote Rain Gods and Feast Day of Fools. It's very good to hear such a positive statement about the earlier novel.

You might give my short story collection The Convict a try. It contains three stories that deal directly or indirectly with Hackberry.

I'm determined to one day get Hackberry and his friends on the big screen.

Thanks again.

All the best,

Jim

[Christopher_Lettera]

Hi Mr. Burke,

Thank you for the recommendation. I placed an order for "The Convict" at my library.

I read "Jesus Out to Sea" recently as well, taking in a story a day on my lunch break. In spite of the nice weather, I often found myself turning pages in the solitude of my office. Many of the stories - especially "The Mist" - seemed to call for a still reading environment in which to reflect. A friend of mine described reading as a supernatural experience in which we're haunted by stories or feel kinship with characters as if they were among the living. "Jesus Out to Sea" brought that magic into my workday.

Your collection also reminded me of what might be my first powerful reading experience. In 1996, I lucked into a discarded copy of Bruce Springsteen's "The Ghost of Tom Joad" and found myself immersed in the lyrics and narrative of each song. Springsteen described his characters on "Joad" and later "Devils and Dust" as "souls on the chopping block." That also seems a fitting description for the folks you write about in "Jesus Out to Sea." When your characters discovered light at the end of the tunnel - as I believe R.B., Eddy Ray, and friends do in those dynamite last pages of "The Night Johnny Ace Died" - I experienced some happiness right along with them.

Thanks for your generous communication on this board.

Best to you and yours,

- Chris Lettera
Youngstown, Ohio

[jamesleeburke]

Thanks, noble mon. I always thought "Jesus Out to Sea" was among my best work.

Have you heard Bruce do "Vigilante Man"?

Best,

Jim

[Christopher_Lettera]

Mr. Burke,

That's a first listen for me. Thank you. Bruce has quite a take on Guthrie's song.

I caught Bruce's recent Cleveland show around the time I finished "Lay Down My Sword and Shield." That was a special night. A new song, "We Are Alive," was an uplifting tribute to folks who've sacrificed for labor and civil rights. The lyric about the best among us "fighting shoulder to shoulder and heart to heart" reminded me of Hack's awakening and the grace he found with Rie. I'm always thrilled when works of art converse like that. Here's a YouTube link to the song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVxc-tubIyE

I'm one hundred pages into "Rain Gods." What a terrific (and terrifying) cast of villains. I'm rooting hard for Pete and Vikki.

Best,

- Chris

[jamesleeburke]

Thanks, Mr. C. Have you checked out "A Vision Shared"? I think the link is on the my facebook page. The video is a tribute to Woody and Leadbelly. Bruce is on it and half the planet as well: Emmylou, Arlo, Honey in the Rock, Taj Mahal, Pete Seeger, and, get this, Little Richard, who blows the house down.

Do you ever listen to Cisco Houston? Also on youtube you can find a video of Pete Seeger and Arlo doing "This Land is Your Land." It's the best rendition of it I have ever heard. You can also watch Arlo and his daughter Sarah doing "Union Maid." Wow, what a concert.

All the best,

Jim

[Christopher_Lettera]

Dear Mr. Burke,

That's a boat-load of great music. I finished my Master's recently, and your recommendations - especially "A Vision Shared" - provided entertainment and nourishment during the graduation process. I hadn't listened to Cisco before, but color me a fan. Of the many versions I've heard of "Dark as a Dungeon," Cisco's take is up there with my favorites.

Does music play an active part in your writing process? I read that Steinbeck listened to Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, and Beethoven to establish a "unity of feeling."

In thinking of her father in "Rain Gods," Vicki was spot-on when she remembered how music "never dies. It lives on the trade winds and wraps all the way around the world."

I turned twenty-five today and picked up a copy of "Feast Day of Fools" at my library. I'm taking the day off tomorrow to enjoy some time with my family and begin the novel. I'm excited to say the least, and looking forward to starting your Robicheaux series. Thanks as always for sharing your gift.

All best,

- Chris

[jamesleeburke]

Thank, noble mon. Vicki's father was a friend of A.P. Carter, the patriarch of the Carter family. A.P. and his wife Sarah and Mother Maybelle were arguably the greatest single influence on American music in our history.

It was A.P. who always referred to muscians as "musicianers" and refused to enter an auditorum through the front door, insisting that musicianers always entered through the back. If you listen to an interview with Ramblin' Jack Elliott, notice that he always employs A.P.'s usage, probably as a result of his having lived with Woody on and off for several years.

America's music has its own zip code.

Stay in E-major, noble mon,

Jim

[Christopher_Lettera]

I'll seek out that interview with Ramblin' Jack. A YouTube favorite of mine is a sit-down conversation between Jack and John Prine. Prine attributes his songwriting to a vitamin deficiency as if the words he sings exist to make up for the lack of vegetables in his diet. I think I could sit and listen to such performers til the end of time.

As I'm riding out my summer Bruce kick, I have to recommend "Big Man: Real Life and Tall Tales" by Clarence Clemons. What a magic book. Clemons touches on rock and roll road life and writes thoughtfully about artistic identity/integrity, race, and aging. The Big Man's also recalls his romantic mishaps with sincerity and often great humor. It's one piece of life-writing that's brought me joy lately.

Best of summer to you,

- Chris

[jamesleeburke]

Thanks for the post, Chris, and also for the post regarding my first novel, Half of Paradise, on the Facebook page.

All the best,

Jim