Mississippi Writer News Archive:

Headlines:

	Barthelme brothers indicted for cheating at blackjack (March 1998)
	Grand Ole Opry comedian Jerry Clower dies at 71 (August 25, 1998)
	Author Margaret Walker Alexander dies (November 30, 1998)
	Uncollected story by Eudora Welty published (December 1998)

Barthelme brothers indicted for cheating at blackjack

March 1998

Mississippi writers Frederick and Steven Barthelme have been indicted for violating Mississippi's state gaming laws after they were accused of cheating at blackjack at a casino in Gulfport, The New York Times reported. A trial date is set for April 13. If convicted, both men could face up to two years in prison. In an ironic twist, Frederick Barthelme's most recent book is titled Bob the Gambler, in which a middle-class architect from Texas finds exhilaration in losing while gambling. Though Barthelme concedes there are parallels between the book's protagonist and himself (likewise a Texan and former draftsman), the author has said the book is not autobiographical. The Barthelmes will be represented in court by Boyce Holleman, a former district attorney who is also a part-time professional actor with several movies to his credit. The Gulfport courthouse where their case will be heard is located on Boyce Holleman Boulevard.

Go to articles:

	The New York Times:	'Bob the Gambler' Author Indicted for Cheating at Blackjack (7 March 1998)
	The Sun Herald:	Mississippi author, gambler, denies cheating casino (11 March 1998)

Grand Ole Opry comedian Jerry Clower dies at 71

25 August 1998

Mississippi writer and comedian Jerry Clower died in Jackson, Mississippi, on August 24, 1998, five days after undergoing heart surgery. He was 71 years old. Renowned for his comic tales of rural life in Mississippi, Clower released his first comedy album in 1970 and became a member of the Grand Ole Opry three years later. In addition, he wrote four books.

Go to article:

--

Grand Ole Opry comedian Jerry Clower dies at 71 (25 August 1998)

Author Margaret Walker Alexander dies

30 November 1998

Mississippi writer Margaret Walker Alexander died in Chicago on November 30, 1998. She was 83 years old. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1915, she went on to chronicle in poetry and prose her life as a black woman in the Deep South. She is best known for her poem "For My People," which won the Yale Award for young poets in 1942, and Jubilee, a 1966 novel which tells the life story of the daughter of a slave and a white plantation owner.

Uncollected story by Eudora Welty published

December 1998

A story by Eudora Welty not previously published in any of her short story collections has been published in the Winter 1998-1999 issue of Brightleaf Review. "Hello and Goodbye," a humorous early short story first published in The Atlantic in 1940, is the centerpiece of a 14-page special section honoring Welty that includes a tribute by Mississippi writer Anthony Grooms, a profile of Miss Welty by Boston writer Sally Jacobs, and reviews of Welty's recently released Collected Works and Ann Waldron's new biography.

Go to article:

Brightleaf Review:

Uncollected short story by Eudora Welty featured in a special section on the Mississippi writer in the new Winter 1998-99 Brightleaf. (December 1998)

Mississippi Writers Page Links
About This Site | New Book Info | News & Events | Literary Landmarks | Mississippi Literary History | Mississippi Publishing | Other Features | Other Web Resources

WRITER LISTINGS:
by author | by title | by place | by year | by genre

SEARCH THE MISSISSIPPI WRITERS PAGE

Ole Miss Links
UM Home Page | English Department | Center for the Study of Southern Culture | The University of Mississippi Foundation