Bright Skylark Literary Productions
  • Author Statement
    • Greeting Flannery O'Connor at the Back Door of My Mind
    • Dreams of the Immortal City Savannah >
      • Podcast Prospects 504
      • More Books by Aberjhani >
        • Readers & Reviewers on the Writings of Aberjhani
        • Checking in at Goodreads
        • Editing Credits
        • ELEMENTAL: The Power of Illuminated Love (Art and Poetry Gift Book)
        • The River of Winged Dreams
        • The Wisdom of W.E.B. Du Bois
        • Songs from the Black Skylark zPed Music Player: A Novel by Aberjhani
        • I Made My Boy Out of Poetry
        • Journey through the Power of the Rainbow: Quotations from a Life Made Out of Poetry
        • Buy Books by Aberjhani on Amazon
        • 10th Anniversary of Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance
  • Working Scribe Image Carousel
    • Aberjhani - Author Biography
    • Awards & Honors
    • Aberjhani Portfolio Sampler
    • Michael Jackson in Life & Legend
    • Creative Thinkers International
  • Blog: Visionary Vibes
    • Twitter Tweets & News Notes >
      • Author-Poet Aberjhani in the News
    • Blog: Silk-Featherbrush Art and Style >
      • Postered Poetics
    • Blog: Literary Persuasion Book Reviews
    • Blog: Sonic Delight Music Reviews >
      • Summer-Song Rhapsody for Michael Jackson: Editorial with Poem
    • Shifting Points of View and the Massacre in Charleston, South Carolina (USA)
    • 7 Ways to Help Replace Legislated Fear with Informed Compassion
  • Art and Poster Store
    • Your Introduction to Original Silk-Featherbrush Art & Style
  • About Bright Skylark Literary Productions
    • Bright Skylark Values and Motto
  • Quotations
    • Pinterest Page of Quotations
  • Charter for a More Compassionate World
  • As a Poet Thinketh
    • The Bridge of Silver Wings
    • Rainbow-Song for the Angel of Tao by Aberjhani
    • Ode to the Good Black Boots that Served My Soul So Well (poem by Aberjhani)
    • Angel of Remembrance: Candles for September 11, 2001
    • Rainbow-Song for the Angel of Tao: Verse 1
  • Articles and Essays
    • Abbreviated Minds in the News for Wreaking Havoc Worldwide editorial by Aberjhani
    • Iconic Authors Toni Morrison's and Harper Lee's New Works Likely to Influence Dialogues on Race
    • Red Summer: Text and Meaning in Claude McKay’s poem ‘If We Must Die’” part 1 of special 4-part series by Aberjhani
    • A Writer's Journey to Selma, Alabama
    • Justice Remains Elusive in Case of Newly-freed Louis C. Taylor (Part 1 of 2)
    • Sensualized Transcendence: Editorial and Poem on the Art of Jaanika Talts (Part 1)
    • Realms of Emerging Light (Sensualized Transcendence Editorial and Poem on the Art of Jaanika Talts Part 2)
    • Notes on the 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation
    • Why Race Mattered in Barack Obama's Re-Election: Editorial and Poem
    • Posted Perspectives on America's 2012 Presidential Election
    • 47 Percenters and Guerrilla Decontextualization: Dreamers and Nightmares
    • Considering Michael Clarke Duncan: Big Black Man Within A Nonsociopoliticohistorical Context (Editorial with Poem)
  • Video Pen & Ink
  • Links and Connections
    • Aberjhani's Guerrilla Decontextualization
  • Contact the Author

Literary Persuasions: 
book Reviews by Aberjhani

Exploring the stylistic texts and provocative meanings
of contemporary & classic literature.

Main Page

Anderson's 'Wild Man' Offers History and Eugene Talmadge a Second Corrective Chance

7/25/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
William Anderson’s The Wild Man from Sugar Creek: the Political Career of Eugene Talmadge  is one the most engrossing and compelling portraits of a complex American political figure in American literature. It was, in addition, an essential source of the biographical information and historical insights needed to complete the essay titled “The Bridge and the Monument: A Tale of Two Legacies,” published in the book The American Poet Who Went Home Again.

Mr. Talmadge was a controversial figure when he was elected governor of the state Georgia (USA) four times (he died shortly after the fourth election). He has remained one in the twenty-first century while residents of the city of Savannah repeatedly debate the wisdom of retaining or removing his name––so indelibly associated with white supremacy– on or from the magnificent bridge spanning the Savannah River from the city’s downtown area to Hutchinson Island. 
Picture
"Eugene Talmadge Memorial Bridge The Morning After Hurricane Matthew No. 2" by Aberjhani. (For Sale at Fine Art America)

The Eugene Talmadge we meet in the pages of The Wild Man from Sugar Creek is a fierce champion of the supposed underdog white political demographic he adopts as his constituency/tribe. To them he famously declared: “You all got only three friends in this world: The Lord God Almighty, the Sears Roebuck catalog and Eugene Talmadge. And you can only vote for one of them.” They heard him and many apparently believed him.
 
We also meet in this biography Talmadge the vehement die-hard racist who advised white citizens of Georgia to follow his lead by “flash[ing] to the world the news [on September 10, 1942] that Georgia recognizes white supremacy and is a white man’s state.” That declaration and many others like it make it difficult to win any arguments in favor of keeping Talmadge’s name on the bridge that currently bears it.

Putting Talmadge’s Wild Legacy in Contemporary Context

The value of Anderson’s unflinching report, however, goes beyond regional or even national policies governing the names of public facilities and spaces. It speaks boldly to the international dilemma of how best to correct grievous historical atrocities of the past.

Talmadge’s legacy and the lessons which may be gleaned from it cannot be ignored as members of diverse cultural groups attempt to establish peaceful coexistence in a twenty-first-century world  flooded with political and social discontent, be they due to wars, unyielding immigration issues, the wealth divide, gender concerns, or cyber disruptions.

Truthfully, on many levels Talmadge’s political strategy was not very different from that of the current POTUS Donald Trump’s when it comes to over-emphasizing the plight of one demographic to the exclusion of America’s cross-cultural population as a whole.  That observation circles back to the question of what lessons should contemporary citizens take from the xenophobia-inspired rise of The Wild Man from Sugar Creek and which of his pronounced values and practices should be vigorously denounced. The answers should be clear enough but a thorough reading of Anderson’s expert volume can help make them more so.

Author

Aberjhani is an American poet, historian, essayist, editor, journalist, social critic, and cautious artist. He recently completed work on a nonfiction book about cultural arts, race relations, immigration, and human trafficking in his hometown of Savannah, Georgia (USA). He is currently writing a play about southern traditions and legacies.

0 Comments

    Archives

    December 2019
    November 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    October 2017
    July 2017
    August 2012

    Categories

    All
    1950s
    1960s
    20th Century Authors
    21st Century Authors
    Aberjhani
    Aberjhani On Brad Gooch
    Aberjhani On Chinese Famine
    Aberjhani On Dick Gregory
    Aberjhani On Duncan McNaughton
    Aberjhani On Eugene Talmadge
    Aberjhani On Flannery O'Connor
    Aberjhani On Jean-Paul Sartre
    Aberjhani On Mao Zedong
    Aberjhani On Mark Morneweg
    Aberjhani On Otis S. Johnson
    Aberjhani On PT Armstrong
    Aberjhani On Savannah Georgia
    Aberjhani On Savannah-Georgia
    Aberjhani On Yang Jisheng
    African American Authors
    African-American Authors
    African-American Comics
    African American Men
    African-American Men
    American Authors
    American Civil War
    Andrew Davidson
    Annie Cohen-Solal
    Antiracism
    Art By Aberjhani
    Asian Authors
    Audio Podcast
    Author Mark Morneweg
    Author Poet Aberjhani Official Site
    Author-Poet Aberjhani - Official Site
    Authors
    Authors From Savannah Georgia
    Benjamin Hollander
    Bill Berkson
    Biography
    Biracial Relationships
    Biracial Women
    Black Men Who Write
    Blogs By Aberjhani
    Book Industry
    Book Publishing
    Book Reviews
    Book Reviews By Aberjhani
    Books
    Books And Authors
    Books By Flannery O'Connor
    Books By PT Armstrong
    Books On Flannery O'Connor
    Brad Gooch
    Brad Gooch Audio Podcast
    Carlos Ruiz Zafon
    Celebrity Authors
    Chinese Authors
    Chinese History
    Classic Authors
    Contemporary Authors
    Contemporary Literature
    Contemporary Southern Literature
    Cornel West
    Creative Nonfiction
    Creative Thinkers
    Dick Gregory Videos
    Digital Publishing
    Dreams Of The Immortal City Savannah Book By Aberjhani
    Duncan McNaughton
    Ebooks
    Education
    El Portal Press
    Essays By Aberjhani
    Essays On Duncan McNaughton
    Essays On Flannery O'Connor
    Eugene Talmadge
    Eugene Talmadge Memorial Bridge
    Existentialism
    Fiction
    Flannery O'Connor
    French Authors
    French Literature
    Genre-bending Literature
    Greeting Flannery O'Connor At The Back Door Of Mind Book By Aberjhani
    Gustave Flaubert
    Hector France
    Historical Fiction
    Historical Poetry
    History
    History Of Civil Rights Movement
    History Of Famines
    History Of Literature
    History Of Racism
    Human Cannibalism
    Iconic Authors
    Influential Authors
    International Authors
    International Poets
    Interracial Relationships
    Interview
    Jean Genet
    Jean-Paul Sartre
    Jim Crow Racism
    Lady Gaga
    Latino Ficiton
    Leadership Philosophy
    Leadership Theory
    Life And Legacy Of Dick Gregory
    Life And Legacy Of Flannery O'Connor
    Lillian Gregory
    Literary Biographies
    Literary Criticism
    Literary Essays
    Literary Friendships
    Literary History
    Literary Influencers
    Literary Influences
    Literary Traditions
    Memoir
    National Poetry Month
    New Orleans
    Nicanor Parra
    Nigger By Dick Gregory
    Nobel Laureates
    Nonfiction
    Novels
    Official Site For Author Poet Aberjhani
    Official Site For Author-Poet Aberjhani
    Official Website Of Author Poet Aberjhani
    Official Website Of Author-Poet Aberjhani
    Philosophy
    Podcast On Literature
    Poetry
    Poetry By Duncan McNaughton
    Poets From Boston
    Political Activism
    Political Biographies
    Political Strategies
    Political Theories
    Postered Poetics Art By Aberjhani
    Prose And Poetry
    Prose Poem
    Public Intellectuals
    Publishing
    Quotations
    Quotes By Dick Gregory
    Quotes By Flannery O'Connor
    Quotes By Mark Morneweg
    Race In America
    Racism In Georgia
    Racism In The United States
    Richard Wright
    San Francisco Poets
    Savannah-Georgia
    Savannah River
    Singer Sade
    Social Activism
    Somewhere In The Stream By Duncan McNaughton
    Southern Legacies
    Starvation
    Text And Meaning Series By Aberjhani
    The American Poet Who Went Home Again
    The Angel's Game
    The Gargoyle By Andrew Davidson
    The Word "Nigger"
    Toni Morrison
    Tribute To Dick Gregory
    Video
    Video Podcast
    Video Poem
    William Anderson
    Women Authors
    World History
    World Poetry Day
    Writers And Writing
    Xenophobia
    Yang Jisheng
    Yoko Ono
    YouTube Videos

    RSS Feed

  • Author Statement
    • Greeting Flannery O'Connor at the Back Door of My Mind
    • Dreams of the Immortal City Savannah >
      • Podcast Prospects 504
      • More Books by Aberjhani >
        • Readers & Reviewers on the Writings of Aberjhani
        • Checking in at Goodreads
        • Editing Credits
        • ELEMENTAL: The Power of Illuminated Love (Art and Poetry Gift Book)
        • The River of Winged Dreams
        • The Wisdom of W.E.B. Du Bois
        • Songs from the Black Skylark zPed Music Player: A Novel by Aberjhani
        • I Made My Boy Out of Poetry
        • Journey through the Power of the Rainbow: Quotations from a Life Made Out of Poetry
        • Buy Books by Aberjhani on Amazon
        • 10th Anniversary of Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance
  • Working Scribe Image Carousel
    • Aberjhani - Author Biography
    • Awards & Honors
    • Aberjhani Portfolio Sampler
    • Michael Jackson in Life & Legend
    • Creative Thinkers International
  • Blog: Visionary Vibes
    • Twitter Tweets & News Notes >
      • Author-Poet Aberjhani in the News
    • Blog: Silk-Featherbrush Art and Style >
      • Postered Poetics
    • Blog: Literary Persuasion Book Reviews
    • Blog: Sonic Delight Music Reviews >
      • Summer-Song Rhapsody for Michael Jackson: Editorial with Poem
    • Shifting Points of View and the Massacre in Charleston, South Carolina (USA)
    • 7 Ways to Help Replace Legislated Fear with Informed Compassion
  • Art and Poster Store
    • Your Introduction to Original Silk-Featherbrush Art & Style
  • About Bright Skylark Literary Productions
    • Bright Skylark Values and Motto
  • Quotations
    • Pinterest Page of Quotations
  • Charter for a More Compassionate World
  • As a Poet Thinketh
    • The Bridge of Silver Wings
    • Rainbow-Song for the Angel of Tao by Aberjhani
    • Ode to the Good Black Boots that Served My Soul So Well (poem by Aberjhani)
    • Angel of Remembrance: Candles for September 11, 2001
    • Rainbow-Song for the Angel of Tao: Verse 1
  • Articles and Essays
    • Abbreviated Minds in the News for Wreaking Havoc Worldwide editorial by Aberjhani
    • Iconic Authors Toni Morrison's and Harper Lee's New Works Likely to Influence Dialogues on Race
    • Red Summer: Text and Meaning in Claude McKay’s poem ‘If We Must Die’” part 1 of special 4-part series by Aberjhani
    • A Writer's Journey to Selma, Alabama
    • Justice Remains Elusive in Case of Newly-freed Louis C. Taylor (Part 1 of 2)
    • Sensualized Transcendence: Editorial and Poem on the Art of Jaanika Talts (Part 1)
    • Realms of Emerging Light (Sensualized Transcendence Editorial and Poem on the Art of Jaanika Talts Part 2)
    • Notes on the 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation
    • Why Race Mattered in Barack Obama's Re-Election: Editorial and Poem
    • Posted Perspectives on America's 2012 Presidential Election
    • 47 Percenters and Guerrilla Decontextualization: Dreamers and Nightmares
    • Considering Michael Clarke Duncan: Big Black Man Within A Nonsociopoliticohistorical Context (Editorial with Poem)
  • Video Pen & Ink
  • Links and Connections
    • Aberjhani's Guerrilla Decontextualization
  • Contact the Author