There is plenty of information out there for you to explore regarding Isabel Wilkerson's gorgeous book, The Warmth of other Suns. I won't get too caught up in telling you what you may already know. This title was recommended to us on the last day of The Most Southern Place on Earth, the seminar at Delta State that is the cornerstone of this blog.
I have to admit that books over 500 pages do not call my name when I'm at the library. It's terrible for an English teacher to say that, I know. It's the truth. I favor non-fiction for the bulk of my free-choice reading, so Wilkerson's book had that going for it. Also, my generous aunt and uncle sent me a birthday gift card to Barnes & Noble, so there wasn't a good reason not to buy it. When it arrived, I found that the paperback cover was made out of that material that feels just right against my fingers...you know those Vintage books. Man, it is a chunk! I got started right away.
What is it about? In short, the Great Migration. Wilkerson spent 15 years of her life preparing this book for you, and it shows from the very first page to the last. Her style is musical, flawless. If you read the first page, you will know what I mean. And the first page will beckon you to the second and so on...the book practically reads itself.
You will take it with you wherever you go. You will sit with it in your dentist's office and find yourself in an orange orchard, a cotton field, a rocketing train, a cramped apartment, a buzzing casino or in the front seat of a 1949 Buick Roadmaster. You will carry Warmth with you in your car and hope for stand-still traffic, an impromptu parade of very small turtles or a bridge opening, so you can sneak a few more pages in. You will stash it by your bedside at night, so you can grab it when the sunshine returns the next morning.
The book is anchored by three African American southerners who were part of the Great Migration. The three were chosen to represent the three main routes travelled by those who chose to leave their homes in search of a different life. All three of these individuals were alive when Wilkerson was conducting her research for the book, so they told her their own stories. Additionally, information gleaned from countless other interviews and hours of further research is woven into the telling of their tales.
You won't see a single stitch left behind by the author. If I didn't know better, I would be inclined to believe Wilkerson if she told me that she grew the book with an enchanted seed that was planted in Delta dirt and left to grow on her kitchen windowsill.
Maybe you already know all there is to know about everything. Well, I don't, And you should read the book anyway, even if you think you do. Your eyes will be opened to the basic complications of even planning to leave the South, particularly for sharecroppers. You will also find out about the hardships folks faced once they arrived in other places. Jim Crow had a broader reach than these Southerners could begin to imagine.
I certainly don't want to divulge any of the particulars to you, since you are going to read the book for yourself. I would recommend visiting Wilkerson's website and nosing around. Liking her on Facebook is also worth your while as she has links to related resources and thought-provoking, contemporary issues. I don't want you to miss this one though, so I'm giving you the link right here.
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Right before I started typing this entry, I took a slice of tomato pie and fig tart to my neighbor, and just now, he came by to hand me a Tom Collins as a thanks. I'm telling you because I'm pretty sure the magic from this book had something to do with it. If your fig tree is ripe too, here's the recipe I started with, but the filling I used was simply wild cherry jam made by my boyfriend's mom, sliced figs, honey...and a touch of sea salt never hurts. Don't skip the lemon zest in the crust though. If you make it without the marscapone cheese, that means you can have some vanilla ice cream on the side. I think I've shared the tomato pie recipe, but here it is again in case your garden tomatoes are taking over your kitchen counters. And how about some music while you cook?
