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The Jackson-Madison County Library Foundation is hosting its tenth annual Books of Madison County Fundraising Dinner at 6 pm at Jackson Fairgrounds Park Tuesday, Aug. 3. This year’s theme is “Sounds on the Music Highway” featuring keynote speakers Robert Gordan, Shawn Pitts, and Roger Stolle.
In addition to the keynote presentation, the event will include a gourmet dinner, wine pairing and silent auction. Funds raised by the Books of Madison County event are used to benefit the Jackson-Madison County Library.
Library Foundation Member Shelia Arnold states, “ I am thrilled to bring together these three authors as we explore stops along the famous ‘Music Highway’. Music is a significant part of our local history and culture, and what better way to begin Jackson and Madison County’s Bicentennial than embracing and honoring the music that made each of us who we are. Each of these gentlemen are accomplished authors and speakers. Those who attend this event will be in for a treat!”
Robert Gordon is a writer and a filmmaker, a Grammy winner and an Emmy winner. He’s a native Memphian who has been exporting the city’s authentic weirdness since long before his first book, It Came From Memphis (1995). He’s been nominated for six Grammys; his win was for the liner notes to the Big Star box set Keep an Eye on the Sky. His Emmy was for Best of Enemies, the 2015 documentary about Gore Vidal, William Buckley, and the demise of civil discourse in America. Other films include William Eggleston’s Stranded in Canton, the Stax Records story Respect Yourself, and Muddy Waters Can’t Be Satisfied; books include Memphis Rent Party, Respect Yourself, and Can’t Be Satisfied: The Life and Times of Muddy Waters. www.TheRobertGordon.com
Shawn Pitts is a community arts advocate, avocational folklorist, musician and writer. He is a founding director of Arts in McNairy and has served on the boards of The Tennessee Folklore Society, Humanities Tennessee and The Tennessee Arts Commission. His writing has appeared in Southern Cultures, The Bitter Southerner, Y’all Magazine and a number of other print and online periodicals. In 2012 Shawn was awarded by the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress for music heritage fieldwork and preservation. He coproduced the international
LP/CD release, Discovering Carl Perkins, for Bear Family Records in 2019 and his debut novel, which draws on the same research, is represented by a top literary agency. In his spare time Shawn is a practicing Doctor of Chiropractic in Selmer, Tennessee.
Roger Stolle was a St. Louis marketing executive who moved to Clarksdale, Mississippi, in 2002 with a mission to “help organize and promote the blues from within.” He saw live blues as the first puzzle piece on the table in the quest for tourism growth and downtown revitalization. (“If we have the music at night, then we get the overnight stay.”) Stolle owns Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art store (www.cathead.biz), co-founded multiple festivals (Juke Joint Festival, Clarksdale Film & Music Festival, Clarksdale Caravan Music Fest, Cat Head Mini Blues Fest), writes for Twoj Blues (Poland) and Blues Music Magazine (USA), authored Hidden History of Mississippi Blues and Mississippi Juke Joint Confidential books (The History Press), is Delta Magazine contributing editor, produced three albums by Big George Brock, and co-produced several film projects (M for Mississippi, We Juke Up in Here, Moonshine & Mojo Hands, Hard Times). Awards include Keeping the Blues Alive (2008), Blues Music Award (2009), Early Wright Blues Heritage (2013) and Small Business of the Year (2019). He is president of the Visit Clarksdale Tourism Commission and occasionally tours Mississippi legends overseas. Stolle is a frequent public speaker and has been quoted by The New York Times, Forbes, The Economist, PBS, NPR and SPIN Magazine.
Reservations for the event and sponsorships are available by visiting the Main Library or by calling 731-425-8600.
The Library Foundation is dedicated to raising funds for the long-term development of the library as it continues to evolve to meet the needs of our ever-changing world. The goal of the Library Foundation, in cooperation with the Library Board of Trustees, is to achieve consistent funding allowing the library to provide high quality desirable programming, cutting-edge technology, maintain facilities and continually improve its collection.
The Jackson-Madison County Library is located at 433 E. Lafayette St. in downtown Jackson. For more information, contact the Library at 731-425-8600, visit the Library’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/JMCLibrary or its website at www.jmclibrary.org.