The next author featured in Southern Lit Alliance’s South Bound presentation series will be Susan Cushman, author of John and Mary Margaret, a novel about an interracial couple who meets at Ole Miss in the 60’s.
Ms. Cushman’s interview will be in person at the Arts Building, 301 E. 11th St., at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 1. Masks will be required for all attendees. Tickets are $15 for this event.
Ms. Cushman currently lives in Memphis, where she has lived since 1988. She has written in many genres, including short stories, novels, and memoirs. Her short story collection Friends of the Library performed well and is the basis for the expanded story of the characters in John & Mary Margaret. Her other works include but are not limited to the novel Cherry Bomb and the memoir Tangles and Plaques: A Mother and Daughter Face Alzheimer’s. Ms. Cushman is a frequent speaker and director at numerous writing conferences, workshops, and literary festivals, and her latest endeavor involves leading a monthly creative writing group at a senior living facility. Learn more about Susan Cushman and her career at susancushman.com.
About John & Mary Margaret:
In John and Mary Margaret, Ms. Cushman’s second novel and seventh book, she fleshes out their stories, covering over 50 years of their lives in Mississippi and Memphis against the setting of the Civil Rights Movement and on into present day.
The novel is ultimately an exploration of white privilege and romance as we watch Mary Margaret grow up in Jackson, Ms. and participate in sorority life at Ole Miss in the late 1960's while John pursues his dream to study law at the predominantly white university. What happens when what begins as a shared love of literature between the two blossoms into a romance? How will the couple cope?
For more information about Southern Lit Alliance, please visit www.southernlitalliance.org or call 777-4221.