Author Archives: thegumbodiaries

About thegumbodiaries

On the search for the perfect gumbo!

A Victorian Literary Train Stop: DeFuniak Springs’ Chautauqua

Posted on October 18, 2021 by thegumbodiaries

The most picturesque and historic literary site in the Florida Panhandle is the quaint town of DeFuniak Springs. Sprawling across I-10 (the northern geographic boundary of my book A Literary Traveler’s Guide to the Gulf South), DeFuniak Springs began as … Continue reading →

Tagged chautauqua, DeFuniak Springs, florida writers, Harriet Beech Stowe, Literary Travelers Guide to the Gulf South, old libraries | Leave a comment

South Alabama gals started something that’s still going strong

Posted on September 28, 2021 by thegumbodiaries

It’s hard to believe no one has written a dissertation or a book on my latest quest — women writers from Mobile, Alabama. My day trips to Mobile and online visits to Amazon have confirmed my belief that Mobile women … Continue reading →

Posted in Literary Gumbo | Tagged Augusta Jane Evans, Carolyn Haines, Doris Jean Austin, Literary Travelers Guide to the Gulf South, M.L. Bullock, Manda Collins, Marie Stanley, Mobile women writers, Octavia LeVert, Sidney McCall | 3 Comments

ALL ABOARD FOR READING ADVENTURE

Posted on September 15, 2021 by thegumbodiaries

Climbing the magical Dr. Seuss stairs into Story Tree Books brought back childhood (and I confess, adult) memories of climbing aboard a bookmobile. I love the experience of being on wheels, closed in, and surrounded by shelves laden with books. … Continue reading →

Posted in Literary Gumbo | Tagged bookmobiles, Harry Potter foods, Literary Travelers Guide to the Gulf South, Nancy Gaskins, Story Tree Books, Topeka library system | 3 Comments

Cancel Culture: Time Will Tell if the Pen is Mightier Than the Sword

Posted on July 10, 2021 by thegumbodiaries

Ryan Park in Mobile, Alabama, is a sad place this Saturday afternoon. I arrive to see if the six-foot bronze statue of the Catholic priest, sometimes called the Poet of the Confederacy, is still standing. It is – amidst broken … Continue reading →

Posted in Literary Gumbo | Tagged Cancel Culture, FAther Abram Ryan, literary travel, Literary Travelers Guide to the Gulf South, Mobile travel information, Poet of Confederacy, Portier House, Ryan Park | 6 Comments

Literary Mobile: On the Street Where You Live

Posted on June 26, 2021 by thegumbodiaries

When my hometown of Pascagoula, Mississippi, renamed the street where my parents lived, my father glowed with pride. Our address now read Paul Harvey Avenue, named for the popular author and radio commentator. We’d moved up in social circles. Our … Continue reading →

Posted in Literary Gumbo | Tagged Ashland Place, Augusta Evans Wilson, Father Abram Joseph Ryan, Literary Travelers Guide to the Gulf South, Madame LeVert, Mobile owmen writers, Mobile street names, Sidney Lanier, Thomas Cooper DeLeon | Leave a comment

Detours on the Literary Traveler’s Road

Posted on June 7, 2021 by thegumbodiaries

Visiting a site I’m researching for my book often propels me on a different path. I’m suddenly rushing to the library or bookstore or logging on to Amazon.com to find a book someone has recommended about the place or the … Continue reading →

Posted in Literary Gumbo | Tagged Axel Blackwell, Charles Frazier, Claire Matturro, Dawn Lee McKenna, Jo Watson Hackl, Karen White, Literary Travelers Guide to the Gulf South, Michael Lister, Smack Dab int he Middle of Maybe, Varina | 1 Comment

Literary Traveling: Artist and Writer Walter Anderson

Posted on May 30, 2021 by thegumbodiaries

“Walter Anderson was a master of social distancing.” That clever six-foot warning adhered to the floor of the Walter Anderson Museum of Art gave me one of the best belly laughs of the pandemic. Yes, that man rowed a dinghy … Continue reading →

Posted in Literary Gumbo | Tagged Gautier, Horn Island, Horn Island Logs, Literary Travelers Guide to the Gulf South, Ocean Springs, Oldfields, Shearwater Pottery, Walter Anderson, Walter Anderson writer | 1 Comment

Mississippi’s lost literary landmark still inspires writers

Posted on May 20, 2021 by thegumbodiaries

I stood in the very house where Oscar Wilde and Samuel Clemens once stood. And I walked on the same solid cypress plank floors where three famous women writers walked. Southern authors Sarah Dorsey, Varina Davis and Winnie Davis all … Continue reading →

Posted in Literary Gumbo | Tagged Beauvoir, Jefferson Davis, Literary Travelers Guide to the Gulf South, Sarah Dorsey, Southern women writers, Varine Davis, Winnie Davis | Leave a comment

Beginning in Bay St. Louis: the real Visitor’s Center

Posted on May 2, 2021 by thegumbodiaries

No more rummaging through tourist information racks for me. From now on when I travel, I’m stopping at the destination’s library first. When fact-checking for my upcoming book in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, I stopped at the Bay St. Louis-Hancock … Continue reading →

Posted in Literary Gumbo | Tagged 977 South. Beach Blvd., Bay St. Louis, children's library, Literary Travelers Guide to the Gulf South, Pearl Rivers, Stephen Ambrose | Leave a comment

Trees worth writing about

Posted on April 20, 2021 by thegumbodiaries

A tree is a tree is a tree is definitely not a tree when it comes to literary traveling along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I visited two massive live oaks, older than the country we live in, that have inspired … Continue reading →

Posted in Literary Gumbo | Tagged famous oak trees, Friendship Oak, Gulf Park, Literary Travel of the Gulf South, Ocean Springs, Ruskin Oak, USM on the Coast, Vachel Lindsay | 2 Comments

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