Some of the stories Rick Bragg has covered as a journalist include the Oklahoma City bombing, the unrest in Haiti, and the Elian Gonzalez case. Rick earned a Pulitzer Prize while writing for The New York Times and has also written several well-regarded books, many of them exploring, in some way, his tumultuous family history and the heartaches of growing up with an alcoholic dad. His latest book is Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story, a rousing mix of rock-n-roll biography and spiritual inquiry and arguably a culmination of Rick’s thematic interests from earlier books.
I talk to Rick about how he weaves a sense of community into his stories, the responsibilities of a journalist to those he profiles, and some of the themes he likes to revisit. Plus, banter on rock ‘n’ roll, heaven & hell, and whether alcohol is a prerequisite for any self-respecting Southern writer.
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Related Things
- All Over but the Shoutin, Rick’s first book is a classic and how many readers came to know his work. It’s his first attempt at documenting his troubled boyhood home.
- The Prince of Frogtown: In this one, Rick takes another look at his dad from those who grew up with him, and a more complex figure emerges. Intercut with this exploration is Rick’s attempts to bond with his stepson and move beyond his father’s shadow.
- I Am a Soldier Too: The Jessica Lynch Story: The severity of Jessica’s treatment while held captivity by the Iraqis was such that medical experts believe she repressed some of the memories, but in the book her recovery seems extensive. Arguably Rick’s most optimistic book.
- Somebody Told Me, a choice selection of Rick Bragg’s newspaper stories, selected and arranged by Rick himself.
- Tried by Deadly Tornado, An Anchor of Faith Holds, Rick’s article about a tornado that hits an Alabama church on Palm Sunday.
- Rick’s coverage of the Elian Gonzalez case for The New York Times.
- Rick’s 2007 profile of Nick Saban for Sports Illustrated. Incidentally, LSU would go on to win the BCS Championship that season and the New York Giants (the embodiment of all that is good and as it should be in the world) would win the Super Bowl.
- To those who want to explore some of the challenges of our current health-care system, I recommend reading Catastrophic Care by David Goldhill, a Democrat and writer for The Atlantic. The book is a thoughtful, non-partisan look at some of systemic issues that keep costs high and innovation low. The documentary Wait Till Its Free is also worth watching.
- I Wish I Was (Sort of) More Like James Dean, my written exploration into the mysteries of James Dean and the number 23.
I got to meet Rick Bragg at the 2014 Louisiana Book Festival. See that hint of yellow by my collar? That’s my LSU shirt. Thanks to Sherry Verdel for the photo.
Sponsor for this episode
LA Film Prize, a short-film festival in Shreveport, Louisiana. Home of the $50,000 film prize. Viva La Film Prize!
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Great interview, Nick! Rick Bragg has been a longtime inspiration for my own “family stories” style of writing. Every time I run into him, he’s just as affable as can be. A few years back, I took an all-day writing class he taught at the La BookFest. The next day, at the actual festival, my mother and I ran into him in the lobby of the State Capitol before his scheduled appearance. He greeted me by name and chit-chatted with us awhile. That little exchange has gone down in family lore as one of only two times in her life that my mother has been “star struck.” Indeed, “The Day a Famous Author Acknowledged My Daughter at the State Capitol” has replaced “My Sister Once Jitterbugged with Bobby Vinton” in family lore.
Thanks for stopping by, Bella. That’s a terrific story about Rick. Speaking of festival, he’s going to be at the Tennessee Williams festival this weekend, but I can’t make it to his talk.
If I can shake these allergies, I will be there. He’s doing a humor writing symposium with Roy Blount Jr. and Amy Dickinson on Sunday. Most of what I write is humor.
Good running into you at the festival, Bella. Actually, you gave me the nudge I needed to come today. Until I read your comment, I didn’t notice Rick was speaking on Saturday and Sunday, and it felt oddly appropriate that he was speaking on Palm Sunday, of all days. I made a few small adjustments and was able to attend.
Consequently, I attended my first Mass at St. Louis Cathedral. I’m not Catholic, but it was a stirring service.
Regarding additional appearances of the number 23, Rick spoke at 2:30 on Saturday, and Roy Blount Jr. mentioned the number in the panel with Rick today. The fortune teller to whom I apologized today for slighting on Friday (I felt angry when I perceived that she was trying to manipulate me, which might not have been the case) told me that she started reading cards when she was 23. The first story of the Clarion Herald I picked up inside of St. Louis mentioned that Bishop-elect Fernand Joseph Cheri III had his Ordination on March 23rd. Lastly, the festival ended today with the Stella and Stanley shouting contest. In reading up on that I discovered that last year’s contest fell on March 23rd.
Well that’s enough about the number for a while, but lately it has been showing up at a much higher rate than usual, which is, at the very least, peculiar.
To look at the broader picture, things didn’t go exactly as hoped, which is not unusual for me. I got a flat tire thanks to a nail on the road, for example. Then a certain song came on the radio after AAA came to swap out the tire for the flat, and that might have influenced what I did later, although I didn’t consider the possibility at the time. Still, even though things didn’t go exactly as planned, it is possible that things happened as intended, but it is also possible that something got scrambled along the way. Hard to tell in such cases.
Curiouser and curiouser, as they say.