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A DEMOCRACY OF GHOSTS a novel by John Griswold ISBN: 978-1-877655-63-0, LCN: 2009920772 first trade edition, 6 X 9, 192 pgs, 2009 $13.95, plus s/h (U.S. only) Cover Art: October 1916 cover of The Masses Cover Design: redbat design, Kristin Summers Author Photo: Josh Birnbaum |
DESCRIPTION
WINNER OF THE 2010 ERIC HOFFER AWARD
SILVER MEDALIST FOR FOREWORD MAGAZINE'S BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD IN THE CATEGORY OF HISTORICAL FICTION.
WINNER OF THE DELTA AWARD FROM FRIENDS OF MORRIS LIBRARY (SOUTHERN ILLINOIS-CARBONDALE)
A Democracy of Ghosts is the love story of four couples, set against the backdrop of the Herrin Massacre of 1922. This clash of miners and strikebreakers in Bloody Williamson County, in Southern Illinois, resulted in the deaths of 21 men -- 19 of them the "scabs" tortured and murdered by average men, women, and even children in what was once the most radical community in America.
John Griswold has drawn from contemporary eyewitnesses and news accounts, an ethnography of the area, histories, and his own grandfather's letters to create the lives of four fictional couples whose ambitions, self-doubts, and social and sexual jealousies contribute to this great American violence that still echoes down through time.
SILVER MEDALIST FOR FOREWORD MAGAZINE'S BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD IN THE CATEGORY OF HISTORICAL FICTION.
WINNER OF THE DELTA AWARD FROM FRIENDS OF MORRIS LIBRARY (SOUTHERN ILLINOIS-CARBONDALE)
A Democracy of Ghosts is the love story of four couples, set against the backdrop of the Herrin Massacre of 1922. This clash of miners and strikebreakers in Bloody Williamson County, in Southern Illinois, resulted in the deaths of 21 men -- 19 of them the "scabs" tortured and murdered by average men, women, and even children in what was once the most radical community in America.
John Griswold has drawn from contemporary eyewitnesses and news accounts, an ethnography of the area, histories, and his own grandfather's letters to create the lives of four fictional couples whose ambitions, self-doubts, and social and sexual jealousies contribute to this great American violence that still echoes down through time.
PRAISE FOR
"At times disturbing and tragically violent, always insightful, poignant and uncompromising, Griswold's riveting narrative is filled with complex men and women bursting with life. Fast-paced and powerful, Ghosts is an original ride told by a masterful writer."
--Duff Brenna, author of The Law of Falling Bodies
"With iron and blood, it seems, and from the rich depths of the earth, John Griswold has fashioned a classic American novel, its dignified intonations of our young nation's sweat and tears evocative of the indelible storytelling of Dos Passos, Frank Norris, and Upton Sinclair."
-- Bob Shacochis
A Democracy of Ghosts has been selected as the winner of the Delta Award from Friends of Morris Library (University of Southern Illinois - Carbondale) in recognition of an individual or organization that has written/ published about southern Illinois with distinction. John Griswold joins such luminaries as John Gardner, Paul Simon and Robert Coover as winners of this award.
“A brilliant and lyrical historical novel, Democracy of Ghosts conjures the affairs behind one of the most violent labor disputes in American history—the brutal killing of 21 scabs and coal miners at a strip mine in southern Illinois in 1921. In some ways a horrifying cautionary tale for today’s mining conflicts in the coalfields. Democracy of Ghosts explores the entangled love affairs between couples caught up in the great coal mining strike that ultimately shattered a region, and turned one of the most radical communities into a social pariah. Griswold’s narrative is riveting. This original novel deserves as large an audience as possible—pass the word.”
--Jeff Biggs, The Huffington Post (11/29/09)
--Duff Brenna, author of The Law of Falling Bodies
"With iron and blood, it seems, and from the rich depths of the earth, John Griswold has fashioned a classic American novel, its dignified intonations of our young nation's sweat and tears evocative of the indelible storytelling of Dos Passos, Frank Norris, and Upton Sinclair."
-- Bob Shacochis
A Democracy of Ghosts has been selected as the winner of the Delta Award from Friends of Morris Library (University of Southern Illinois - Carbondale) in recognition of an individual or organization that has written/ published about southern Illinois with distinction. John Griswold joins such luminaries as John Gardner, Paul Simon and Robert Coover as winners of this award.
“A brilliant and lyrical historical novel, Democracy of Ghosts conjures the affairs behind one of the most violent labor disputes in American history—the brutal killing of 21 scabs and coal miners at a strip mine in southern Illinois in 1921. In some ways a horrifying cautionary tale for today’s mining conflicts in the coalfields. Democracy of Ghosts explores the entangled love affairs between couples caught up in the great coal mining strike that ultimately shattered a region, and turned one of the most radical communities into a social pariah. Griswold’s narrative is riveting. This original novel deserves as large an audience as possible—pass the word.”
--Jeff Biggs, The Huffington Post (11/29/09)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John Griswold lives with his wife and sons in Urbana, Illinois, where he teaches at the Univesity of Illinois. HIs writing has appeared in Ninth Letter, Brevity and Natural Bridge, which nominated him for the Pushcart Prize, and in the anthhologies The Best Creative Nonfiction, Vol. 3 (W.W. Norton) and Mountain Man Dance Moves(McSweeny's Books). His single-story chapbook, The Stork, is available from Featherproof Books. He's currently at work on a nonfiction book about Herrin, Illinois, which will be published in 2010 by The History Press. John has also written extensively under the pen name Oronte Churm. As Churm, he is a contributing writer for Inside Higher Ed and as a columnist for McSweeney's.
Read more at: www.JohnGriswold.net
Interview with NPR affiliate
ForeWord Magazine author interview
Interview with The Southern Illinoisan
Interview with John Griswold at Practising Writing
Read more at: www.JohnGriswold.net
Interview with NPR affiliate
ForeWord Magazine author interview
Interview with The Southern Illinoisan
Interview with John Griswold at Practising Writing