News of the Spirit

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

Copyright © 1997 by Lee Smith.

Cover photo by Silvestre Machado/Getty Images. Cover design by Royce M. Becker.

Interior text design by Kristin del Rosario.

The author acknowledges permission from Hal Leonard Corporation to reprint lyrics from “Tragedy,” words and music by Gerald H. Nelson and Fred B. Burch. Copyright © 1958 (Renewed) Wren Music Co. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Hal Leonard Corporation.

Five of the stories in this volume, some in slightly different form, first appeared in the following magazines, to whose editors the author offers thanks: “The Bubba Stories” and “Live Bottomless” in
The Southern Review
; “Blue Wedding” in
Southwest Review
; “The Southern Cross” (as “Native Daughter”) in
The Oxford American
; and “The Happy Memories Club” in
The Atlantic Monthly
. “News of the Spirit” (as “We Don’t Love with Our Teeth”) was published in a limited edition by Chinook Press, Portland, Oregon, in 1994.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

BERKLEY® is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

The “B” design is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

PUBLISHING HISTORY

G. P. Putnam’s Sons hardcover edition / September 1997

Ballantine trade paperback edition / September 1998

Berkley trade paperback edition / July 2012

The Library of Congress has cataloged the G. P. Putnam’s Sons hardcover edition as follows:

Smith, Lee, 1944–

News of the spirit / Lee Smith.

p. cm.

Contents: The Bubba stories—Blue wedding—Live bottomless—The southern cross—The happy memories club—News of the spirit.

ISBN: 978-1-101-58108-7

1. Southern States—Fiction.   2. Social life and customs—Fiction.   I. Title.

PS3569.M5376 N48 1997

813/.54

97011660

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

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Many thanks to Liz Lear for Key West information for “Live Bottomless”; to Alan Archibald for his expertise in Spanish; to Peggy Ellis for help in manuscript preparation; to Anna Jardine for her copyediting; to Liz Darhansoff for her longtime guidance and support; and most of all to Hal for his love and good advice. On individual stories, I appreciate the editing of C. Michael Curtis, Dave Smith, Bob Durand, Marc Smirnoff, and Willard Spiegelman.

The title “News of the Spirit” comes from a phrase used in a talk years ago by the wonderful writer and teacher George Garrett. I copied it down, and have always remembered it.

For Faith Sale,
my great friend and editor