In this collection of short stories, Harvey Burgess creates a Technicolor tableau of Tucson, a richly diverse desert city in Southern Arizona where loveable eccentrics, down-on-their-luck drifters, liberal do-gooders, runaway refugees, shadowy "illegals," ageing Marxists and sex-addicted corporate lawyers, all rub shoulders. Burgess's deeply flawed, humorous, larger than life characters struggle to keep on the straight and narrow. Often troubled, they seek to face down their demons whilst always striving to leave a recognizable imprint on the world. HARVEY BURGESS is a Londoner who relocated to Tucson in 2006. He is the author of a non-fiction book entitled "Political Asylum From The Inside," short fiction and non-fiction in the UK and journalism in the USA, his focus being "A Brit's Eye View Of The States." He is currently writing a creative non-fiction book on Sierra Leone.
A coming-of-age story with true love at its core, Greetings from Tucson tells the story of four sisters' lives through the lens of handwritten letters. These long lost letters, found decades after they were penned, once formed a lifeline that held them together when their worlds were otherwise falling apart. In June of 1945, tragedy struck, and Cookie, Frankie, Dottie, and Connie were torn from everything they knew-their parents, their home, and, most importantly, each other. Forced to live thousands of miles apart, they feared their bond would be broken. The sisters began writing letters to each other to celebrate their milestones and mourn every heartbreak. Through those letters, they found a way to strengthen their sisterhood when the odds were so stacked against them. The letters were like prisms, reflecting their lives from childhood into adulthood, as they fell in love or fulfilled their lifelong dreams. That is, until one sister's secret from the past changed everything. Would she break the fragile bond they worked so hard to nurture after their fateful split so many years ago?
Literary Nonfiction. Essays. This book is a chronicle of the overlooked and unsung, a collection of award-winning essays based on Brian Jabas Smith's popular column, "e;Tucson Salvage."e;
"She asked me if I liked them. And what could I say? They were wonderful." From the very beginning of Sergio Troncoso's celebrated story "Angie Luna," we know we are in the hands of a gifted storyteller. Born of Mexican immigrants, raised in El Paso, and now living in New York City, Troncoso has a rare knack for celebrating life. Writing in a straightforward, light-handed style reminiscent of Grace Paley and Raymond Carver, he spins charming tales that reflect his experiences in two worlds. Troncoso's El Paso is a normal town where common people who happen to be Mexican eat, sleep, fall in love, and undergo epiphanies just like everyone else. His tales are coming-of-age stories from the Mexican-American border, stories of the working class, stories of those coping with the trials of growing old in a rapidly changing society. He also explores New York with vignettes of life in the big city, capturing its loneliness and danger. Beginning with Troncoso's widely acclaimed story "Angie Luna," the tale of a feverish love affair in which a young man rediscovers his Mexican heritage and learns how much love can hurt, these stories delve into the many dimensions of the human condition. We watch boys playing a game that begins innocently but takes a dangerous turn. We see an old Anglo woman befriending her Mexican gardener because both are lonely. We witness a man terrorized in his New York apartment, taking solace in memories of lost love. Two new stories will be welcomed by Troncoso's readers. "My Life in the City" relates a transplanted Texan's yearning for companionship in New York, while "The Last Tortilla" returns to the Southwest to explore family strains after a mother's death—and the secret behind that death. Each reflects an insight about the human heart that has already established the author's work in literary circles. Troncoso sets aside the polemics about social discomfort sometimes found in contemporary Chicano writing and focuses instead on the moral and intellectual lives of his characters. The twelve stories gathered here form a richly textured tapestry that adds to our understanding of what it is to be human.
Stories on the people of the Southwest. Silviana strides to her chicken coop, triggering a "feathered pandemonium" as chickens smell death in the air, Mamacita embroiders, "wondering what in the world it feels like to be kissed," and people who buy tortillas at the market "might as well move to Los Angeles, for they have already lost their souls."
The famous legend of the Iron Door Mine, a forgotten mission and a lost city somewhere in the Santa Catalina Mountains, north of Tucson, Arizona, has lured prospectors and treasure hunters for hundreds of years. The discoveries of early Spanish placer mining sites, stone ruins, and stories of the mountains only fueled speculation about the riches still left behind. Common knowledge among the locals eventually gained legendary status. Even more surprising was the abundance in gold, silver, and copper etched into the mountains. These stories became embedded in Arizona’s early history and were spun into some sensational legends and featured in numerous literary and film adventures. "Treasures of the Santa Catalina Mountains" explores the legends and history of the Catalinas, compiled from out-of-print books, magazines, newspapers and recollections from local prospectors. More than 430 pages and over 1,200 references.
There are fifty-four stories in the edition Stories, Tales, Folklore & Such As. They were written over the years from the late 1950s to the present. Some of the stories or tales served as jumping boards from which longer stories or tales were written and are already published in the authors books of Tales and Bedtime Stories, The Muddy Little Bell, and Fathers Can Be Good Dads, and others that are self-contained. Most of the content was culled from the publications of The Creative with Words Publications (CWW), which was published by the author from 1975 to the present for children and adult poets and writers. Originally, not all of the stories and tales and folklore and such as were written under the authors name, Brigitta Gisella Geltrich Ludgate. They were offered under her pseudonymsBert Hower, Max Davis, and Creative Kate. All, however, are the sole creations of the author.
Tucson is a history of time and a river. The roots of prehistoric habitation run deep along the Santa Cruz River, reaching back thousands of years. Later the river attracted 17th-century Spanish explorers, who brought military government, the church, and colonists to establish the northern outpost of their New World empire. Later still, American westward expansion drew new settlers to the place called Tucson. Today Tucson is a bustling multicultural community of more than one million residents. These images from the photographic archives of the Arizona Historical Society tell the stories of individuals and cultures that transformed a 19th-century frontier village into a 20th-century desert city.
Novel, essay & philosophical poem, the novel offers a desolate & lucid assessment of totalitarianism, by an author who witnessed its horrors first hand.
