For Immediate Release
Date:
September 10, 2009
Contact: Marjory Wentworth, marjwpub@bellsouth.net 843-971-6930 or
Peter Wentworth, Pwentw@bellsouth.net 843 884-1946
The Devil
Beats His Wife
And
Other Stories from the Lowcountry
By Horace
Mungin
(Charleston, SC.) Horace Mungin’s
voice is uniquely all American. From the observant eye of poet, columnist, and
retired New York City Subway conductor author Horace Mungin’s The Devil Beats
His Wife is a collection of picaresque stories of the modern south. There
is an extraordinary imagination at work in this intensely original collection of short stories. One story is narrated by mannequins. Another features a talking fish! Set in the Lowcountry of South Carolina
where he makes his home, Mungins' characters range from college professors and small town Mayors, to high school drug hustlers
and corrupt racist good ole boys. Most of the stories portray the African American
experience in the last decades of the twenty first century, although Mungin writes equally well about Caucasian characters.
The texture of the Lowcountry fills the pages. The stories are filled with tenderness and an appreciation for small town life
and the challenges faced by people with one strike against them. Some of the
characters are simply trying to find peace of mind in ways that endure. Others
are trying to get ahead. All of them are fascinating. Mungin’s focus on characters, desperately clinging to the bottom rung of the American dream, documents
their lives with panache, grace, and empathy.
Praise for the Work of Horace
Mungin:
“Mungin,
who's been around for a long while, since the time of the swell of the Black Arts movement is laying on symbol, very heavy,
but with a light and amusing touch.”
- Amira Baraka Poet, Playwright, Activist
“He keeps you waiting to inhale each word and sentence he has composed. His suspense is magical.”
-MB
Morant, Author and Publisher
“In the spirit of Langston Hughes Mr. Mungin disarms critics
and demagogues forcing them to see the
reality of the common man. In a world filled with hurtful and degrading dialogue "Sleepy Willie" makes his point
while putting a smile on your face.”
- John Bradley, Book Reviewer
About the Author
Horace Mungin was born in Hollywood, South
Carolina in 1941. He grew up in New York City where he attended public
schools, and majored in English at Fordham University.
He served three years in the U.S. Army and was a member of the 82nd Airborne Division. He lived in New York until 1989.
In the late sixties, inspired by the National Black Arts Movement, he published two volumes of poetry, Dope Hustler’s Jazz, ‘68 and Now See Here, Homes, ’69.
Some of his early writings appeared in The
New York Times, Essence, Encore, Black Books Bulletin, Disc & That, The Lincoln Review,
Blind Beggar Press and Ninety-Six Sampler of South Carolina
Poetry. The Negro Book Club, Inc. selected Horace as its Artist of
the Month in June of 1969. A founder of Black Forum Magazine, Horace also edited Press-Time, a literary newsletter
until 1984. His syndicated newspaper columns called “The New York/Charleston Connection” were collected and published
under the title Sleepy Willie Talks about Life in 2000. The book’s popularity
led to a second collection Sleepy Willie Sings the Blues, in 2001. His latest book is Subway; After the Irish, an account of his
years as a New York City Subway conductor.. Horace and his wife, Gussie, live
in Ridgeville, SC. They have three sons and six grandchildren.
Horace Mungin is available for interviews, speaking engagements, readings and
book signings.
The Devil
Beats His Wife
By Horace Mungin
Available from Booksurge
Trade Paper, ISBN – 1-59457-569-X
221 Pages 5 7/16” x 8 3/8”, Fiction
