“Dixon Hearne’s Delta Flats: Stories in the Key of Blues and Hope fearlessly tells the stories of Louisiana folks from the Depression-era to Katrina. These are old South stories in the best sense in that they take hard looks at the time-worn relentless issues of delta people and shows transcendence in the midst of tragedy and prejudice. They are stories that showcase a writer with impressive range and register, a writer who also lets us hear the humor in his characters’ songs, no matter how dire their situations. Read this book, and you’ll want to sing along.”
—Tim Parrish, author of Fear and What Follows, The Jumper, and Red Stick Men
Fiction writers don’t earn too many comparisons to choir directors, but in the case of Dixon Hearne, the analogy is more than apt. For in Delta Flats, his story collection, he has corralled a host of voices—some heavenly, others earthly—and arranged his characters in a way where a wonderful harmony results. Black, white, sinner, saint, male or female, all these complex creations of Hearne’s have something urgent to share. Equal parts blues and gospel, with a little raucous Louisiana sound all its own, these stories will get you up off your feet and filled with the spirit. Listen!
—Tom Williams, author of The Mimic’s Own Voice, Don’t Start Me Talkin’, and Among the Wild Mulattos and Other Tales
“As variegated and as beautiful in both theme and tone as a Southern flower garden. Hearne is able to hit notes that range from tragic to comic to utterly hopeful, like an expertly hammered-out riff on the worn ivories of a well-tuned piano.”
—David Armand, author of Harlow and The Gorge
“You can almost hear the impromptu second line drums and brass in the New Orleans French Quarter and feel the spirit of the city’s festivals. In Dixon Hearne’s work, Louisiana is yet another gritty, beguiling character that Hearne sings to us with the resplendent force of a born balladeer.”
—Daren Dean, author of Far Beyond the Pale