Book Announcement: Field Trip by James Fowler
Tentative Release Date: January 1, 2022
Description
Set largely in the mid-South, this collection sees its characters traveling in place or outward bound as they strive to work through crises or simply avoid stagnation. Ranging from the Ozarks to the Gulf Coast, from the lowlands to the highlands of the spirit, these stories trace the trials, exertions, and growth of characters in the common stages of life from childhood to old age.
Audio
Click here to read the story “Undertow” as read by voice artist Claudia Rivera-Tinsley: https://www.cornerpostpress.com/authors
Reviews
“James Fowler is extraordinarily able to write characters who have reached an inflection point. Whether it’s the twelve-year-old in the stolen Avalon, the promiscuous assistant at the bowling alley, the charming but complex family facing a recession, or even the whole town of Opal Spring, Fowler catches each at a crisis of what the future might bring. You will never forget their dilemmas.”
–Steve Yates, author of Some Kinds of Love: Stories, The Legend of the Albino Farm: A Novel, and others
“Field Trip immerses readers into the intricate modern South. In the title story, Raylene notes, “when you’re trailer-born-and-bred, and can’t see nothin’ but trailer to come, it can make you do foolish things.” Raylene has moved beyond that world, and Fowler’s stories chart similar progress in characters so real, readers feel that they know them.”
–Lorie Watkins, editor of A Literary History of Mississippi
“As a storyteller, James Fowler knows intimately the highways and byways of the mid-South, but he is equally acquainted with the mysterious and sometimes uncharted pathways of human experience. In Field Trip, he serves as an able, enlightening guide, taking us along with characters who are alternately curious, befuddled, questioning, and sometimes even noble. It’s a meaningful journey, flavored with ample humor and fun. What more could be asked?”
–C. D. Albin, author of Hard Toward Home and Axe, Fire, Mule
“Fowler’s characters are placed in recognizable environments—a county fair, inside a travelling vehicle, the average small town, or a diverse neighborhood—yet there is something often troubling about their circumstances, some uncertainty about their situation or potential outcome that creates a need to discover what happens on the next page or in the next story.”
–Tim Coone, editor, Cave Region Review
Biography
James Fowler’s poetry collection, The Pain Trader, was published by Golden Antelope Press in 2020. His poems, stories, and essays have appeared in various journals over the past thirty-five years. He currently teaches literature at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, a convenient starting point for day trips through the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains.
