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No Rest For the Wicked: Hypocrisy and Evangelism
What did Ozzy say, "I'm looking for a Miracle Man that tells me no lies/ I'm looking for a Miracle Man who's not in disguise?" Ozzy was of course discussing Jimmy Swaggart's "I Have Sinned" speech.Swaggart and Jim Bakker both gave a black eye to the Pentecostal evangelism in the 1980's.Yet, fifty years before their transgressions Erskine Caldwell painted a picture of evangelist hypocrisy.Semon Dye, the itinerant lay preacher in "Journeyman," makes Swaggart and Bakker seem like Saint Francis Assisi and Mother Theresa; Dye is a racist, heavy-drinking gambler six days a week who preaches against sin on the seventh.
In what can be seen as the third part of Caldwell's allegory of the Depression-era south, "Journeyman" attacks what he sees as the problem of revivalist preaching.Caldwell - himself the son of a Calvinist minister - makes no effort to hide his disdain for these itinerant preachers who moved through out the South.He gives us an image that Public Enemy would later show, "On one side of the street there's a church/on the other side a liquor store/Both of them keeping us poor."
Dye befriends farmers Clay and Tom.Their favorite activity appears to be sitting in the dark drinking and looking at the world through only a small crack in the wall.This incomplete world is seen as better and safer then the real world for all three of the men.Clay's current wife sees Dye as exciting and worldly; while, Clay's ex-wife turned prostitute is the only one in Rocky Comfort that sees through Dye for what he is.
Written before Caldwell's trip to the Soviet Union - and eventual disillusionment thereof - the story drips with the warning of religion as the "opiate of the masses" and one of the things keeping the South poor and backward."Journeyman" is the next step in his trilogy, as "Tobacco Road" points to the problems of share-cropping and "God's Little Acre" exposes the issues of maintaining old values in a new Capitalist South."Journeyman" is a must for Caldwell fans; but, if you have not read any of his work read one of the other two first.Four Stars.

Storming Heaven By Force Of Lung
Written with difficulty and poorly received by critics upon release in 1938, Journeyman directly followed Caldwell's two successful masterpieces, Tobacco Road and God's Little Acre. While less overtly funny than Tobacco Road and less touching than God's Little Acre, Journeyman remains a small, tightly controlled masterpiece well in keeping with its more famous predecessors, and is no more shocking than either.

A stranger arrives in the hot, sleepy, Georgia agricultural community of Rocky Comfort, driving up to Clay Horey's farm in a dying automobile, the sound of grinding gears and a cloud of billowing black smoke announcing his arrival. Clay, as easily molded and manipulated as his name suggests, isn't sure whether he sees a man emerging from the car or not, and briefly believes he's hallucinating. Buzzards are "soaring motionless overhead," and bluejays sweep from the woods in a flurry "as if they've discovered a snake in a tree." For a moment, the natural laws of the physical world have been suspended and oddly skewed. Clay's visitor is preacher Semon Dye (Semon / Die = Life / Death?), an apparently down on his luck wayfarer in dirty black clothing and a face charred brown from the smoke. Through the use of blatant but extremely effective and smartly executed symbolism, Caldwell makes it quite clear what sort of spiritual being Semon Dye is. He tells Clay he "feels horny," and intimidates Clay into action by jabbing at him repeatedly with a pitchfork. Readers will quickly notice that Semon is the prototype of Harry Powell, the preacher played by Robert Mitchum in the 1955 film Night Of The Hunter.

Semon, "about 50" and nothing less than 6 feet 8 inches tall, is also a magnetically sexual predator and personality, using his continuously evident "huge stiff thumb" to stab Clay between the ribs (a metaphorical act of 'sticking it to him,' as he soon will), and attracting women "like flocks of sheep." "He's the potentest thing," says 15 year old child bride Dene more than once, to Clay's chagrin. Semon sets about seducing everyone he meets literally or figuratively, quietly taking over gullible, torpid Clay's farm and life one piece at a time. Even when one male character says he'd "like to blow Semon's brains out," he also admits momentarily that he misses Dye's presence and being "tickled" by both his big stiff thumb and company. One woman, though just violently pistol whipped into unconsciousness by the preacher, nonetheless agrees to travel with him the following week.

But Rocky Comfort is already in a fallen state before Semon arrives. The only local church has been converted into a guano shed; Clay is married to current wife and teenager Dene, but hasn't divorced his previous and fourth wife, Lorene Horey, who appears in town uninvited and who literally acts out her surname by settling happily down to a life of prostitution; Clay's only child, uncontrollable 6 year old Vearl, is living with a syphilis infection he inexplicably contracted in his fourth year; Lorene, one of the stronger personalities in the book, constantly harasses Clay or Susan to take her son Vearl to a doctor for treatment, but doesn't lift a finger to do so herself; and Clay, though he's had a bottle of medicine for the boy for two years, has yet to give Vearl even a spoonful.

In an original, hilarious, and daring scene, Caldwell has Clay, Semon, and neighbor Tom lightly fighting over and becoming addicted to peeping through a "slit" in the back wall of Tom's cowshed at the barbed wire fence and beautiful, lush woodland stretching beyond it. This slit"the ... little slit I ever saw in all my life," Tom calls itpresents an opportunity for the characters not only to peer directly into nature's sprawling, all encompassing vulva, but to simultaneously glimpse through it the only pure, untouchable, incorruptible world they'll ever knowthat which exists forever beyond the 'barbed wire fence' of their own animal state of lust and gross stupidity. Passing a neighborly jug of 'corn,' the three briefly fall into a state of peace and understanding with one another. Even while competing and tricking one another for access to the hole, they spontaneously empathize with each other's need to peer through it again and again. The unfallen, Eden like natural world they see on the other sidebut which is directly perceivable only through the magic slitis a vision of paradise that briefly unites them. Thus the male gaze meets nature's maw at eye level with happy results for all.

When Semon clamorously preaches to the community in the local school house at night, his true nature manifests again not only in his rage but in the sudden appearance of the black flies, June bugs, mud daubers, wasps and biting red ants that swarm into the building. Ostensibly attempting to raise the population spiritually by forcing them to admit and reject their sins and torrid natures, Semon finally reduces the assemblyby torchlightto sweating, barely clothed, hysterically orgasmic serpents, slithering on their stomachs, speaking gibberish, and twining themselves around one another and around the desks meant for presumably innocent school children. Only prostitute and sexual sophisticate Lorene "the biggest sinner" in Semon's eyesconsciously rejects the preacher's spell, sitting in the back of the room in horrified, disgusted, but unconverted astonishment.

Journeyman appears to be about man's casual indifference to grasping and preventing the pitfalls of cause and effect, and about his inability to learn the lesson of even his most frightful, painful, and harrowing experiences. Its 'religious' theme was taken too literally at the time of its initial publication; today's readers should beware of making the same mistake especially because Semon is only a self appointed and ostensible man of Godand remember to keep in mind the book's period context. Caldwell's material here, however, remains timeless, and none of the struggle he had in the writing of the book is apparent. Seamless like the best of his work, Journeyman is a pleasurable page turner, coarse and wise by turns.

Typical Caldwell
A traveling preacher comes to spend the week at a small southern farmer's house.He isn't what he seems to be as all hell breaks loose.The preacher has more vices than a mob boss; including gambling, pimping, andseducing folks's wives.This was one of Caldwell's first books.

Caldwellmakes fun of the traveling preacher and people's gullability of them.Healso makes fun of the revival meetings in which people go into trances andcontortions after having "demons" expelled from them.Racy andcertainly funny this book is a quick read, which emphasizes the point thatif someone in authority tells you it is okay to do something, it is notalways right just because they said so. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: Mars (Planet); Fiction / Science Fiction / General; Fiction / Science Fiction / General; ... Read more

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This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1884 edition by Trübner & Co., London. ... Read more

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CONVERSATIONS WITH ERSKINE CALDWELL contains thirty-two interviews with this major writer, who during his long career enjoyed both the celebrity and the controversy that his books generated. These collected interviews include what is apparently his first, given in 1929 before the publication of THE BASTARD, to one of the very last, given only weeks before his death in April 1987.

Caldwell was a lifelong outspoken opponent of censorship and an early advocate of racial equality. His ideas were reflected in a number of important interviews and portraits, often in newspapers or small journals not easily obtained today. In his later years he became a kind of elder statesman, celebrated as the last of that extraordinary generation of American writers which included Faulkner, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Wolfe, and Steinbeck and which changed the face of American literature.

The interviews in this collection reveal Caldwell’s attitudes toward the profession of writing. He describes his early years of struggle, his determination to prove himself as a writer, and his tremendous success as the author of TOBACCO ROAD and GOD’S LITTLE ACRE, two American classics. He explains his attitude toward the South and his desire to bring about social reform through his writings. He is also candid about his own personal trials, his doubts and beliefs, and the state of his critical reputation. ... Read more

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The Bhagavadgita translated into easy blank verse by the famous Sir Edwin Arnold with original in Sanskrit, transliteration into English. ... Read more

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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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The poem of the life of Buddha
Excellently written and translated.The poetry is wonderful, flowing and easy to read.This book gives a glimpse into emotions of one of the greatest people to walk the Earth without leaving out the details of his life.I think this is the best book Sir Edwin Arnold ever wrote. ... Read more

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In this collection of interviews, Robert Aldrich (1918-1983) tells fascinating stories of making motion pictures with such film legends as Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Jack Palance, Robert Mitchum, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, James Stewart, Charles Bronson, Eddie Albert, and Burt Reynolds. As he speaks of them, of his on-going battles with censors, and of his audacious but failed attempt to create his own studio, he talks bluntly, sometimes ferociously, about struggling to make movies that accented his uncompromising view of life.

Among Aldrich's interviewers are Richard Combs, Peter Bogdanovich, Alain Silver, Pierre Sauvage, and David Sterritt. In dialogue with these critics and film scholars he recounts a life in filmmaking that encompassed both old Hollywood's studio system and the spirited independence that took American cinema in a new direction in the 1960s and '70s.

Although he was a member and a kinsman of wealthy, powerful families (the Aldriches of Rhode Island and the Rockefellers of New York), he gained a reputation as an anti-authoritarian maverick whose films condemned corruptive power. While succeeding as popular entertainment, they also were personal attacks on hypocrisy and intolerance.

Aldrich redefined genres and undercut the conventions they portrayed. Kiss Me Deadly transformed the detective film into a satire on Cold War America. Vera Cruz disclosed the corruption at the heart of the traditional western. The Dirty Dozen and Twilight's Last Gleaming rendered the ambiguous underside of combat and the military. Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? and Hush . . . Hush, Sweet Charlotte shaped horror films into psychological studies of female loneliness and alienation.

Eugene L. Miller is the author, with Edwin T. Arnold, of The Films and Career of Robert Aldrich.

Edwin T. Arnold, a professor of English at Appalachian State University, is co-editor of Perspectives on Cormac McCarthy and A Cormac McCarthy Companion: The Border Trilogy (both published by the University Press of Mississippi). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Reads like a novel
This is the best book I have read in the U. of Mississippi series of interviews with filmmakers.

The first interview catches Aldrich just after the start of his career, so the interviews proceed with the career, as opposed to just having him reflect back on things from years later.We see what Aldrich is doing and hear him talk about projects that never come to pass.

A few fascinating things emerge.He apparently never got over getting fired from "The Garment Jungle."Even when he is a success after "The Dirty Dozen," he still is bitter/regretful about that.Also, his relationship with Burt Lancaster, which seemed okay on the outside (they made about four films together) is revealed as contentious and mistrustful.

If you like Aldrich's films, you need to read this book.It will tell you things you never knew and will add to your appreciation of this man. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1893 edition by Longmans, Green, and Co., London and New York. ... Read more

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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free.This is an OCR edition with typos.Excerpt from book:THE EGYPTIAN PRINCESS.HEROD. BK. 2, CH. 132.JHERE was fear and desolation overswarthy Egypt's land, From the holy city of the sun to hot Syene's sand; The sistrum and the cymbal slept, the merry danceno moreTrampled the evening river-buds by Nile's embroidered shore, For the daughter of the king must die, the darkmagicians said,Before the red sun sank to rest that day in ocean's bed.And all that day the temple-smoke loaded the heavyair, But they prayed to one who heedeth none, norheareth earnest prayer. That day the gonfalons were down, the silver lampsuntrimmed, Sad at their oars the rowers sat, silent the Nile-boatskimmed, And through the land there went a wail of bitterestagony, From the iron hills of Nubia, to the islands of theThere, in the very hall where once her laugh hadloudest been, Where but that morning she had worn the wreathof Beauty's Queen, She lay, a lost but lovely thing—the wreath was onher brow, Alas! the lotus might not match its chilly palenessnow; And ever as that golden light sank lower in theHer breath came fainter, and the beam seemed fading in her eye.Her coal-black hair was tangled, and the sigh ofparting day Stirred tremblingly its silky folds as on her breastthey lay; How heavily her rounded arm lay buried by herside! How droopingly her lashes seemed those star-brighteyes to hide! And once there played upon her lips a smile likesummer air, As though Death came with gentle face, and shemocked her idle fear.Low o'er the dying maiden's form the king andfather bows, Stern anguish holds the place of pride upon themonarch's brows— " My daughter, in the world thou leav'st so darkwithout thy smile,Hast thou one care a Father's love—a Kin... ... Read more

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With Comments In Verse From Various Oriental Sources, As Made By An Indian Mussulman. ... Read more

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This Book Is In Dutch. ... Read more

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The book has no illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from the publisher's website (GeneralBooksClub.com). You can also preview excerpts of the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Original Publisher: London, Cassell, Petter and Galpin; Publication date: 1869; Subjects: Poets, Greek; Greek poetry; Literary Criticism / Ancient ... Read more

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THIS 26 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Poems, by Edwin Arnold. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 0766102394. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
THIS 18 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Poems, by Edwin Arnold. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 0766102394. ... Read more