Nights Under a Tin Roof: Recollections of a Southern Boyhood

James Autry's work in this collection will spark a response in every feeling human being but will be especially moving for people who have grown up and lived in rural America in the early 20th century. Although poems like "Death in the Family" concern death rituals in the rural South, they strike familiar chords in country dwellers everywhere. Autry's poetry is about people, specific people, many of whose characteristics are familiar to us all. And his use of imagery brings them to life, at the same time using them to portray the ways in which human cultures work. At Miss Anne's funeral, "Ladies come with sad faces/and baskets of sweets/teacakes, pecan pies, puddings, memories. . . ." and the little girls watch their mothers tending to the chores and duties of death and learn. The poetry is not without humor, however. "Genealogy" reminds us of the way in which people who have known their neighbors well for generations attribute certain characteristics to each family: "The Whitsells are a little crazy/but they don't beat up nobody outside the family." There are also comparisons between life in a difficult but simpler time and life today. "Smells of Life on a Greyhound Bus During World War II" asks whether the aroma of a smoky ham on that bus would conjure up the same longings for home and family on a Boeing 727 "or would that man made unhuman air/blow it all away?" This book is a rewarding read, and I return to it again and again to recover my humanity after days of automatic checkouts, computer calls with canned messages, and the indignity of airport security checks.

As a fellow Mississippi reared lad who also moved to the city life of a businessman, and also one who shares with the author hauntingly familiar memories of rural poverty, I was moved to tears by this slim treasury of verse. It speaks a bittersweet and universal lanquage that I believe would equally stir the hearts of readers who cannot relate to the author's past. My only complaint about Autry is the dearth of other poetic or literary works by his hand. The world needs more fruits of his talent. Autry has the potential to join the exhilarating parade of Southern writers in the league of Harper Lee and Eudora Welty. Enough of business and leadership advice, James! Reach back into your soul and share!

James Autry really captures Mississippi in this book. It is a great book for people who like scenery poetry. I would like to tell anyone searching for their own voice when writing poetry to read this book. James captures the language of the land and the themes of the area.