I love the Book Festival! Actually, I have to confess I’m a book junkie—I’ve got several books going at this moment. All of my adult children and grands are readers. I read books to them on my knee. I have taken grands to the Festival, bought them foot long hot dogs and blue snow-cones, and let them play around the venue, the Mississippi Capitol grounds. Great day outdoors! They got trinkets and souvenirs at the demo tables and had fun.
I own a personal library of at least 500 books still after a reduction. I have edited two collections of published essays, contributed to another, written journal articles, and written book reviews.
I have taught at Mississippi State, MUW, and at a university in Uganda. I have taught students in Africa how to do research in the library for term papers and initiated classes on study skills in three institutions. I have been school principal. I have a daughter who is a librarian. I’m all about books and reading. I love going to the Book Festival. I’ve promoted it to friends who are book junkies.
About three years ago in a small line of about three people to speak to Karl Rove about his new book, I felt I needed to explain, “This is a big Democrat deal!” He suspected as much. Meanwhile, next door under the same authors canopy was Jon Meacham, author of at least two presidential biographies I have read, there was a line of about 20 people.
How about a little more balance in speakers, authors, topics, etc? This is a Red state. All but one of Congressional delegation plus two US Senators are Republicans. Governor, Lt. Governor, majority of legislature and other statewide officeholders are Red. Statewide affair in a Blue city! What to do?
Someone have an agenda? Did I hear someone say, “Don’t politicize it!” It already is! Wake up. Somebody else did it. I’ve seen few friends there.
I know how these large affairs go. I think the problem is in the planning committee or the instructions they are given. I think I know a total of only three of them. Looks like most are all academics. What about some ordinary people who love to read and are not Democrats? Do we always have to be Politically Correct? The Board of Advisors and Board of Directors look pretty Blue as they’re mostly from higher education academia. I know it is a private corporation. Is this the legacy of George Soros?
Let’s have US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, author and son of the South who wrote an interesting book about being the son of his grandfather. We have had Justice Sonia Sotomayor. What about Amy Coney Barrett, Larry Elder, or Ted Cruz, all authors. Yikes, what a suggestion! We’ve had former VP Mike Pence, another token Republican! True to precedent, I’ve seen only one on the website for this year and he’s a Mississippi officeholder. To be sure, a second critical book about former President Donald Trump by Jonathan Karl doesn’t qualify as Red. Quite the reverse, if you know his first book about Trump! Then too, we have coming a carload of “woke” speakers and DEI authors who have one-point agenda and theme of their books: race. Mississippians are weary of the topic! I know I am. Try another one; there are plenty of possibilities.
The planners ought to be ashamed of themselves! Give it up! Right now for 2024, the Book Festival will be another BIG DEMOCRAT DEAL. But maybe we weren’t supposed to notice. Or talk about it.
Robert Penny is a Northsider.
