2008 Woodie Awards
Author James Whorton Jr. reads at UNCG
Deanna Haynes
Issue date: 10/10/06 Section: Arts & Entertainment
James Whorton, Jr., author of novels Approximately Heaven and Frankland, read from his stories "Sugar" and " Hattiesburg Mississippi" at the UNCG Faculty Center Thursday.
Whorton writes in a way that makes individuals who would not normally seem heroic champion-like. He does this while remaining humorous - his writing style is extremely laughable, but not in a vulgar sense. The joke of the night was that "flatulence jokes cannot be found in Whorton's writing." When introducing Whorton, one man said, "I never laugh aloud in public, but I came very close while reading Whorton's work."
The story "Sugar" received plenty of guffaws from the audience. "Sugar" tells the story of a couple's journey from Baltimore to Belluxy , Mississippi. The wife, Ava, is driving an old truck that she purchased for two thousand dollars, pulling a horse trailer hauling a horse. The man is driving another vehicle, struggling with a diabetic cat that refuses to be given its daily dose of insulin. The cat is hiding under the driver's seat, taunting the man by putting one paw in the open. The climax of the story comes when Ava blows a tire. Luckily, no one is injured. Ava takes the horse out of the trailer and hops on its back, taking it for a joyride along the interstate. At that, a policeman pulls over and demands to know what's going on. Noticing the man's holding a tire iron, the policeman demands he drop the tool and put his hands on the hood of the car. After a careful explanation, however, the man talks the policeman down, who leaves embarrassed.
The story "Hattiesburg Mississippi" had everyone in the audience laughing. It begins with a character named Allison reading the "butt-kissing" part of "The Miller's Tale" from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales aloud during class. Allison is a shy girl, her timid behavior coming from wearing a brace on her chest. When the class begins laughing, Allison laughs too, but inside she cries. One night, the main character of the story has a phone conversation with Allison. They began to discuss poetry. Allison tells the main character that she's written a poem, and she will share it with him if only he will write a poem to share with her. They agree to share poems on the night of the Spring Formal Dance. When the time comes, Allison reveals a poem about making pancakes. The main character reads a poem he plagiarized from Chaucer, which Allison finds extremely crude. The poem mentions "poontang" (every audience member was practically in the floor laughing). The main character finally asks Allison why she didn't write about her brace. He claims it was much more interesting than making pancakes. Allison begins to cry. The story ends with the main character dropping Allison off at her house, with Allison smiling. She doesn't want her parents to know that she had cried because of him.
The reading ended with a book signing and refreshments.
Whorton writes in a way that makes individuals who would not normally seem heroic champion-like. He does this while remaining humorous - his writing style is extremely laughable, but not in a vulgar sense. The joke of the night was that "flatulence jokes cannot be found in Whorton's writing." When introducing Whorton, one man said, "I never laugh aloud in public, but I came very close while reading Whorton's work."
The story "Sugar" received plenty of guffaws from the audience. "Sugar" tells the story of a couple's journey from Baltimore to Belluxy , Mississippi. The wife, Ava, is driving an old truck that she purchased for two thousand dollars, pulling a horse trailer hauling a horse. The man is driving another vehicle, struggling with a diabetic cat that refuses to be given its daily dose of insulin. The cat is hiding under the driver's seat, taunting the man by putting one paw in the open. The climax of the story comes when Ava blows a tire. Luckily, no one is injured. Ava takes the horse out of the trailer and hops on its back, taking it for a joyride along the interstate. At that, a policeman pulls over and demands to know what's going on. Noticing the man's holding a tire iron, the policeman demands he drop the tool and put his hands on the hood of the car. After a careful explanation, however, the man talks the policeman down, who leaves embarrassed.
The story "Hattiesburg Mississippi" had everyone in the audience laughing. It begins with a character named Allison reading the "butt-kissing" part of "The Miller's Tale" from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales aloud during class. Allison is a shy girl, her timid behavior coming from wearing a brace on her chest. When the class begins laughing, Allison laughs too, but inside she cries. One night, the main character of the story has a phone conversation with Allison. They began to discuss poetry. Allison tells the main character that she's written a poem, and she will share it with him if only he will write a poem to share with her. They agree to share poems on the night of the Spring Formal Dance. When the time comes, Allison reveals a poem about making pancakes. The main character reads a poem he plagiarized from Chaucer, which Allison finds extremely crude. The poem mentions "poontang" (every audience member was practically in the floor laughing). The main character finally asks Allison why she didn't write about her brace. He claims it was much more interesting than making pancakes. Allison begins to cry. The story ends with the main character dropping Allison off at her house, with Allison smiling. She doesn't want her parents to know that she had cried because of him.
The reading ended with a book signing and refreshments.
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