27 Views of Raleigh: The City of Oaks in Prose & Poetry

Wilton Barnhardt's brilliant, hilarious, outspoken introduction gives us a good idea of the originality ahead in this eclectic collection . . . Again and again we find the past and the present nestled cheek to cheek, if not always dancing. --Lee Smith, novelist

Many contributors to 27 View of Raleigh are natives of the Tar Heel State, including novelist Wilton Barnhardt, who wrote the very funny introduction to the volume. Some are transplants, such as Elaine Orr, who hails from Georgia, and Juliana M. Nfah-Abbenyi, who moved to Raleigh from Cameroon. Other contributors include fiction writers Peggy Payne, June Spence and Bridgette Lacey; poets Lenard D. Moore, Betty Adcock, Dorianne Laux, David Rigsbee, and Tom Hawkins; journalists Grayson Currin and Amanda Lamb; and children s book authors Eleanora Tate and Kelly Starling Lyons. Personal reminiscences of Raleigh are among the most compelling pieces. Jimmy Creech recounts his participation, as a local pastor, in Raleigh s 1988 Gay Pride Parade. Tina Haver Currin recalls her first visit to Raleigh as a child to spend a fraught Christmas with her father and stepmother. Tracie Fellers pays homage to her Aunt Bunny, who sewed the dress she wore to the Alpha Kappa Alpha Debutante Ball. Rob Christensen s history of the Sir Walter Hotel provides insight into how politics were conducted once upon a time in Raleigh. --NC Library Association