Billy Ray’s Farm is an essay collection by Larry Brown that you should definitely read. Like all of Brown’s writing, it feels larger than life even when it deals with the smallest parts of life. It’s also where the name Tenpenny comes from.
In one essay Brown describes building his writing shack overlooking a pond on his land in Oxford, Mississippi. Specifically, he had to make a trip to the hardware store for more “tenpenny nails.” That little detail stuck with me, and has come to symbolize what I love in writing.
I think the thing that I love about Brown’s writing is his close contact with the rough edges of the world. He was a soldier and a fireman before (and even while) he was a writer. He had seen some of the worst parts of the world, and was intimately familiar with the details.
What I mean is this: how many writers would just say “nails?” How many writers would even know there are different kinds of nails? And how many writers could use slang for nails? Brown can, because he was out there living his life more than he was worried about writing it down.
That’s the kind of writing I’m looking to publish. Stuff that’s real and comes from a deep, true experience.
If you have something like that, please get in touch.
What I’m talking about…
Here are a few books that get at what I’m going for:
Work by Bud Smith. A memoir from a guy who works heavy construction and believes in making art. (He also published Teenager with Vintage, also highly recommend.)
The Long Haul: A Trucker’s Tales of Life on the Road by Finn Murphy. Stories from a college dropout turned long-haul trucker.
Fair Play by Tove Jansson. Vignettes from two intertwined lives – and how their work changes them. (Also check out Summer Book, where the dad’s work is almost a character itself.)
White People on Vacation by Alex Miller. Tries to answer the question: How do we survive this hellscape? The action of this book is sparked by a desperate attempt to avoid working for the IRS…
Tenpenny Books 