This month, 37 book-shaped outdoor benches – each illustrated by a Kentucky artist and themed around different works by Kentucky authors – will be placed throughout Lexington. Part of the Book Bench project, this new collaborative project is modeled after Horsemania and presented by Arts Connect, LexArts and the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning. The benches, which are fully functional, will remain downtown for the duration of this summer to celebrate Kentucky’s literary heritage, to encourage reading and to provide a place for rest, before being auctioned and moved to their permanent homes this fall.
The following summer reading suggestions, provided by Carnegie Center staff members, are all Kentucky-authored books featured in the Book Bench project. Check back in our July issue for more information on the project and a map of all the benches!
"What Forest Knows" by George Ella Lyon, illustrated by August Hall
Former Kentucky poet laureate George Ella Lyon’s “What Forest Knows” depicts a serene yet ever-changing forest that poetically portrays all four seasons. Broken down into seasonal cycles highlighting a variety of woodland creatures found in Kentucky forests, as well as their plans for food and resting nooks, the book’s beautiful illustrations – taken from etchings by August Hall – and lyrical language mimic a sensory walk in the woods and bring nature and animal curiosity to life at the turn of each page. Often hazy, just beyond the edge of realistic, the words and illustrations give the impression there’s still more to be explored. The forest knows everything belongs, and the pages of this book invite readers to belong, too.
– Reviewed by Erica Cook
"The Cow Who Wouldn’t Come Down" by Paul Brett Johnson
The first published book by late Lexington-based children’s book author Paul Brett Johnson, “The Cow Who Wouldn’t Come Down” has long been a favorite in my family. When old Miss Rosemary’s cow Gertrude “took to flying,” Miss Rosemary tries getting her cow to come down, first with the most obvious methods, involving a fishing pole, a lasso and finally, a rooftop climb – all with disastrous results for Miss Rosemary. Paul Brett Johnson’s vibrant, playful illustrations and silly story captivates readers of all ages, including the child in my own family who typically doesn’t like books.
– Reviewed by Jennifer Mattox
"The Birds of Opulence" by Crystal Wilkinson
Diving into this book is like taking a summer trip to a Kentucky homeplace – one that is powerfully and evocatively developed as a place of love and heartbreak. Wilkinson’s first novel is set in the fictional black township of Opulence, but her description of the land and those connected to it – people, plants, birds and other wildlife – makes the setting feel authentic and recognizable. Exploring the relationships among four generations of women in two families, the award-winning novel – which won the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence and the Weatherford Award for Fiction – is rooted in nature, both human and environmental.
– Reviewed by Jayne Moore
"All the King’s Men" by Robert Penn Warren
Seventy years after it won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, “All the King’s Men” is as timely as ever. In this story of greed, lust and disillusionment in America’s corrupt political system, backcountry lawyer Willie Stark rises to power through shrewdness and skill, then bullies and blackmails others once he gets into office. Author Robert Penn Warren, a Kentuckian, argues that all Americans continue to suffer from our slave history because we refuse to confess and redress, and in the end, Willie Stark’s sins catch up with him.
– Reviewed by Neil Chethik
"Famous People I Have Known" by Ed McClanahan
In his hilarious 1985 memoir, Lexington’s own Ed “Captain Kentucky” McClanahan chronicles the time he spent on the West Coast with the notorious band of Merry Pranksters, including counterculture icons Ken Kesey and Tom Wolfe. Alongside fellow Prankster (and fellow Kentucky “Fab Five” writer) Gurney Norman, McClanahan makes his way from Kentucky to Stanford University in California, stopping along the way to meet and document a variety of fun folks and unforgettable places.
– Reviewed by Kimber Gray