Alec Clayton -  writings, etc. (a blog)

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Essays & other writing: 
 

Is there such a thing as autobiographical fiction

— On the relationship between made-up characters and characters based on real people.

How I became a newspaper man
 

— Working on a handmade hippie newspaper in the '70s.

At the White House
 

— Our visit to the White House for a reception celebrating the signing of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. hate crimes bill.

Miss Pride

— Has the South changed or not?

Justice Delayed
 

— Commentary on the conviction of Edgar Ray Killen for manslaughter for the killing of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner in 1964 and reminiscences of living in Mississippi at the time.

Tupelo of memory

— This essay was written for Reed's Gift Shop and Bookstore in Tupelo, Mississippi to be included with copies of my novel Until the Dawn. It is a memoir of growing up in Tupelo, one of the two settings for the novel.

Everything for Everybody

— life, love and marriage communal style in the 1970s.

A different room

— A story about my son Bill's first week in school

Twins

 — Adventures growing up as an identical twin

Survivors

 — A mother in Olympia, a dying man in Los Angeles, a young hemophiliac

from Australia — Victims of personal tragedy find love, hope and family confronting their fears. Living in the Bonus Round - Music, suicide, healing broken spirits -- life and love on the Internet in the age of AIDS.

Writing in Faulkner's Shadow: Mississippi Writers Talking
 

— Writers Barry Hannah, Howard Bahr, Jes Simmons, Larry Johnson and Jack Butler comment on the influence of

William Faulkner, from Mississippi Arts & Letters, July/August 1985.

Forgiving

 — an essay on thoughts about the men who assaulted my son Bill.

Remembering New York

— my first few weeks in New York in 1973

Father an Son
 

— Essay about why I quit painting.

Essays on Art

Portrait of the Artist as an Ageing Man - History and development of my painting, along with a little philosophy and personal history

I Dreamed a Dream of Painting

— Essay about why I quit painting.

The case against wall fodder
 

— A rant against mediocrity

The challenge of abstraction
 

— The problem with "understanding" abstraction

Art  and Theater Reviews

To read my art and theater reviews go to my blog:   
South Sound Arts etc.

"For me, just one of the cool things about Alec's art critiques, is that he always notices something that got by me, and that surprises me (maybe even perplexes me a bit) because I think I am so observant. I think he just looks completely and openly from Alec's point of view 100%, no pretense, and that keeps what he thinks and has to say about the work, always interesting and unique." Read Alec's Visual Edge column every week in the Weekly Volcano - Paula Tutmarc-Johnson, Two Vaults Gallery

This Is Me, Debbi, David
a novel

Debbi Mason is a self-declared loudmouth, fun loving, rabble rousing, perverse woman. David Parker says he has always been something of a nebbish little mama’s boy who never took a chance on anything in his entire life. When Debbi breaks up with David and runs off with a man she thinks can provide wealth and security, Debbi and David each embark on adventures that are, in turn, romantic, funny, enlightening and scary—adventures that take them from the French Quarter in New Orleans, to Dallas, and to New York City’s East Village. And into their own hearts. Novel with nine bonus short stories.

Tupelo
a novel
 

A tale told from beyond the grave by Kevin Lumpkin, the youngest of a set of identical twins, Tupelo is the story of a small town in an era of reluctant change as seen through the eyes of a white boy born to privilege who comes of age in the time of Freedom Riders, lunch counter sit-ins, civil rights marches and demonstrations.

Freedom Trilogy Book Two

When survivors of a hurricane move into a new condo in the little town of Freedom, Mississippi, a storm of another sort begins to brew.

The Backside of Nowhere
a novel

Freedom Trilogy Book One

"Alec Clayton’s The Back Side of Nowhere is his best novel so far, and is a rollicking good read. It contains Hollywood pop gossip as well as downhome humor and veers from the ridiculous to the sublime, with strong characters and important social issues all subsumed into the plot. If you liked Clayton’s other novels you should grab this one immediately. It’s not just good but fun."

Larry Johnson, author of Veins

cover art by Glennray Tutor

The Wives of Marty Winters
a novel

"... a heartfelt tale ... pulses with vivid, authentic scenes and delicious moments."

Diane de la Paz, Weekly Volcano

Imprudent Zeal
a novel

“This book is the great circus train wreck that was America from the 1950s to the 1990s.

... A tour de force of autobiographical fiction.”

Lew Hamburg, The Olympian.

"... the mix of characters felt bone real" -Steven Schalchlin, musician/playwright, in a review on Amazon.com.

Until the Dawn
a novel

"Stunning debut novel by a wise new voice in American fiction" -Dave Gantt, librarian, Washington, D.C., in a review on Amazon.com.

"...a wonderfully guilty pleasure - Becky Hendrick, author of Getting It: a Guide to Understanding and Appreciating Art.

"...such fertile ground - Larry Johnson, Southern Quarterly.

As If Art Matters  essays and art reviews

 "Alec Clayton has opened my eyes to the art world. He writes intelligently about art without using overblown art jargon."  

Ron Swarner, editor, Weekly Volcano

reviews, excerpts, ordering
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