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King to sign copies of latest book

By September 28, 2011General

I'm Feeling The Blues Right NowDr. Stephen A. King, professor of communication at Delta State University, will sign copies of his new book, I’m Feeling the Blues Right Now: Blues Tourism and the Mississippi Delta, at the Cotton Row Bookstore in Cleveland on Thursday, October 6, from 3:30-5:00 p.m. Delta State’s Division of Languages and Literature will sponsor the reception at the event.

The book is the first critical account of Mississippi’s blues tourism industry. King reveals the strategies used by blues promoters and organizers in Mississippi, both African American and white, local and state, to attract the attention of tourists. In the process, he reveals how promotional materials portray the Delta’s blues culture and its musicians. Those involved in selling the blues in Mississippi work to promote the music while often conveniently forgetting the state’s historical record of racial and economic injustice. King’s research includes numerous interviews with blues musicians and promoters, chambers of commerce, local and regional tourism entities, and members of the Mississippi Blues Commission.

From the late 1970s until 2000, Mississippi’s blues tourism industry was fragmented, decentralized, and localized, as each community competed for tourist dollars. By 2004, with the creation of the Mississippi Blues Commission, the promotion of the blues became more centralized as state government played an increasing role in promoting Mississippi’s blues heritage. Blues tourism has the potential to generate new revenue in one of the poorest states in the country, repair the state’s public image, and serve as a vehicle for racial reconciliation.

New York Journal of Books reviewer Michael Cala praised King’s efforts to tackle the complexities of Mississippi blues tourism’s industry:

“Blues fans believing they know blues history will be surprised by the fabrications and half-truths associated with the genre, as uncovered by semiotic analysis of the many code words, metaphors, similes, and folk tales that have become part of blues tourism culture.  . . . The topic is engrossing, the writing is accessible, and the author has been fair in presenting his case wherein the truth, ugly or not, has been honestly addressed. I’m Feeling the Blues Right Now features excellent and extensive annotation, superb bibliographies for scholars and fans, as well as indexed academic journals, popular magazines, newspaper and newsletters, theses, tourism brochures, pamphlets, and much more.”