Book Buzz The Kudzu Queen with Mimi Herman Sunday, April 30, 2023, 1-2 PM CAM Members: $20; Not-Yet Members: $25
Join author Mimi Herman for a discussion on her latest novel about Mattie Lee Watson, a sharp, spunky, and courageous heroine.
Mimi is a Kennedy Center teaching artist, director of the United Arts Council Arts Integration Institute and co-director of Writeaways writing workshops in France, Italy, and New Mexico. She has taught in the Masters of Education programs at Lesley University, served as the 2017 North Carolina Piedmont Laureate, and been an associate editor for Teaching Artist Journal. She is the author of A Field Guide to Human Emotions, Logophilia, and The Art of Learning. Mimi has performed her poetry and fiction at venues ranging from Why There Are Words in Sausalito to Symphony Space in New York City.
Mattie Lee Watson’s story and character developed as Herman learned about the kudzu bonanza that permeated the Southern U.S. in the 1930s and 40s. In The Kudzu Queen, Herman introduces James T. Cullowee, the self-proclaimed “Kudzu King” who arrives in 15-year-old Mattie’s hometown in Cooper County, North Carolina in 1941 to spread the gospel of kudzu—claiming that it will improve the soil, feed cattle at almost no cost, and even cure headaches. As Cullowee sets out to sell Cooper County on the future of kudzu, organizing a countywide festival capped off by the crowning of the Kudzu Queen, Mattie sets her sights on winning both the crown and Cullowee. |