Words floated from the lips of Ernest Gaines and into the ears of more than 100 visitors Sunday at the Louisiana State University Museum of Art downtown. The local author shared one of his short stories from his newest book titled “Mozart and Leadbelly: Stories and Essays.” Gaines removed his chocolate brown beret, adjusted his glasses and began reading “Christ Walked Down Market Street.” He spoke on the fifth floor surrounded by art focusing on African-American culture in an exhibit titled “Living With Art: Modern and Contemporary African-American Art.” Some of the visitors read along with Gaines with their own copies of the book. The short story he read is about a homeless person looking for Jesus Christ in the faces of people walking in the streets of San Francisco. The story ends with a bartender telling him to “finish that damn drink, and get out of here” because he has been sitting by himself for too long. The homeless person insists that he has been talking to a man wearing a pinstriped suit with a red tie and trench coat for the last hour. Gaines answered a few questions after the reading about his life and his stories. He said anyone who wants to write like him should read books by the authors he admires, such as William Shakespeare, William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway. “One day I said, ‘Hey, I have all these books around,'” Gaines said. “I want to try to write.” Gaines said his passion is writing. “What else would I do with my life,” he asked. “I don’t know.” Kristin Pevoto, psychology senior, said she has been reading Gaines’ books for years. “He’s the first author that I read that inspired me to write,” said Pevoto, LSU MOA member. Pevoto was one of more than 50 people who lined the right side of the room to get Gaines’ autograph after the reading. She had two books she wanted him to sign – “A Lesson Before Dying” and “Mozart and Leadbelly: Stories and Essays.” Marjorie Green, Baton Rouge resident and University alumna, said she enjoyed the reading. “To be in his company is overwhelming,” she said. “He has accomplished so much in his life.” Gaines said he likens his writing process to a train ride from San Francisco to New York. “You don’t know what will happen on those two or three days of travel,” he said. “You don’t know who’s going to come on the train and don’t know who’s going to get off. You don’t know the nature of the trip.”
—–Contact Angelle Barbazon at [email protected]