Ellen Malphrus unties the moon . . .

By Margaret Evans, Editor

Lowcountry native Ellen Malphrus – published poet, professor of English, possessor of fabulous hair – will launch her debut novel Untying the Moon on the afternoon of Friday, October 16, at the Heyward House in Old Town Bluffton. Joining Ellen will be her friend Pat Conroy, who, when not laboring over his own bestsellers, moonlights as editor-at-large for Story River Books. With splendid novels like Ellen’s and a host of others on its list, Conroy’s southern fiction imprint with USC Press is proving to be ‘the little label that could,’ having rapidly made a name for itself in literary circles far beyond South Carolina.
            I’ve known Ellen Malphrus for years and had hoped we could get together for a long, wine-fueled conversation before her book launch party. Alas, life being what it sometimes is, we had to settle for an email interview instead. But even through that impersonal medium, Ellen’s voice rings warm and true and absolutely Ellen . . . much as it does in her debut novel.

Aunt Bossy reviews Terry Sweeney’s new book, 'Irritable Bowels and the People Who Give You Them'

Dear Bossy,

You seem to have your finger on the pulse of what’s going on in the Lowcountry so I thought I would ask you about this new book by Terry Sweeney, “Irritable Bowels and the People Who Give You Them.” I hear it is pretty racy, I am pretty old and old-fashioned, I don’t like the title, and I have a hard time understanding people who are different from me.

Last issue, we told you all about “Pat Conroy at 70: A Literary Festival Celebrating South Carolina’s Prince of Titles,” coming up in late October. As Beaufort prepares to throw the biggest birthday party anybody’s ever seen, we at Lowcountry Weekly have been talking to some of the Southern writers who’ll be heading here for the festivities. We asked them each a simple question: How has Pat Conroy influenced you?