South Carolina Books

Much of this volume of some eighty-five folk-lyrics on erotic themes is probably the work of the Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-1796). It was privately printed c. 1799 under the auspices of the Crochallan Fencibles, an Edinburgh men's club to which Burns had been initiated in 1786 or 1787 by his publisher William Creech, a founder of the group. Some of the texts included are undoubtedly by other hands; but as the Fencibles surreptitiously published this as a tribute to Burns within a few years of his death, it is reasonable to assume that much or most of it is by the poet himself. The Fencibles have usually been viewed merely as a drinking club, fraternal and convivial. But recent research has emphasized their subversive Jacobite and Jacobin sympathies as well. When in Edinburgh, Burns enjoyed composing bawdy songs for the enjoyment of his "brothers" at the Fencibles, who regularly met in Dawnie Douglas's tavern in Anchor Close to sing bawdry together. After 1789, when he moved to Dumfries, Burns continued to compose bawdy songs (often, like "When Princes and Prelates" with a revolutionary subtext), mailing them to cronies like Robert Saughton, also a member of the Fencibles.

This volume contains the (often corrupt) text of some twenty songs that also exist in Burns's handwriting--material usually omitted because of its erotic content from popular editions of Burns, but included in the standard scholarly edition (Kinsley, Clarendon, 1968). At least twelve of these songs are there established as fully the work of the poet, with a further nine identified by Kinsley as collected and transcribed by him as curiosities.

It is the other sixty-five texts that make this rare _Merry Muses_ volume (there are only two known copies of the 1799 edition) an invaluable resource. The Thomas Cooper Library of the University of South Carolina acquired it when the great Burns editor G. Ross Roy, an emeritus professor at USC, donated his large collection of Burnsiana and Scottish literature to the USC library. Most Burns scholars (including Prof. Roy, who contributes a lucid separate pamphlet describing the complex history of the volume) see the non-authenticated texts in _The Merry Muses_ as Scottish folk erotica added by various members of the Fencibles, or perhaps collected by Burns (an avid preserver of folk traditions). But having looked carefully at the contents, I consider all but five or six of the songs to be either the work of Burns himself or pastiches in which Burns revises as frequently as he transcribes. My reason--based on contexts rather than texts, so not authoritative--is the emphasis on mutual consent. In his signed and authenticated songs, RB is notable for this emphasis on consensual sexuality. The erotic song tradition in Scottish folk literature is, by contrast, rife with cautionary tales of rape and incest, but there are only a few such songs in this collection.

The very existence of this book was denied for more than a century by Burns admirers who were embarrassed by its frank sexual content: this denial was easily enough accomplished with only two extant copies of the work, one of them in the private hands of the Earl of Rosebery! But it is time for admirers of the poet to consider the bawdy songs of Burns. They are definitely obscene: some texts use Scottish vernacular obscenities such as "mow," but others make plentiful use of standard English and the f-word. But as the scenarios (typically--there are exceptions) emphasize the mutual joys of adult consensual sex, I think the term pornography is not quite accurate. The imagery is sometimes gross and shocking, but an episode of "Sex in the City" is more spicy. These obscene song-lyrics (the names of the suggested tunes are specified, but no music is printed) are better read as telling artifacts of masculine (masculinist?) culture during the Age of Enlightenment than as embarrassments to Burns's Immortal Memory. The poet lived a short, painful life, enduring the daily symptoms of terminal heart disease from his teens. Love and liberty--sexual as well as political freedom--were the great concerns of his poetry. For Burns, the composition of poetry (and the sharing it with kindred spirits) were his anodynes for poverty, social oppression (Burns is British literature's only great peasant poet), personal unhappiness, and chronic poor health. Like it or not, the bawdy element in Burns is fundamental to understanding his views on language, poetry, and human liberation. There are two modern editions of _Merry Muses_, but the notes in both cases are marred by sexism and poor scholarship. This facsimile is expensive, but all the profits go to the USC library by Prof. Roy's generous agreement. If you're looking for pornography, you'll be disappointed. If you're looking to understand the total Robert Burns in Scottish cultural context--and to gain insight into the inner demons and drive behind his writng--you'll be surprised and enlightened.

Mrs. Motes continues her efforts to stratify by ethnic groups the population of South Carolina at the taking of the 1850 federal census. This volume, her third based upon the 1850 census, specifies about 2,600 persons of New England or Mid-Atlantic birth who were living in South Carolina in that census year. The census enumerators found approximately 2,600 of these Yankees living in South Carolina in 1850, two-thirds of them from the Mid-Atlantic region.

Mrs. Motes transcribed her information from thirteen reels of microfilm covering the 29 South Carolina counties in 1850. She has arranged those findings in alphabetical order by surname. Each individual is identified by age, sex, occupation, country of birth, county of residence, and household enumeration number. Individuals living in another family's household are further identified according to the name of the household head, even if a native Carolinian. The front matter to the book includes a helpful author's preface and a list of South Carolina county codes. The volume concludes with indexes to names, places, and occupation.

Nanno Marinatos does an excellent job of examining the complex, controversial world of Minoan religion. When doing a research project about the development of Minoan goddesses from Pre-Palatial through Post-Palatial times, I found that no other source was as helpful as this book.

THIS ONE OF THE BOOKS THAT TELLS THE TRUTH ABOUT THE HUNGNAM EVACUATION, THAT IT WAS THE THIRD INFANTRY DIVISION US ARMY THAT HELD THE BEACH AND SUROUNDING TERRITORY FOR TWO WEEKS AFTER THE MARINE DEPARTURE. IT IS A STORY THAT THE MARINES DO NOT WANT TOLD AS IT DESTROYS THEIR BOAST OF FIGHTING ALL THE WAY TO THE BEACH HEAD. THIS BOOK DOES NOT BLOW THE FACTS OUT OF PERPOTIONN NO BLOWN UP FIRD FIGHTS JUST THE COLD HARD FACTS. I BELEIVE THIS BOOK SHOULD BE REPRINTED

This book is an excellent continuation of the Tricentennial series on the colonial beginnings of South Carolina. The book is written very clearly and does not require a degree in economics to understand. The author has liberally supplied the book with statistical tables to allow the reader to easily comprehend the points that he is making about the evolution of economic conditions of pre-1750 South Carolina.

I'm in the 7th grade and read about this book in our local newspaper. My mother bought a signed copy somehow and suggested (strongly) that I read it. I loved the story of the gypsy and the boy in the mill. This was a lot better than the stuff the teachers make us read.

This book is an excellent, concise account of Kennedy's policies toward Latin America. Rabe does an exceptional job in presenting the information in a fairhanded manner. The writing is superb and the book is an easy read. It is a must have for those interested in Kennedy, Latin America, or just history in general.

Nicole Blouin's book has all you need: excellent maps, accurate directions, and comprehensive, user-friendly information. The Falcon Guide series is superb, and Blouin's book is a worthy addition.

Mountain Born, Mountain Molded by Larry G. Morgan is a wryly written personal memoir of growing up in the Nantahala region of western North Carolina from 1945-1955 as the fifth in a family of ten children. Childhood memories, simple games kids played long before popular culture became overloaded with atrociously [spendy] collectible toys, and the refreshing wonder of the great outdoors are all recalled in this memorable, nostalgic, and highly recommended narrative.

This book is excellent if you are tired of the hussle and bussle of the city and looking for a GREAT weekend trip to the mountains. The maps are a little hard to see but the write-ups for all of the Inns are tremendous. Also included is what to do around the town with restuarants included.