Mesler story joins Narrative network
The work of Memphis writer Corey Mesler sometimes travels in exclusive circles.
Among admirers of Mesler’s poetry is Garrison Keillor, he of “A Prairie Home Companion” fame, whose “Good Poems, American Places” published two years ago by Viking, included Mesler’s “Sweet Annie Divine,” sandwiched between poems by Em- ily Dickinson and William Carlos Williams.
Now Mesler finds himself in the company of writers including Michael Cunningham, James Lee Burke, Salman Rushdie, Ian McEwan and Khaled Hossseini for a project called “How to Be a Man,” organized by Esquire and Narrative magazines.
The author Colum McCann, among the project initiators, calls it “the most ambitious literary project that any organization has done in years.” Narrative4 is described as a catalyst for social change: “We believe the world is forever transformed when we share our stories, and that seeing through other people’s eyes and walking in their shoes amounts to radical empathy,” says a declaration on Narrative4.com.
Stories “by more than 100 of the world’s greatest authors” are collected on the website, and can be purchased for a $5 fee after their initial appearance.
Mesler’s contribution to “How to Be A Man” begins: “Waiting in his therapist’s office, Rodney Carp was reading a women’s magazine, an article about a man who built an entire home underwater. Because Rodney had lived his life with the name Carp and taken a bloody bruising for it, he was fascinated by all things aquatic.”
Mesler, who co- owns Burke’s Book Store with his wife, Cheryl, said he was “humbled and proud” to be included. He credited his friend, the writer Liz Flock, with recommending him for the project.