Salon: Grisham

Southern Literary Salon: Grisham

TSC presents its next Southern Literary Salon, John Grisham: Arkansas Rainmaker at Thayne and Anne Muller’s inviting English home in East Memphis on Friday, February 9 from 6:00-8:00 pm.

The evening features fun Southern food, conversation, 45 minutes or so of readings from Mr. Grisham’s works, and a drink or two of the author’s liking:  “Drink the wines from the top shelf,” he counsels.

Tickets for the Grisham Salon only are $55 and include all of the above.

Curated and directed by TSC resident artist Stephanie Shine and read by actors Michael Khanlarian, Carmen-maria Mandley, Shaleen Cholera, and Merit Koch, Arkansas Rainmaker will employ text from Mr. Grisham’s works, likely including his first novel, A Time to Kill, as well as The Chamber, Gray Mountain, Calico Joe, and The Rooster Bar.

Mr. Grisham was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, in 1955, and became a criminal defense and personal injury lawyer in Southaven, Mississippi after graduating from Ole Miss.  He also served in that state’s House of Representatives for eight years.  While practicing law, he practiced at his hobby: writing.  After 30 rejection letters for his first effort, the novel was finally published with a modest first print.  Far from discouraged, he immediately began his second novel, which ended up being known as The Firm.  Since that novel spent 47 weeks on the NYT bestseller list and became the best-seller of 1991, Mr. Grisham has written one novel per year.  Of those, nine have been adapted into films, including The Pelican Brief, The Client, The Rainmaker, The Runaway Jury, and The Firm.  He also wrote an original screenplay, The Gingerbread Man.  There are currently over 300 million John Grisham books in print worldwide.

“I don’t start a novel until I have lived with the story for awhile to the point of actually writing an outline, and after a number of books I’ve learned that the more time I spend on the outline the easier the book is to write,” says Mr. Grisham.  “And if I cheat on the outline, I get in trouble with the book.  In life, finding a voice is speaking and living the truth.  Each of you is an original.  Each of you has a distinctive voice.  When you find it, your story will be told. You will be heard.”

Box Office Information

General Admission tickets for $55 are on sale now, Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm at Tennessee Shakespeare Company, 7950 Trinity Road, Memphis 38018; or by calling 901-759-0604, or by going on-line to www.tnshakespeare.org.  Tickets include all entertainment, light fare, and libations.

Free parking.  No refunds or exchanges.  Credit card charges require a $1 per-ticket fee.  The cast and schedule are subject to change with notice.  The address for the Mullers’ house will be given out only to patrons once tickets have been sold.