A group of writers and musicians have created a unique way to share and promote Southern literature. Their project, a traveling show called The Shoe Burnin' brings together original works of literature and music to form a cohesive, scripted production.
With an ever-changing lineup, no two shows are alike, said author Shari Smith, who organizes and scripts each show. One performance--the group does shows throughout the Southeast--might focus solely on a single writer’s work, while the next might weave together excerpts from several authors’ novels and story collections. Between readings, the Shoe Burnin’ band, which includes various Nashville-based artists and Grammy Award-winning musicians, performs.
“It’s a play, but it’s not. It’s a musical, but it’s not. It’s a reading, but it’s not,” Smith explained. “And we don’t want the audience to just sit there. We want the audience to walk away with as much inspiration as us.”
Though the show took shape in 2013, its roots go back to the 1970s. No one is certain of the exact year, Smith said, noting that one night the idea for the group was hatched, in a cabin in the Alabama woods, by a handful of “wannabe writers,” including Suzanne Hudson (In a Temple of Trees) and Joe Formichella (The Wreck of the Twilight Limited)..
It was a cold evening and the group decided to start a fire. When they ran out of firewood, they were too lazy to go outside to find more, so the host pulled out a box of old shoes from the back of a closet and began throwing them on the fire.
Decades later, the Shoe Burnin’ is now an annual tradition held every fall. Writers gather at Waterhole Branch outside Fairhope, Ala. Each of them brings a story...and a shoe. After they tell their tale, they toss the shoe into the fire.
As the gatherings grew, adding a musical component to the event was a natural evolution, explained Smith, whose partner is musician Chris Clifton. She wound up scripting a show, and the group made its debut at the Louisiana Book Festival in November 2013.
At the urging of the festival’s executive director, Jim Davis, they decided to publish an anthology. In 2014, Rivers Edge Media released The Shoe Burnin’: Stories of Southern Soul. Edited by Formichella, the book also includes a companion CD of spoken word and music.
After connecting with Wanda Jewell, executive director of the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance, last year, the Shoe Burnin’ is on its way to becoming a staple of SIBA events. Last fall, the group performed at SIBA’s annual trade show, held in Norfolk, Virginia, and it will be at the show in Raleigh this September. In March, SIBA also brought the group to Atlanta’s Great American Bargain Book Show.
“I love the marriage of literature and music,” Jewell said. “I think the book industry can learn a lot from the music industry about how the Internet has affected how they do business. I’d love to see these authors go on tour and become rock stars in their own right. [The show] is a great vehicle to promote writers’ books in a way that’s not been done before.”
