NEWS

There’s too much news delivered all the time, and much does not fit the definition of news.  What once felt finite, coherent, and dependable has morphed into a ceaseless torrent of noise, with social media adding more static.

Hal Crowther wants us to remember that it was not always this way. A short twenty years ago, “there were a few dozen news sources, many of which had honestly earned the public’s trust.” Today, we face “hundreds of compelling, conflicting voices. And literally millions of strident voices, their motivation sinister or unknown-- a host of unreliable narrators vying to tell America’s story.”

For readers craving a familiar, reliable, but razor-sharp voice, Crowther delivers in his new book, “Bible Belt Blues.” He gives a bird’s eye view of the swirling chaos of what passes as news with his funny, insightful, sharp, strident, sometimes scathing voice in this collection of essays from 2010 to 2023.

Crowther lives in Hillsborough with his wife, novelist Lee Smith. He has written for Time and Newsweek and many other publications. His syndicated column was known for its keen cultural and political criticism. “Bible Belt Blues,” published by Blair in Durham, is his fifth book.

Crowther writes: “What I’ve attempted to gather here is a series of rational reactions to irrational forces. It’s my fondest hope that my plea for reason will not be mistaken for another version of the party line, another partisan pleading.” Crowther mourns the decline of the profession of  journalism and the loss of its goal to “get the story right.”       

In the introduction, written just as Trump was inaugurated for the second time, Crowther happily admits how well he knows his audience: “Since no one who admires or respects Mr. Trump will be likely to read this book, I address myself only to his detractors.”

The essays cover a range of events and topics: architecture, Dante, “randy” politicians or “randy” preachers, the queen of England, and the environment. In the foreward, Lee Smith says of Crowther’s writing: “It’s an honor and a revelation to be here when it happens.” This dense nugget of a book is a revelation in itself, more sane, civil, and decent than the news tsunami. It is not light reading, but it is delightful.

Crowther is often compared to the illustrious H.L. Mencken, a polarizing scholar and journalist active in the early 1900’s. Mencken was famous for his biting satirical style. Many called Mencken the greatest American journalist of the last century, and a good many people also found him cruel for his scathing mockery of people he didn’t like. Many found him elitist and antagonistic. Crowther holds a fascination with Mencken and his contradictions and wrote a book about him with a telling title-- “An Infuriating American: The Incendiary Arts of H. L. Mencken.”

(Crowther himself won the Baltimore Sun’s H.L. Mencken prize for his own writing in 1992).

Crowther admired Mencken because he was relevant. He shocked and appalled, but he mattered. He was widely read and utterly fearless, analyzing and sharply criticizing America and democracy without hesitation or fear of the consequences.

Crowther does the same.

But he sees his mission as somewhat benevolent, like an educator and reformer. If you argue well, he thinks, and tackle the right issues, you might just change people’s minds and things might just gradually improve. For him, writing is the tool to shine a light on what’s really happening and help people see the world more clearly.

That’s what he does in “Bible Belt Blues,” spotlighting various events from the last decade. He nudges-- even pushes-- us to think with critical and clear minds. He’s not afraid to give us his opinions, but he urges us to have our own. “This is what I think. Feel free to disagree,” he challenges us. 

In the last essay, “Out of Date,” Crowther flirts with what it means to become obsolete. He finds a silver lining: “When you’re out of date and committed to it, it frees you up some.” He goes on, “The parade goes by, and it can be highly entertaining as long as you don’t have to march, to learn the cadence and keep up the pace. You pick a choice seat on the reviewing stand and watch, unencumbered by performance anxiety, status, or public opinion.“

The word “Menckenian” has earned its place in dictionaries as shorthand for Mencken’s sharp, caustic style. So why not make room in our own vocabulary for “Crowtherian,” “Crowtherisms,” and “Crowtheresque”? After all, Crowther’s brand of relevant, wide-eyed observation—seasoned with satire, saltiness, and Southern wit—is well worth celebrating.

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