Ernest and Hadley, a local independent bookstore in downtown Tuscaloosa, hosted Gregory Ariail on Tuesday night to read excerpts from his recently published collection of short stories, “Hermits Die on Thursday: Stories of Appalachia and the Dark Ages,” as well as speak to attendees and sign copies of the book.
Ariail attended undergrad at the University of Georgia has a master’s degree from Oxford University, a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and an MFA from the University of Alabama.
“The collection, it actually came out in September, so like six or seven weeks ago. I think it’s going really well,” he said. “I haven’t seen any sales figures yet, but it seems to be going okay.”
Ariail views Ernest and Hadley, which has now hosted two book events of his, as extremely important to the Tuscaloosa community.
“I think we should all be very thankful that they’re here. Not only do they have an incredible bookstore and run by incredibly nice and generous people, but they’re like the epicenter of the literary community here,” Ariail said.
Ariail is an assistant professor of English at the University of West Alabama who teaches English 102 and has taught students studying abroad in Oxford. Hiott Luten, a sophomore majoring in history at the University of Alabama and an attendee at Tuesday night’s event, was a student of Ariail’s in Oxford.
Luten said that events like the ones that Ernest and Hadley regularly hosts are particularly effective, as they “broaden people’s perspectives.”
The general manager of the bookstore, Avery Leopard, passionately heads its operations. She said she loves what she does in helping local artists gain exposure and contribute to the effort of keeping literature and literacy afloat.
“I think to sort of highlight that literature and literacy is not dead,” she said. “We need to keep reading; we need to keep writing. We need to keep expressing ourselves, especially when so many books are getting banned.”
