Jeffrey Dale Lofton — Red Clay Suzie - with W. Ralph Eubanks

Watch author Jeffrey Dale Lofton's book talk and reading at Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington, D.C. (improved audio)

A novel inspired by true events, Red Clay Suzie is the coming-of-age story of Philbet, a gay, physically-misshapen boy in rural Georgia, who battles bullying, ignorance, and disdain as he makes his way in life as an outsider--before finding acceptance in unlikely places.

Fueled by tomato sandwiches and green milkshakes, and obsessed with cars, Philbet struggles with life and love as a gay boy in rural Georgia. He's happiest when helping Grandaddy dig potatoes from the vegetable garden that connects their houses. But Philbet's world is shattered and his resilience shaken by events that crush his innocence and sense of security; expose his misshapen chest skillfully hidden behind shirts Mama makes at home; and convince him that he's not fit to be loved by Knox, the older boy he idolizes to distraction. Over time, Philbet finds refuge in unexpected places and inner strength in unexpected ways, leading to a resolution in the form of a letter from beyond the grave.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the Red Clay Suzie will go to support the important work of two organizations dedicated to helping at-risk youth: the Born This Way Foundation (bornthisway.foundation), founded by Lady Gaga and her mother Cynthia Germanotta, and The Trevor Project (thetrevorproject.org), the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ young people.

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Jeffrey Dale Lofton hails from Warm Springs, Georgia, best known as the home of Roosevelt’s Little White House. He calls the nation’s capital home now and has for over three decades. During those early years he spent many a night trodding the boards of the DC’s theaters and performing arts centers, including the Kennedy Center, Studio Theatre, Woolly Mammoth, and Signature Theatre. He even scored a few television screen appearances, including a residuals-rich Super Bowl halftime commercial, which his accountant quipped “is the finest work of your career.” His years telling the stories of playwrights and script writers taught him the pull of a powerful story arc, the splendor of language well used. Today, he is a senior advisor at the Library of Congress, surrounded by books and people who love books—in short, paradise.

Lofton is in conversation with W. Ralph Eubanks. Eubanks is the author of A Place Like Mississippi, which was published on March 16, 2021 by Timber Press. A Place Like Mississippi takes readers on a complete tour of the real and imagined landscapes that have inspired generations of authors. This is a book that honors and explores the landscape of Mississippi—and the Magnolia State’s history—and reveals the many ways this landscape has informed the work of some of America’s most treasured authors. Eubanks is the author of two other books: Ever Is a Long Time: A Journey Into Mississippi's Dark Past and The House at the End of the Road: The Story of Three Generations of an Interracial Family in the American South. Eubanks has contributed articles to the Washington Post Outlook and Style sections, WIRED, The Hedgehog Review,The Wall Street Journal, The American Scholar, The New Yorker, and National Public Radio. A graduate of the University of Mississippi (B.A.) and the University of Michigan (M.A., English Language and Literature), he is a recipient of a 2007 Guggenheim Fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, he was a national fellow at the New America Foundation, and was the 2021-2022 Carl and Lily Pforzheimer Foundation Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. Ralph lives in Washington, DC, with his wife.

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Founded by Carla Cohen and Barbara Meade in 1984, Politics and Prose Bookstore is Washington, D.C.'s premier independent bookstore and cultural hub, a gathering place for people interested in reading and discussing books. Politics and Prose offers superior service, unusual book choices, and a haven for book lovers in the store and online.