Charles Frazier, author of Thirteen Moons

Quail Ridge Books kicked off Charles Frazier's national tour on October 3 at Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina. Nearly 600 fans and media representatives turned out to hear Frazier. The following account is not a verbatim rendering although it captures the essence of Frazier's message.

John Grant, Jr. opened the evening with haunting tunes on a traditional v-shaped Cherokee flute. Grant, a Cherokee who has played with the NC Symphony, told the story of a not-so-handsome young man who had no skills but liked a beautiful young lady. He went into the woods and asked for help. "Creator, give me a gift to be the best husband, to set me apart." Woodpecker took pity on him and began making holes in a hollow branch. The wind came up and beautiful sounds were heard. The young man said, "Thank you, Creator." He practiced and played. When the beautiful young lady, who had gone to the river to get water, heard the music, she went up to him and asked, "What is this?" "I wanted to be in your presence. My playing is a gift from Creator for you." She fell in love with him and let him carry that great big clay pot of water back to the village. This is the story of the first flute.

Myrtle Driver, who is a translator for all Cherokee tribal council meetings, introduced Frazier in the Cherokee language. Ironically, as she spoke, the haunting sound of a train far in the distance could be heard. Nancy Olsson owner of Quail Ridge Books then introduced Frazier, noting that Cold Mountain was on the bestseller lists for 61 weeks and sold over four million copies. David Crabtree of WRAL-TV then interviewed Frazier.

Crabtree: Tonight we have a microcosm of the legions moved by the writing of Charles Frazier. I jumped at the opportunity to be here tonight. So many of the passages in Thirteen Moons are moving, and I enjoyed their richness again as I re-read. Set the stage for us.
Frazier: It's the 1820s and Will Cooper is a 12-year old orphan. His aunt and uncle have indentured him to run a general store in Western North Carolina beyond the reaches of current maps. Will is always moving forward in the world. I'll note here that Cooper is pronounced "cupper" not "cooper." He is loosely based on William Holland Thomas who was a white chief of the Cherokees and owner of vast tracts of land in the Cherokee Territory.

C: Chief Bear is a central character.
F: Yes, he is a father figure to Cooper. They drink together, but he is a very traditional figure. Featherstone is also a father figure, but certainly not traditional. Part Cherokee, he owns a large plantation and slaves. While only 12 Cooper calls Featherstone's bluff in a poker game and meets Claire, the love of his life. In his 90s, Cooper is sitting on his front porch waiting for Claire to call him on the new telephone.

C: "Desire abides . . .. Everything else rots." This type of love goes deep. How does Cooper know?
F: Remember that Cooper is telling this story in his 90s. Our remembrance of personal history is not always entirely factual. (Or, as Cooper writes in the novel, "I cannot decide whether it is an illness or a sin, the need to write things down and fix the flowing word in one rigid form." Later, he gives an account of a duel he fought with Featherstone and says there are at least 3 different accounts. Ultimately, "Something happened. Beyond that, nothing is knowable.")

C: Your account of the Cherokee Nation is not the history we were taught in school. What touched you about these people?
F: I was born in Andrews, NC, just east of Murphy. There was Cherokee land all around us. It was impossible not to know that others owned/occupied that land. My ancestors after the Revolutionary War occupied the land of other people. I was writing about the culture of my neighbors. I wanted to understand how I came to know them.

C: You did a lot of research and provide resources for readers to follow up. Did the research change you?
F: It did. My background was a plus. The Trail of Tears was an injustice on many levels, human, economic. About 15,000 Cherokees were removed and more than 4,000 of them died on the way to Oklahoma. Only the Eastern Band found a way to stay in part due to actual ownership of land.

C: There is humor and laughter through difficult times in two markedly different cultures, but with a common denominator of laughter.
F: People say it is a lot funnier than Cold Mountain. It gets at the sense of humor among the Cherokee. (Note the story John Grant told about the first flute, for example.) When I was being interviewed for a CBS story, one of the Cherokee being interviewed spoke of William Thomas and the stores he set up across the mountains and said they were called "Will-Marts." The interviewer bought this Appalachian humor completely.

C: Granny Squirrel is quite a character.
F: She is a healer, a medium. I took her name from Granny Squirrel Gap where an old lady lived.