In This Issue

Singer-songwriter Harry Connick, Jr. has published a musical biography of his mother, Babe: Elaboratio. It's an "intimate libretto" about her life and legacy, like a film score he wants to share with everyone, whether they knew her or not. Similarly, Keri Leigh Merritt's "revelatory" biography An Inconvenient Woman preserves the lasting impact of antisegregationist Lillian Smith. In both cases, these names could easily have been lost to history, but there's much to be said about the importance of ordinary people showing up for their families, their friends, and their communities on a daily basis. In fact, it's the premise of Madeline ffitch's new novel, Avalon, Rise, whose "sharp prose and gentle humor" depicts its everyday characters persisting in the midst of adversity. These and many others serve as praise songs for the common person.