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| Julia Reed | |
Julia Reed, "writer, woman of letters, connoisseur, and tireless advocate for the renaissance of her native Mississippi Delta," died August 28, the Delta Democrat-Chronicle reported. She was 59.
"As an author, columnist, and speaker, Reed was a figure in the tradition of M.F.K. Fisher and of Edith Wharton," friend and author Jon Meacham wrote in a tribute in Garden & Gun magazine, where Reed was a longtime contributor. "If we'd tried to invent a character like Julia, nobody would have believed it. She was a tsunami of talent, charm, and energy. She could write about anything and make it sing. Her distinctive voice was at once affectionate and arch--a tough combination to pull off."
David DiBenedetto, Garden & Gun editor-in-chief, said, "When it comes to the loss of Julia Reed, the only word that seems appropriate is irreplaceable, as a friend, as a writer, as a dinner party guest, and as a cornerstone of Garden & Gun for the last decade.... She had an army of fans who were drawn to her smart, sometimes irreverent, fun-loving take on life. And part of the magic was her authenticity. Julia never had to fake a thing in her life. She was the real deal. And the world will be a lesser place without her."
Reed's books include Julia Reed's New Orleans: Food, Fun, and Field Trips for Letting the Good Times Roll (2019); South Toward Home: Adventures and Misadventures in My Native Land (2018); Julia Reed's South: Spirited Entertaining and High-Style Fun All Year Long (2016); But Mama Always Put Vodka in Her Sangria: Adventures in Eating, Drinking and Making Merry (2014); The House on First Street: My New Orleans Story (2008); Ham Biscuits, Hostess Gowns, and Other Southern Specialties: An Entertaining Life (2009); and The Queen of the Turtle Derby and Other Southern Phenomena (2005).
"Julia Reed was Mississippi's answer to Dorothy Parker, gifted with a biting wit, a fierce intellect and a generous spirit of hospitality," novelist Jay McInerney recalled. "She was an intellectual and a hedonist, a brilliant raconteur with a colorfully profane vocabulary who could whip up a delicious dinner for twenty of her friends and then drink them all under the table before waking up a few hours later to deliver a sparkling performance on MSNBC. She was unforgettable and irreplaceable."
Writer and friend Ellen Stimson posted on Facebook: "Julia liked her language just like she liked her tenderloin... salty. Whenever she turned up you knew things were about to get good. Her stories were hilarious and nuanced both. She missed nothing. She would have given Churchill a run for his money... in more ways than one. Julia had a wild talent and a glittering mind. I will miss her husky voice every day for the whole rest of my life. Course if she were reading this she'd remind me not to overwrite. 'Just say you miss me.' And I do. Oh how I do."