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PAUL:

50 years, half a century of turning pages, building community and keeping the written word alive in Jackson, Mississippi. This is one of those interviews where you may want to grab a cup of coffee or a cocktail, sip slowly and listen. Hey, it's Paul Wolf with a front row seat to conversations on culture from Jackson, Mississippi. We call our podcast Soul Sessions. It's the people, places and events that make the City With Soul shine.

On today's show, I'm sitting down with John Evans, the man behind Lemuria Books, one of the South's most beloved independent bookstores. Since 1975, John has been more than just a bookseller. He's been a curator of literary culture, a champion of authors and a steadfast presence in Jackson's creative community. From surviving economic downturns and the rise of big box retailers to navigating a pandemic, John has seen it all.

He's brought legendary authors to our city, co-founded the Mississippi Book Festival and built something that truly lasts. This conversation is about integrity, independence and what it means to care deeply about your craft for five decades. Honestly, this is one of my favorite interviews I've ever been a part of. So settle in with that coffee or cocktail and let's talk about what makes Lemuria and John Evans so special.

50 years is an extraordinary achievement for any business. But especially for a creative enterprise in Mississippi or anywhere really, what has been your staying power?

JOHN:

Good books. Just the idea that we keep finding good books and finding good friends to bring to our community and share their words. I think the idea of the author coming to Jackson and the books are shared, signed, read, questioned and answered. Makes the books come alive. And I think it makes it something other than a product. And I think that that helps give a voice into our community for us, for the books and for our friends. And exposes us to a greater world beyond us too. Well, that's been part of the goal was to try to bring the national to the local and to the community. And some years we've done that well, some years we could have done better. But I think we've had our fair share of good friends come to this. Unfortunately, many of them are gone.

PAUL:

Looking back over five decades, what was the moment that you almost didn't make it, but you kept going anyway?

JOHN:

Hmm. There've been a few of those. I think maybe the most stressful time was when I moved to Banner Hall. Yeah. And what year was that? 88. And we started work on Banner Hall around 85 and, about four months before the actual move, B Phillips, who was part of the Clothier Company, who was part of the situation backed out, backed down… whatever you want to call it for whatever situation, whatever you want to call that situation. And I basically called the partnership head and said, “Don't worry about it. I'm coming.” And so we went to the other side of the interstate, which was a big deal and, opened up in the back of an empty building.

PAUL:

Because before you were here at Banner Hall, you were…

JOHN:

Highland Village for 10 years. And then I was in The Quarter for two years behind Poet’s. So I think that that was the most stressful time because I spent all my money, bought all the books I could buy and decided that, you know, this is the throw out the ace and see if it works. And it was, it was also a period of time where Barnes and Noble was on its way. The “malling” of America was transcending into the box store of America. And we had to get bigger and better before we were clobbered, which is a good way to put it. But they, you know, I think COVID was really hard.

PAUL:

Yeah.

JOHN:

And I think anybody in business will, if they didn't tell you that that was hard, is pretty lucky.

PAUL:

Right.

JOHN:

That was really a challenge. I don't want another challenge that hard.

PAUL:

We're going to kind of stay there. And you mentioned COVID, economic downturns, cultural shifts, technology. What has been your strategy for adapting to all of that without losing who you are, without losing your core identity?

JOHN:

I think the main thing to which I guess you're asking is, “How do you preserve your integrity?” And I think you have to know your integrity. You have to know what your backbone is and what you're really trying to do. And as long as you stick to what you feel is, in our sense, good books, trying to blend what is commercial and what is quality. What is your taste? What the market wants, the community needs and how to do those things represent you and you have to, when you get challenged, go, what's more important? Preserving the integrity of our brand. And if we can do that the right way, will our brand be strong enough to keep us going? Will our history be strong enough to keep us going? And you will, I think, endure if you understand what is meaningful to you in your business and what is meaningful for your customers and for your community.

PAUL:

You told me one time, I'll never forget this. And I use this example all the time that if you can go to a big box retailer and they can provide you something, a service or something that, that I can't, in other words, if they can do more for you, they can educate… them by all means, give them your business. But we do something here that you can't get elsewhere.

JOHN:

I hope so. And I think the love of our product and the love of… I use the word product because that's a business term, but the care and love of reading and the care and love of books, how special… We're going to have a night in November 11th and Jim Harrison's daughter's coming and the biography of Jim Harrison's coming out. And I remember in 1979 in Highland Village working on Jim's books and eventually getting to know him and bringing it to Jackson. And it's like a full circle. It's what all this is about. The idea that these friends, when they're gone, you can still honor and you can still share their work and you don't forget them. And your community, hopefully, don't forget them and their books don't die.

PAUL:

Preserving a legacy.

JOHN:

Yeah, and the written word. Having Ms. Welty as an example with core values and reading has been pretty lucky. It's kind of been a basis of when things, am I doing the right thing? I wonder what Eudora would think. It comes in.

PAUL:

Yeah.

JOHN:

Yeah, that's another way friendship comes back.

PAUL:

You stayed fiercely independent through these 50 years, what has that meant to you? What has that given to you to stand your ground?

JOHN:

You know, fulfillment. My way's not always been the right way or maybe the best way, but I feel like it's at least coming from the right place inside of me. I know I've been so damn lucky, you know, to be in 50 years in my community and neighborhood that I grew up in. Close to the elementary school, went to ball parks where I played baseball and run a business and do it. As much the way I wanted to do it and it be successful, it's pretty damn lucky. I feel pretty full and rich in my interior self. There are a lot of...A lot of people here working real hard, as you know, right now, trying to do the right thing for our city. And I don't want to give up on that. And, and I'm hoping that the people working with me now as a… man, there's no overdrive in my auto! But I think the young people see what the value of the bookstore is in the community that we perceive and we hope to keep that going. I don't want me to run out of gas and the bookstore run out of gas. I don't think books are going to run out of gas. You know, I don't think books are going to be replaced. I could be wrong, but that's always in need of a good used bookstore. You don't have to have new books.

PAUL:

I think after 50 years, success might look different today than maybe it did in 1975 or does that look the same for you?

JOHN:

Boy, that's a good question. I think that it looks less scared.

PAUL:

What do you have to lose?

JOHN:

Yeah. And, and, but more so than that, just think that satisfaction, the idea that I'm satisfied and not in a big heavy way or. Any, anything like that. I just feel good about the bookstore in this community and why the community cares about it. I had a lady just then come in and I said, “Gosh, you're back already.” And she said, “Yeah, it's my favorite place.” She said, “When I win the lottery, I'm welcome to buy every book I want.” And I thought that's what you're here for, people from out of town. Really, that's a real gratifying thing. Because, you know, you drive by Broad Street, stop between Memphis and New Orleans and Birmingham and going that way to Dallas or whatever. And we have people that just plan on stopping here at the bookstore once a year, once every two years.

PAUL:

It's tourist destination.

JOHN:

Well, I hadn't thought of it that way. They always have good words. That was the point that I really liked when somebody comes through and they come to Jackson and I go, “This is my favorite bookstore.” They say, “Wow, I haven't been here in 30 years. Wow.” And I said, “Well, does it feel the same? Does it feel like the same store?” Most of the time they go, “Yeah, it's not,” if it is the same does if it feel the same.

PAUL:

Jackson has such a strong creative community. And it seems like the artists and the musicians and entrepreneurs here really genuinely support each other. Can you think of a time in the last 50 years where community really mattered?

JOHN:

I think first thing that comes to my mind and it may be just because I've worked so hard on it is how the community has come together for the Mississippi Book Festival. I can really see the vibe this year. We were competing with big time Oxford, Ole Miss football, state football, and the vibe was just so nice. And so many people said great things that I think all of that is a reflection of the community coming together. And I was against doing it at the State Capitol. I kind of was thinking more of Fondren-esque type thing. And I think that it just proves by having it at the State Capitol that our capital grounds, our wonderful architecture that's there, the magnolia trees, is more than just politics. That it is, it's a lot of our heritage and that heritage is in our city. And to have the book festival there. It makes it Jackson, but it also makes it the state. When you look at the diversity of the community that works on the festival and the volunteers and just the whole idea that it's all about the book, that's pretty good community gratification. A lot of them aren't getting paid. That's a statement of our community and what it can do if it gets behind something.

PAUL:

So a young version of you walks in the door in 2025 and wants to start a business. Young entrepreneur, male, female, they're from…

JOHN:

One emailed me last week.

PAUL:

Really?

JOHN:

From somewhere up north. I get emails all the time.

PAUL:

Asking for your advice.

JOHN:

Or, yeah, just wanting to talk.

PAUL:

Yeah. What advice do you give them?

JOHN:

I think the usual first thing is that you want to build an inventory. Start with the books you know, the books you care about, and what has influenced you, and why in your heart these books matter. Because if you can authentically project yourself and understand why and what it is, and then start learning from other people, what it means to them and why they read it and what that means, what that author means. Because the wonderful part of this business is the opportunity to learn from you or to learn from every conversation that you have when you get to ask people about what they think about books. Generally, it gives you, as far as an occupation of being a bookseller, it gives me feedback that I can share whether I want to read the book or not. I can give genuine feedback because I'm listening and caring. And if you can learn to do that, odds are you'll have pretty good photo bookstore and let it grow.

PAUL:

More broadly, how do you build something that lasts?

JOHN:

Not giving up and working your butt off. That's simple. And caring. You know, really caring and trying to keep making it better. Now, if, if I could end my 50th year in business and say, well, Lemuria is better now than it ever has been. That would be fun. I don't know if I can do that, but how much fun would it be to go, wow, this bookstore is better than it was at the beginning of the year. But to end this year and say, my golly, this bookstore is better. Because of the young people working here, because the people, multi-talented people working here care. And yeah, I can fade away,

PAUL:

But you can't, you got to stick around.

JOHN:

It's going to be real hard to not think about talking about books. You know, not everybody wants to talk about it, but if people come in here, I had some good, I don't know that I could not be around books. I got enough books to read my house. I will never get them all read, but I could never be around books and the vitality of just, you know, every day it's hard not to find a new book you want to read. And that's vital. And now the wonderful thing about being an old goat is that I can reread, you know, can reread books I read as a teenager and reread them. I think one of the things is that if they were so much fun when you were 16, they were so much fun when you were 30, and here you are going back and reading them, they capture a particular essence of that culture that you've lived through and remember. And you can appreciate, plot's not nearly as important, but you can appreciate what the author was really trying to do and how much they understood about their craft. If they were really good, then they're their craft. You can read a book five years later that you re-read and you'd see the change in their craft. And, you know, smile to yourself. Wish you could tell them thanks, but they're gone. But, you know, their books aren't. That's my job.

PAUL:

50 years of good books, good friends, and genuine care for the written word. John Evans has built something rare, a business with integrity that stands the test of time. From his early days in the quarter to the iconic Banner Hall location, from Eudora Welty's friendship to the Mississippi Book Festival, John's story is really Jackson's story. It's about community, craft, and never giving up on what matters. If you haven't visited Lemuria Books yet, you're missing out on a true Jackson treasure. And if you're a regular, well, you already know what I'm talking about. We'll have links in our show notes to learn more about this iconic bookstore at visitjackson.com/soulsessions.

This podcast is produced by Visit Jackson, the destination organization for Mississippi's capital city. Our executive producers are Jonathan Pettus and Dr. Ricky Thigpen, and I'm our managing editor.

You can learn more about us and all of the great things happening in the city at visitjackson.com.

I'm Paul Wolf and you've been listening to Soul Sessions.

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