Upcoming Appearances

6:30 p.m., April 17 -- Rantoul (IL) Public Library, 106 W. Flessner Ave., authors panel (Book signing April 19 from 2-4 p.m.)

Noon, April 16 -- Robinson (IL) Rotary Club, "Iwo Jima: The Pivotal Battle of the Pacific in WWII"

7:30 p.m., April 14 -- Western Illinois Museum, 201 S. Lafayette St., Macomb, "A Literary and Personal View of the Effect of Combat on the Troops and Their Families in WWII"

2 p.m., April 5 -- Proksa Park, 3001 S. Wisconsin Ave., Berwyn, IL, sponsored by Berwyn Public Library, "Cultural Journalism & Preserving Our History and Culture"

9:45 a.m., April 5 -- Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance Conference, Kendall College, 900 N. Branch St., Chicago, panel presentation on the development of the Heath Candy Bar

Noon, March 18 -- Urbana (IL) Rotary Club, Urbana Country Club, "Iwo Jima: The Pivotal Battle of the Pacific in WWII"

6 p.m., March 10 -- O'Fallon (IL) Public Library, 120 Civic Plaza, "James Jones: The Evolution of a Soldier and a Writer"

3 p.m., Feb. 21 -- Danville (IL) Area Community College, 2000 E. Main St., "Cultural Journalism & Preserving Our History and Culture"

7 p.m., Feb. 21 -- Champaign (IL) Public Library, 505 S. Randolph, "A Literary and Personal View of the Impact of War on the Warriors and Their Families"

7 p.m., Jan. 15 -- Sycamore Historical Society, American National Bank basement, 1985 Bethany Road, Sycamore (IL), "Cultural Journalism & Preserving Our History and Culture"

Contact talespress@comcast.net or 217-384-5820 to schedule one of the following talks, a reading or a book signing.

Illinois Humanities Council Road Scholars Talks

James Jones: The Evolution of a Soldier and a Writer
This presentation focuses on the life and literary works of Illinois author James Jones. He experienced a concept he coined and wrote about in his WWII literature called "the evolution of a soldier." It describes a process by which individuals are trained to fight our country's wars and conflicts and how that process affects them personally – especially when they return to civilian life.

The De-evolution of the Soldier & its Effects on Others
This talk focuses on the immediate and lingering effects of war on those who fight them and on the loved ones left behind, based on extensive interviews and research with WWII veterans. Numerous anecdotes are included.

Cultural Journalism: Preserving our History & Culture
A society's culture is defined, in large part, by its stories. But many stories remain undiscovered – the extraordinary stories of ordinary people. This talk describes the process of creating oral histories and writing memoirs. Appropriate for students, families and any group interested in preserving its past.

Illinois Humanities Council

Tales Press is a small regional press started to continue the cultural journalism mission of preserving the history and culture of people and places of times gone by. Founder Ray Elliott has long worked with projects of this type in both his writing and his teaching. Books published are those that reflect this mission.

He's been a farmer, a Marine, an oilfield roughneck, a high school English and journalism teacher, a dreamer and a schemer. But Ray Elliott also has been writing newspaper columns and stories that touch people's lives since 1977.

Ray's Bio

Ray Elliott has been writing a newspaper column for more than 25 years. Read about his observations of everyday life and visits with interesting characters.

Featured Writings

• Remembrance of Bob Reid, devoted journalism teacher
• Keynote for University of Illinois ROTC Commissioning Ceremony
• 2004 Illinois Authors Book Fair Talk on James Jones
• Memorial Day 2005
• An Interview with Kris Kristofferson - Part 1
• Writers and fighters influential to Kris Kristofferson - Part 2
• Norman Shelby was the Real McCoy
• A Grandfather, a Boy and a Baseball
• The Hanging of Elizabeth Reed
• The Accidental Driver

Read articles from the Tales from the General Store Collection, a cultural journalism project that operated from 1981-1998, primarily in southeastern Illinois and southwestern Indiana, to preserve the history and culture of the general store era of the rural Midwest.

Featured Classics

• The Visit to Grandma and Grandpa’s House
• The Bellair Store
• Studs Terkel
• Baseball's Harry Caray
• Old-time Blacksmith
• A Hermit's Life
• Tales from a Storyteller