{"product_id":"skylark","title":"Skylark","description":"\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSkylark\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003e\u003cem\u003eby William Christy Smith\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(245, 10, 10);\"\u003eAvailable October 27, 2026\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Book\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"page\" title=\"Page 3\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"section\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"layoutArea\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"column\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro',serif;\"\u003eW\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro',serif; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro';\"\u003ehen Beston Barnett, a newly minted creative writing graduate from Tulane University, cannot find a job in his field, he takes a volunteer position leading a writer’s group of men who are HIV-positive. His students, who represent all walks of New Orleans life, are supposed to document their experiences for future generations. They have a lot of fun—but don’t produce much. Beston decides to take it upon himself to record their lives. In the process, he falls in love with the city, the neighborhood, and his students—discovering who he is in the midst of a horrific epidemic.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro',serif;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro',serif;\"\u003eSkylark\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro',serif;\"\u003e is William Christy Smith’s first novel. He is primarily a short story writer who specializes in southern gothic themes based on the horrors of the AIDS crisis of the 1980s. He holds a bachelor of arts degree in English from Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri, master of liberal arts degree from the University of Chicago, and master of arts administration degree from the University of New Orleans. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePraise for \u003cem\u003eSkylark\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro',serif;\"\u003e“\u003ci\u003eSkylark\u003c\/i\u003e is joyous proof that comedy is tragedy plus time. In these stories, the agony of Kushner’s \u003ci\u003eAngels in America\u003c\/i\u003e meets the comic grotesque of Toole’s \u003ci\u003eA Confederacy of Dunces\u003c\/i\u003e.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan dir=\"RTL\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan dir=\"RTL\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"AR-SA\" dir=\"RTL\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro',serif; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;\"\u003e\u003cspan dir=\"RTL\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan dir=\"RTL\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e             \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"AR-SA\" dir=\"RTL\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;\"\u003e–\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro',serif;\"\u003eJames Nolan, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan dir=\"RTL\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan dir=\"RTL\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan dir=\"RTL\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro',serif; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;\"\u003e\u003cspan dir=\"RTL\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan dir=\"RTL\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro',serif;\"\u003eauthor of the Katrina novel\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan dir=\"RTL\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan dir=\"RTL\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan dir=\"RTL\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;\"\u003e\u003cspan dir=\"RTL\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan dir=\"RTL\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro',serif;\"\u003eHigher Ground\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro',serif;\"\u003e and the pandemic memoir \u003ci\u003eBetween Dying and Not Dying, I Chose the Guitar   \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro',serif;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro',serif;\"\u003e“At turns hilarious and tragic, but never dour. Smith masterfully weaves tales that blend heartache with humor and humanity, creating touching narratives that resonate deeply.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003cspan dir=\"RTL\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan dir=\"RTL\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"AR-SA\" dir=\"RTL\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro',serif; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;\"\u003e\u003cspan dir=\"RTL\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan dir=\"RTL\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e–\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro',serif;\"\u003eElisa M. Speranza, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Italian Prisoner\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro',serif;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro',serif;\"\u003e“I found it difficult to stop reading because of how this marvelous, caring community is gradually built and sustained. Yet that encouraging story is mirrored against the awful tragedy of the AIDS epidemic, with the knowledge that each of the characters, or most, won’t live past either the edges of the book or their small, little era at the end of the 1980s.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003cspan dir=\"RTL\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan dir=\"RTL\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"AR-SA\" dir=\"RTL\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro',serif; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;\"\u003e\u003cspan dir=\"RTL\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan dir=\"RTL\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e–\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro',serif;\"\u003ePatrick Earl Ryan, author of \u003ci\u003eIf We Were Electric\u003c\/i\u003e, winner of the 2019 Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro',serif;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro',serif;\"\u003e“Chris Smith has written a remarkable collection of stories dealing with the peak years of the AIDS crisis. . . . creating a world full of people meeting adversity with warmth, humor, community, and creativity.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003cspan dir=\"RTL\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan dir=\"RTL\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"AR-SA\" dir=\"RTL\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro',serif; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;\"\u003e\u003cspan dir=\"RTL\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan dir=\"RTL\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e–\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro',serif;\"\u003eClay Delery, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Up Stairs Lounge Arson: Thirty-Two Deaths in a New Orleans Gay Bar\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eOut for Queer Blood\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro',serif;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro',serif;\"\u003e“Smith shifts from wickedly funny to heartbreaking and back again. Beston Barnett and the characters he encounters, witnesses, befriends, and loves have left an enduring impression on me. These stories will make you laugh and feel deeply.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003cspan dir=\"RTL\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan dir=\"RTL\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"AR-SA\" dir=\"RTL\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro',serif; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;\"\u003e\u003cspan dir=\"RTL\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan dir=\"RTL\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e–\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro',serif;\"\u003eKatie Bowler Young, author of \u003ci\u003eEnrique Alferez, Sculptor\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003e© 2026 University of Louisiana at Lafayette Press\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePaperback | 246 pgs. | 6\" x 9\" | ISBN: \u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;\"\u003e978-1-959569-40-4\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"UL Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43015220527184,"sku":null,"price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0069\/8132\/0777\/files\/Skylarkcoverforweb_a63e431b-f850-43ca-8788-3b46996c15c7.jpg?v=1791838332","url":"https:\/\/ulpress.org\/products\/skylark","provider":"UL Press","version":"1.0","type":"link"}