Though he passed away 43 years ago, he’s got a new book coming out in just a few days. It’s called "Mildred, Quit Hollering," and it was completed by Curtis Copeland and Michael Galloway, credited as “Augustus Finch.”
Copeland, geographical information services manager for the City of Branson, got ahold of the unpublished manuscript through Gordon McCann. McCann is himself a collector of local music and lore who collaborated with Randolph on the four-volume "Ozark Folklore: an Annotated Bibliography." Copeland and McCann became friends several years ago. Copeland says that in typical Ozarkian fashion, McCann didn’t trust him with Randolph’s unfinished work right away.
Copeland says, “It took about, you know, multiple months of me coming to his house, and he would quiz me about who and what I knew in regards to the Ozarks.”
Copeland researched the life of every contributor to Randolph’s collection, the aforementioned McCann being the only one still living. When he couldn’t find any record of a person, Copeland researched where they were from, or their way of life. This gave him a new perspective on Randolph’s work; he typically thought of the writer consulting backwoods folks living in isolation.
“In a lot of cases that’s true," Copeland says. "But he also acquired stories from some prominent individuals and townspeople as well.”
Along with Randolph’s collected material, "Mildred, Quit Hollering" also contains new stories by Finch. Copeland brought him into the project to help emphasize why Randolph’s work is still relevant today.
“We tried to keep Randolph’s personality intact,” Copeland says.
The book goes on sale in December, but Copeland will be available at a special early book-signing at 6:30 p.m. Monday, November 13, at Wire Road Brewing Company in Battlefield.