The Adventures of Camel Jeremy Eros

Camel Jeremy Eros, 60s Memphis poet, bon vivant and scenester, appeared in two earlier Corey Mesler novels. Now he gets his own biography. Beginning with his birth in Frayser, a gray carbuncle on the side of Memphis, Tennessee, and following him through his academic success and then his political/poetical awakening at the University of California, Berkeley, the novel touches on numerous multi-hued, phantasmagoric, hippiefied cultural landmarks, including the small press, bookstore scene in San Francisco, protests in the streets, and free love. Eventually Camel finds his way back to Memphis where he meets the darling of his life, the willowy sculptress, Allen. The novel’s latter half takes place mostly in Memphis as the lovers struggle with earning money, making art, setting up house, and eventual health issues that threaten to burst their rainbow bubble.