Elk Mound author G.R. Revelle has worked to embrace his mother’s Scandinavian and his father’s southern heritage equally, a struggle which formulated his newest book, When Catfish Swim With Lutefisk. “My dedicated readers … will be surprised at the differences in the cultures I grew up in,” said Revelle. Past collections have exhibited only the Swedish half of his identity. He notes that an upbringing with influences of two distinct heritages was compelling, so he took the anecdotes of his life and transformed them into a written work that swells with a Nordic virtuosity and, separately, delves deep into Southern territory. Plunging into his mixed heritage, Revelle shares his first memories with his Swedish grandfather and the bitter lessons learned from his experience as a shoe-shiner. The title recalls Revelle’s stint as a violinist in the American Swedish Institute’s Spelmanslag, when he blamed his off-notes on those internalized “catfish” (remnants of his background in southern blues harmonica), which were swimming unavoidably with the “lutefisk.” It, and his other works, are available at The Local Store.