ANDERSON — Etta Mae is different from many others in that she is an illiterate college graduate.
While the other college students were devouring books and writing reports, May was watching movies.
When it came time for book reports for her first-grade English class, May wrote a report from a unique perspective.
One that left an impression on me was “Gone with the Wind.''
“I said, 'Look, this could have been the Vietnam War or the Iraq War. This book isn't about a war,'” said Anderson, who will perform April 6 at the Paramount Theater. May said.
“This book is a coming-of-age story of a woman who was spoiled all her life. She had to find out who she was and grow up.”
May's illiteracy was due to brain damage caused by a 10-minute stillbirth. Therefore, there was also a lack of expectations from her parents, and she was not able to read books like her other children.
But that didn't stop her from being a well-paid stand-up comic.
As Mark Twain is said to have said, “The secret source of humor is not joy, but sadness.'' This is how May's life continues.
Despite receiving a full scholarship for playing softball and volleyball, her scholarship was revoked after she sustained hand and brain injuries in a car accident.
Those setbacks and others transformed May into a resourceful and nationally known artist.
May described her show as a mix of jokes and storytelling, the kind she used to listen to on her doorstep as a child.
“I heard the greatest storyteller in my life sitting on my front porch,” she recalled. “It was a front porch with a couch. If you were well, you'd have a refrigerator on the porch. The freezer didn't work, but the refrigerator still worked, so we stocked beer in there. ”
A similarly relatable and relatable story about “white trash” is how she described her show.
May is proud that she is perfectly clean. She doesn't say any dirty jokes, which she believes will be refreshing for viewers.
Two of her friends, Sonia White and Jody White of the Southern Fried Chicks, a comedy troupe with Southern roots, will also be in attendance.
Tickets can be purchased online or at the Paramount Theater box office.