Stories Contemporary Southern Short Fiction

Though this is a book of stories by Southerners, the settings range widely, from Italy to Ireland, from Montreal to Barbados. Included are works from such diverse Southern writers as Andre Dubus, William Goyen, Mary Hood, Tom T. Hall, Lewis Nordan and Jayne Anne Phillips.

Selected as an Outstanding Academic Title by Choice Selected as an Outstanding Reference Source by the Reference and User Services Association of the American Library Association There are many anthologies of southern literature, but this is the first companion. Neither a survey of masterpieces nor a biographical sourcebook, The Companion to Southern Literature treats every conceivable topic found in southern writing from the pre-Columbian era to the present, referencing specific works of all periods and genres. Top scholars in their fields offer original definitions and examples of the concepts they know best, identifying the themes, burning issues, historical personalities, beloved icons, and common or uncommon stereotypes that have shaped the most significant regional literature in memory. Read the copious offerings straight through in alphabetical order (Ancestor Worship, Blue-Collar Literature, Caves) or skip randomly at whim (Guilt, The Grotesque, William Jefferson Clinton). Whatever approach you take, The Companion’s authority, scope, and variety in tone and interpretation will prove a boon and a delight. Explored here are literary embodiments of the Old South, New South, Solid South, Savage South, Lazy South, and “Sahara of the Bozart.” As up-to-date as grit lit, K Mart fiction, and postmodernism, and as old-fashioned as Puritanism, mules, and the tall tale, these five hundred entries span a reach from Lady to Lesbian Literature. The volume includes an overview of every southern state’s belletristic heritage while making it clear that the southern mind extends beyond geographical boundaries to form an essential component of the American psyche. The South’s lavishly rich literature provides the best means of understanding the region’s deepest nature, and The Companion to Southern Literature will be an invaluable tool for those who take on that exciting challenge. Description of Contents 500 lively, succinct articles on topics ranging from Abolition to Yoknapatawpha 250 contributors, including scholars, writers, and poets 2 tables of contents — alphabetical and subject — and a complete index A separate bibliography for most entries

This carefully annotated bibliography lists sources of criticism for thirty-nine Southern male authors, each of whom has published at least one significant book of fiction between 1970 and 1994.

"What is it about the South that continues to inspire its children to write? Long caricatured and lampooned, the American South continues to fascinate the rest of the country and provide fertile fields for storytelling for its natives, especially is gay sons. These tales, now told by a current generation, still spring from the hearts, groins, and minds of the sons of this land. Rebel Yell is a singular collection of those stories, told in the soft accents of the gay men who know both the horror and tenderness that is their heritage"--

Profiles of writers from the American South, including lists of their works. This single title far surpasses competing resources with its 250 biocritical, signed entries on today's most frequently studied Southern novelists, short Story writers, poets,dramatists, editors, journalists and writers of nonfiction. And, by carrying on the highly praised St. James tradition of excellence, Contemporary Southern Writers provides students of literature with a one-stop, comprehensive academic reference created specifically for students, instructors and librarians.

This collection of short fiction spans six decades of writing and includes ten stories that are being published for the first time.

The idea of place--any place--remains one of our most basic yet slippery concepts. It is a space with boundaries whose limits may be definite or indefinite; it can be a real location or an abstract mental, spiritual, or imaginary construction. Casey Clabough’s thorough examination of the importance of place in southern literature examines the works of a wide range of authors, including Fred Chappell, George Garrett, William Hoffman, Julien Green, Kelly Cherry, David Huddle, and James Dickey. Clabough expands the definition of "here" beyond mere geography, offering nuanced readings that examine tradition and nostalgia and explore the existential nature of "place." Deeply concerned with literature as a form of emotional, intellectual, and aesthetic engagement with the local and the regional, Clabough considers the idea of place in a variety of ways: as both a physical and metaphorical location; as an important factor in shaping an individual, informing one of the ways the person perceives the world; and as a temporal as well as geographic construction. This fresh and useful contribution to the scholarship on southern literature explains how a text can open up new worlds for readers if they pay close enough attention to place.