The Companion to Southern Literature: Themes, Genres, Places, People, Movements, and Motifs (Southern Literary Studies) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0807126926 ISBN 13: 9780807126929

Publisher: LSU Press, 2001

Synopsis

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

About this title

About the Author:

Joseph M. Flora is Atlanta Professor of Southern Culture and formerly chair of the English department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is the author or editor of many books, including Southern Writers: A Biographical Dictionary and Rediscovering Vardis Fisher: Centennial Essays.

Lucinda H. MacKethan is professor of English at North Carolina State University in Raleigh and has published numerous works on American women’s literature and slavery, including Daughters of Time: Creating Woman’s Voice in Southern Story.

Todd Taylor is assistant professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

From Booklist:

In the 1980s and 1990s, Flora coedited a four-volume series on southern writers published by Greenwood Press. Now he has teamed with a fellow English professor to compile this sourcebook that explores the multifaceted aspects of the "southern experience as it is depicted in literature." Focusing on common threads that run through southern writing and set it apart from the literature of other regions, the more than 500 alphabetical entries cover a wide range of topics, including themes, genres, customs, locales, stereotypes, historical events and entities, places and regions, colleges and universities, and periodicals and other publications. Although the editors stress that this is not a biographical volume, they do include a limited number of entries on individuals, covering 12 major southern authors (such as Faulkner and Welty) and an eclectic assortment of 29 other figures (e.g., Harriet Beecher Stowe, Abraham Lincoln, Elvis Presley) whose works or lives are inextricably linked with southern literature.

Written primarily by scholars representing a wide range of academic institutions, the entries are signed, and most conclude with cross-references to related articles and a brief list of bibliographic references. Treatment ranges from the lighthearted and folksy approach in shorter entries such as Grits, Sears Catalog, and Yellow-dog Democrat to the scholarly, more serious tone of longer articles like Art and artists, Conservatism, and Slave narrative. Some of the longest articles (4 to 10 pages) are those that explore the literary history of each southern state. Although it is disquieting to see an entry for "Nigger," the scholarly and reasoned article provides a valuable overview of the history of the term and its usage by both black and white authors. Facilitating access to the entries are a subject guide near the beginning of the volume that groups article titles by broad categories, such as "Customs, Rituals and Icons," "Literature by Period," and "Religion," and a detailed index that is invaluable for locating references to individual authors.

Superior in quality and scope to Encyclopedia of Southern Literature (ABC-CLIO, 1997), this volume serves as a greatly expanded and updated extension to the "Literature" section of the Encyclopedia of Southern Culture, edited by Charles Reagan Wilson and William R. Ferris (University of North Carolina, 1989). Well-written, meticulously edited, and thoughtfully organized, The Companion to Southern Literature is an excellent resource for anyone who is studying or reading southern literature. It is highly recommended for high-school, public, and academic libraries. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: LSU Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0807126926
• ISBN 13: 9780807126929
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 1054
• Editor: Flora Joseph M., MacKethan Lucinda Hardwick