On the Southern Literary Trail discussion

Good morning All,

I am now accepting nominations for our March, 2018, group reads. Although it's certainly not Spring time weather right now, it will be here before you know it. And this marks our Sixth Anniversary here on the Southern Literary Trail.

I'm looking forward to receiving your nominations. Let's see how we begin another year on the Trail.

Mike Sullivan
"Lawyer Stevens"

Happy New Year to all , slightly belated but all the best for 2018 !

Post I was thinking of Catherine Kerrison s new work about Jefferson s daughters .

Pre a nomination I have previously nominated Longstreet s Georgia Scenes If available but not too pricey

I’d like to nominate The Violent Bear It Away for the Pre-1980 category. Thank you.

I'd like to nominate Ruby by Cynthia Bond for post 1980.

I'd like to nominate The Best Short Stories of O. Henry for the Pre-1980 category.

Not sure if this counts for the groups.... so no worries if it can't be added...

The Crater by Richard Slotkin

Dustincecil wrote: "Not sure if this counts for the groups.... so no worries if it can't be added...

The Crater by Richard Slotkin"

This is a book I have wanted to read for years. Nice nomination!

First in is a nomination received via goodreads email from Thing Two: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones.

From the goodreads summary:

"Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are the embodiment of both the American Dream and the New South. He is a young executive, and she is an artist on the brink of an exciting career. But as they settle into the routine of their life together, they are ripped apart by circumstances neither could have imagined. Roy is arrested and sentenced to twelve years for a crime Celestial knows he didn’t commit. Though fiercely independent, Celestial finds herself bereft and unmoored, taking comfort in Andre, her childhood friend, and best man at their wedding. As Roy’s time in prison passes, she is unable to hold on to the love that has been her center. After five years, Roy’s conviction is suddenly overturned, and he returns to Atlanta ready to resume their life together. "

It is nominated, Post-1980. Thanks, Thing Two!

Jane wrote: "Happy New Year to all , slightly belated but all the best for 2018 !

Post I was thinking of Catherine Kerrison s new work about Jefferson s daughters ."

Jane, Happy New Year to you! That's not too late at all.

Jefferson's Daughters: Three Sisters, White and Black, in a Young America by Catherine Kerrison is nominated Post-1980.

From the goodreads summary:

"Thomas Jefferson fathered three girls: two white and free, one black and a slave. This book about Martha, Maria, and Harriet tells the fascinating story of their very different lives at Monticello and beyond, as daughters of one of our most brilliant and complicated Founding Fathers."

Many thanks, Jane.

Jane wrote: "Pre a nomination I have previously nominated Longstreet s Georgia Scenes If available but not too pricey"

Done! Augustus Baldwin Longstreet's Georgia Scenes Completed is nominated Pre-1980.

From the goodreads summary:

"Augustus Baldwin Longstreet's Georgia Scenes, Characters, Incidents, Etc. in the First Half Century of the Republic has long been considered the first important work of "Old Southwestern" humor and more lately has been recognized as a seminal example of literary realism. Despite its popularity and significance, Georgia Scenes has been flawed from the outset. Longstreet did not proofread the first edition, which introduced literally hundreds of misprints. In this collection, David Rachels corrects these errors, adds nine previously uncollected "Georgia Scenes" to Longstreet's original set of nineteen stories, and includes a selection of items published anonymously in Longstreet's newspaper and discussion of lost manuscripts of Georgia Scenes. In the introduction, Rachels surveys Longstreet's place in literature and provides an up-to-date look at the legends and facts of Longstreet's life."

Doug wrote: "I’d like to nominate The Violent Bear It Away for the Pre-1980 category. Thank you."

Doug, thank you for submitting The Violent Bear It Away once again. It is nominated Pre-1980. Just a brief note here. This was the last novel written by Flannery O'Connor. Should this be selected, reading this novel would complete Ms. O'Connor's works here on "The Trail."

Lawyer wrote: "Jane wrote: "Pre a nomination I have previously nominated Longstreet s Georgia Scenes If available but not too pricey"

Done! Augustus Baldwin Longstreet's Georgia Scenes Completed i..."

Also a very cool nomination!

Brina wrote: "I'd like to nominate Ruby by Cynthia Bond for post 1980."

Brina, thanks for your putting up Ruby by Cynthia Bond. It is nominated Post-1980.

Bond's novel has been previously nominated a number of times by Trail Members. From the goodreads summary:

"The epic, unforgettable story of a man determined to protect the woman he loves from the town desperate to destroy her—this beautiful and devastating debut heralds the arrival of a major new voice in fiction.

Ephram Jennings has never forgotten the beautiful girl with the long braids running through the piney woods of Liberty, their small East Texas town. Young Ruby, "the kind of pretty it hurt to look at," has suffered beyond imagining, so as soon as she can, she flees suffocating Liberty for the bright pull of 1950s New York. Ruby quickly winds her way into the ripe center of the city--the darkened piano bars and hidden alleyways of the Village--all the while hoping for a glimpse of the red hair and green eyes of her mother. When a telegram from her cousin forces her to return home, thirty-year-old Ruby Bell finds herself reliving the devastating violence of her girlhood. With the terrifying realization that she might not be strong enough to fight her way back out again, Ruby struggles to survive her memories of the town's dark past. Meanwhile, Ephram must choose between loyalty to the sister who raised him and the chance for a life with the woman he has loved since he was a boy.

Full of life, exquisitely written, and suffused with the pastoral beauty of the rural South, Ruby is a transcendent novel of passion and courage. This wondrous page-turner rushes through the red dust and gossip of Main Street, to the pit fire where men swill bootleg outside Bloom's Juke, to Celia Jennings's kitchen where a cake is being made, yolk by yolk, that Ephram will use to try to begin again with Ruby. Utterly transfixing, with unforgettable characters, riveting suspense, and breathtaking, luminous prose, Ruby offers an unflinching portrait of man's dark acts and the promise of the redemptive power of love."

John wrote: "I'd like to nominate The Best Short Stories of O. Henry for the Pre-1980 category."

Thank you John for your nomination of The Best Short Stories of O. Henry. It's a gem. This anthology is nominated Pre-1980.

Dustincecil wrote: "Not sure if this counts for the groups.... so no worries if it can't be added...

The Crater by Richard Slotkin"

Oh, yes, Dustin. The Crater by Richard Slotkin is nominated, Post-1980.

This novel concerns the Battle of the Crater during the Petersburg Campaign in the American Civil War. Published in January, 1980, by Atheneum, the latest edition includes a foreword by Pulitzer Prize winning history professor James McPherson who praises this work as one of the outstanding accounts of this battle.

Thank you, Dustin!

Is Southern Science Fiction appropriate for nominations. If so, I would like to recommend for the post-1960 category: Departure. The author, A.G. Riddle, is a native of North Carolina but currently lives in Florida.

I would like to nominate The Moviegoer by Walker Percy published 1961.

What about Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier?

I would like to nominate Bone Black: Memories of Girlhood by Bell Hooks for post 1980 March read.
I would like to nominate Roughing It By Mark Twain for the pre 1980 March read.

Thanks.

Post 1980: Gradle Bird

Sixteen-year-old Gradle Bird has lived her entire life with her Grandpa, Leonard, at a seedy motel and truck stop off Georgia's I-16. But when Leonard moves her to a crumbling old house rumored to be haunted by the ghost of Ms. Annalee Spivey, Gradle is plunged into a lush, magical world much stranger and more dangerous than from the one she came.

Here she meets Sonny Joe Stitch, a Siamese Fighting Fish connoisseur overdosed on testosterone, a crippled, Bible-thumping hobo named Ceif -Tadpole- Walker, and the only true friend she will ever know, a schizophrenic genius, music-man, and professional dumpster-diver, D-5 Delvis Miles.

As Gradle falls deeper into Delvis's imaginary and fantastical world, unsettling dangers lurk, and when surfaced Gradle discovers unforeseen depths in herself and the people she loves the most.

Gradle Bird is an unusual tale of self-discovery and redemption that explores the infirmities of fatherly love, the complexities of human cruelty, and the consequences of guilt, proving they are possible to overcome no matter how dark and horrible the cause. (less)

Pre-Internet:A Long and Happy Life

On its initial publication in 1962, Eudora Welty said of A Long and Happy Life, Reynolds Price is the most impressive new writer I've come across in a long time. His is a first-rate talent and we are lucky that he has started so young to write so well. Here is a fine novel.

John wrote: "Is Southern Science Fiction appropriate for nominations. If so, I would like to recommend for the post-1960 category: Departure. The author, A.G. Riddle, is a native of North Caroli..."

John, yes, Southern Science Fiction is an appropriate category for a nomination. Having said that, after looking at the specific title of the work you have nominated doesn't possess any link to Southern literature other than the author's place of birth. I must reluctantly decline to accept this nomination.

Sara wrote: "I would like to nominate The Moviegoer by Walker Percy published 1961."

Done, Sara. The Moviegoer by Walker Percy is nominated, Pre-1980. Thank you!

The Celtic Rebel (Richard) wrote: "What about Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier?"

Yes, indeed. Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier is nominated, Post-80.

Judi wrote: "I would like to nominate Bone Black: Memories of Girlhood by Bell Hooks for post 1980 March read.
I would like to nominate Roughing It By Mark Twain for the pre 1980 March read.

Thanks."

Thanks, Judi. Bone Black: Memories of Girlhood by bell hooks is nominated, Post-1980.

Tina wrote: "Pre-Internet:A Long and Happy Life

On its initial publication in 1962, Eudora Welty said of A Long and Happy Life, Reynolds Price is the most impressive new writer I've come across in..."

Thank you, Tina. A Long and Happy Life by Reynolds Price is nominated Pre-1980.

The nominations for our March, 2018, Group Reads are now closed. The Polls for Voting should be open tomorrow on January, 19, 2018.

Is the primary criteria for Southern Literature that it is set in the South? Author born in the South? Currently lives in the South? A combination of all three?

Just want to make sure that I'm recommended appropriate books.

John wrote: "Is the primary criteria for Southern Literature that it is set in the South? Author born in the South? Currently lives in the South? A combination of all three?

Just want to make sure that I'm re..."

John, that's a very fair question. This subject has been a topic of much discussion in earlier days of "The Trail." The main factors in determining what Southern Literature is includes setting, subject matter, themes, that are Southern in nature. An author's birthplace or current residence is not a determining factor. The group has read a number of works by authors not born in the South. A primary example is Beloved by Toni Morrison. Although Morrison was not born in the South, Beloved dealt with issues of slavery, the story of a fugitive slave, and the actions she took when it appeared that she and her children would be captured and returned South. Another example would be Sophie's Choice by William Styron. Although set primarily in Brookllyn, New York, the primary narrator is a Southerner whose perspective is that of a Southerner. Additionally, the novel dealt with the stereotypical views of one major character in that novel interpreting the thoughts and behavior of the Narrator. I hope this helps.

i am not sure if too late but the help

that is somethings wanted to read since watch the film

The polls are now closed and the selections for March have been chosen. Many thanks to all of you who voted. I’m certain you will find something below that you can enjoy.

The winner in the Pre-1980 category is The Moviegoer, by Walker Percy.
The winner in the Post-1980 category is Cold Mountain, by Charles Frazier.
Last, but not least, is the Moderator’s Choice selection. Chosen by Miss Scarlett, we will be reading Fair and Tender Ladies, by Lee Smith. Join her in this book’s discussion here.