Gather at the River: Notes from the Post-Millennial South

Title Page, Copyright

southern literary studies fred hobson, editor notes from the post-millennial south gather l o u i s i a n a s tat e u n i v e r s i t y p r e s s b at o n r o u g e F O R E W O R D B Y L O U I S D . R U B I N , J R . H A L C R O W T H E R at the river Copyright © 2005 by Louisiana State University Press All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America First printing designer: Barbara Neely Bourgoyne typeface: Whitman; Helvetica Neue printer and binder: Thomson-Shore, Inc. library of congress cataloging-in-publication data: Crowther, Hal. Gather at the river : notes from the post-millennial South / Hal Crowther ; foreword by Louis D. Rubin, Jr. p. cm.—(Southern literary studies) isbn 0-8071-3100-8 (alk. paper) 1. American literature—Southern States—History and criticism. 2. Southern States— Intellectual life. 3. Southern States—In literature. 4. Southern States—Civilization. I. Title. II. Series. ps261.c66 2005 810.9'975—dc22 2005005668 The author o≠ers grateful acknowledgment to the editors of the Oxford American, the New York Times, the Independent Weekly, Southern Cultures, the Southeast Review, Menckeniana, and Creative Loafing, where these essays first appeared. Personal thanks to Fred Hobson, Lee Smith, Mona Sinquefield, George Roupe, and John Grooms and especially to Louis D. Rubin, Jr., without whose wisdom the literary South might yet be terra incognita. The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. ∞ For my mother, Dorothy Louise Allen Crowther, who is still discovering the South This page intentionally left blank Being of these hills I cannot pass beyond. —JAMES STILL Hollywood says Southerners are retarded, but we sure can sing. —BILL MALONE This page intentionally left blank ...