Research Guides: Literature: Southern Authors

Book Choices

AGEE: Death in the Family by James Agee
Call Number: On the Shelf under Fic Agee, James c.1 / Warren County Public Library
ISBN: 9780143115847
Publication Date: 2008
An autobiographical novel that contains one of the most evocative depictions of loss and grief ever written.
CAPOTE: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Call Number: On the Shelf under HV6533.K3 C3 1994 / SKYCTC Library
ISBN: 0679745580
Four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. There was no apparent motive for the crime, and there were almost no clues.
CHOPIN: Awakening by Kate Chopin
Call Number: Online from SKYCTC Library with Campus Username and Password
ISBN: 9781775414322
Publication Date: 2009
Follows the personal discovery of a married woman of the things she did not even realize she was missing.
DICKEY: Deliverance by James Dickey
Call Number: Online from Warren County Public Library eBook OverDrive
ISBN: 0307483703
Publication Date: 2009
Four guys, city-dwellers from Atlanta, pack up a tent, bows and arrows, two canoes and head into the mountains of North Georgia.
ELLISON: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Call Number: On the Shelf under PS3555.L625 I5 1995 / SKYCTC Library
ISBN: 9780679732761
Describes growing up in a black community in the South, attending a Negro college from which the narrator is expelled, moving to New York and becoming the chief spokesman of the Harlem branch of "the Brotherhood", and retreating amid violence and confusion.
FAULKNER: As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
Call Number: On the Shelf under PS3511.A86 A85 1990 / SKYCTC Library
ISBN: 9780679732259
As I Lay Dying is the harrowing, darkly comic tale of the Bundren family's trek across Mississippi to bury Addie, their wife and mother, as told by each of the family members--including Addie herself.
GAINES: Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines
Call Number: On the Shelf under PS3557.A355 L47 2001 / SKYCTC Library
ISBN: 0679414770
A young man who returns to 1940s Cajun country to teach and visits a black youth on death row for a crime he didn't commit. Together they come to understand the heroism of resisting.
GAUTREAUX: Clearing by Tim Gautreaux
Call Number: Online from Warren County Public Library eAudiobook
ISBN: 9781449887728
Publication Date: 2011
Aldridge travels to a snake-infested Cypress mill in Louisiana to find his brother Byron, a troubled veteran of World War I.
GIBBONS: Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons
Call Number: On the Shelf under PS 3557.I13917 E4 1990 / SKYCTC Library
ISBN: 067972866X
Having suffered abuse and misfortune for much of her life, a young child searches for a better life and finally gets a break in the home of a loving woman with several foster children.
GRISHAM: Time to Kill by John Grisham
Call Number: On the Shelf under PS3557.R5355 T56 1993 / SKYCTC Library
ISBN: 0385470819
Story of retribution and justice in the small southern town of Clanton, Mississippi.
HOUSE: Clay's Quilt by Silas House
Call Number: On the Shelf under PS3558.O8659 C58 2002 / SKYCTC Library
ISBN: 9780345450692
Contemporary life in the mountains of southern Appalachia.
HURSTON: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Call Number: On the Shelf under PS 3515.U789 T5 2006 / SKYCTC Library
ISBN: 9780060838676
A Southern love story with the wit and pathos. Out of print for almost thirty years, due to the initial audiences' rejection of its strong black female protagonist--Hurston's classic has since its 1978 reissue become perhaps the most widely read and highly acclaimed novel in the canon of African-American literature.
KINGSOLVER: Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
Call Number: On the Shelf under PS3561.I496 P76 2000 / SKYCTC Library
ISBN: 0060199652
Hymn to wildness that celebrates the prodigal spirit of human nature, and of nature itself.
LEE: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Call Number: On the Shelf under PS3562.E353 T6 / SKYCTC Library
ISBN: 006017322X
Publication Date: 1995
Anniversary edition of an American classic features a new Introduction by the author.
MASON: In Country by Bobbie Ann Mason
Call Number: On the Shelf under PS3563.A7877 I5 1989 / SKYCTC Library
ISBN: 9780060835170
In the summer of 1984, the war in Vietnam came home to Sam Hughes, whose father was killed there before she was born.
MCCRUMB: Rosewood Casket by Sharyn McCrumb
Call Number: On the Shelf under Fic McCr c.3 / Warren County Public Library
ISBN: 9780525940111
Randall Stargill lies dying on his southern Appalachian farm, and his four sons have come home to build him a coffin from the cache of rosewood he long has hoarded for the special purpose.
MCCULLERS: Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
Call Number: On the Shelf under PZ3.M13884 Hea / SKYCTC Library
ISBN: 0679424741
Publication Date: 1993
The heroine is the strange young girl, Mick Kelly. The setting is a small Southern town, the cosmos universal and eternal. The characters are the damned, the voiceless, the rejected.
MORGAN: Gap Creek by Robert Morgan
Call Number: On the Shelf under PS3563.O87147 G36 2001bx / WKU Libraries (Cravens)
ISBN: 9781616201760
Young Julie Harmon works "hard as a man," they say, so hard that at times she's not sure she can stop.
MORRISON: Beloved by Morrison
Call Number: On the Shelf under PS3563.O8749 B4 1987d / SKYCTC Library
ISBN: 1400033411
Staring unflinchingly into the abyss of slavery, this spellbinding novel transforms history into a story as powerful as Exodus and as intimate as a lullaby.
QUINDLEN: Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen
Call Number: On the Shelf under PS3567.U336 B58 2000 / SKYCTC Library
ISBN: 0440226104
For eighteen years, Fran Benedetto kept her secret. And hid her bruises. And stayed with Bobby because she wanted her son to have a father.
REYNOLDS: Rapture of Canaan by Sheri Reynolds
Call Number: On the Shelf under PS3568.E8975 R36 1995 / WKU Libraries (Cravens)
ISBN: 9780425162446
At the Church of Fire and Brimstone and Gods Almighty Baptizing Wind, Grandpa Herman makes the rules for everyone, and everyone obeys, or else.
RICE: Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
Call Number: Online from Warren County Public Library eBook OverDrive
ISBN: 9780345337665
Publication Date: 1991
Confessions of a vampire. Hypnotic, shocking, and chillingly erotic.
STYRON: Sophie's Choice by William Styron
Call Number: On the Shelf under PS3569 .T9 S67 / WKU Libraries (Cravens)
ISBN: 9780679736370
Three stories are told: a young Southerner wants to become a writer; a turbulent love-hate affair between a brilliant Jew and a beautiful Polish woman; and of an awful wound in that woman's past.
TARTT: Secret History by Donna Tartt
Call Number: WKU Libraries (Cravens): PS3570.A657 S4 1992
ISBN: 0679410325
Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries.
TOOLE: Confederacy of Dunces by Toole; Percy
Call Number: Online from Warren County Public Library eBook OverDrive
ISBN: 9780802197627
Publication Date: 2007
"Original characters, denizens of New Orleans' lower depths, incredibly true-to-life dialogue, and the zaniest series of high and low comic adventures" (Henry Kisor, Chicago Sun-Times).
TOOMER: Cane by Toomer
Call Number: Open access e-book
ISBN: 9780871402103
Innovative literary work--part drama, part poetry, part fiction--powerfully evoking black life in the South.
TWAIN: Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Call Number: Online from SKYCTC Library with Username and Password / On the Shelf under PS1305 .A1 1996c / WKU Libraries (Cravens)
ISBN: 9781775412762
Huckleberry Finn, an abused outcast, rafts with Jim, a runaway slave, down the Mississippi River, where they have a variety of experiences.
WALKER: Color Purple by Alice Walker
Call Number: On the Shelf under PS3573.A425 C6 2003 / SKYCTC Library
ISBN: 9780156028356
Story of two sisters--one a missionary in Africa and the other a child wife living in the South--who sustain their loyalty to and trust in each other across time, distance, and silence.
WARD: Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
Call Number: On the Shelf under Fic Ward, Jesmyn / Warren County Public Library
ISBN: 9781608195220
About family and poverty in the days leading up to Hurricane Katrina.
WARREN: All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren
Call Number: On the Shelf under Fic Warren / Warren County Public Library / See also audio and eBook
ISBN: 9780156031042
Set in the 1930s, this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel traces the rise and fall of Willie Stark, who resembles the real-life Huey "Kingfish" Long of Louisiana.
WELTY: Delta Wedding by Eudora Welty
Call Number: On the Shelf under PS3545 .E6 D4x / WKU Libraries (Cravens)
ISBN: 9780156252805
A vivid and charming portrait of a large southern family, the Fairchilds, who live on a plantation in the Mississippi delta.
WRIGHT: Black Boy by Richard Wright
Call Number: On the Shelf under Bio Wright, Richard / Warren County Public Library
ISBN: 9780061130243
Publication Date: 2007
Richard Wright grew up in the woods of Mississippi amid poverty, hunger, fear, and hatred.

Recommended Databases

eBooks from Master Academic eBook Collection (Infobase)
With more than 2,500 core reference works from the Facts On File, Ferguson’s, and Bloom’s imprints. Coverage includes a wide range of academic subject areas—from literature and language reference, to world history, religion, and philosophy. Also includes Literary Classics eBook collection and Sacred Text eBook collection.
Ebook Central
SKYCTC's ebooks from ProQuest. Includes thousands of ebooks from leading publishers like Wiley, 130 university presses, and more. Collections cover subjects such as: biology, business management, computer science/IT, education, engineering & manufacturing, history, literature, nursing and other health-related fields, physical sciences, psychology, religious studies and sociology.

General Resources for Critical Analysis

The Companion to Southern Literature by Various
Call Number: On the Shelf under REFERENCE PS261 .C55 2002 / SKYCTC Library
ISBN: 0807126926
Treats every conceivable topic found in southern writing from the pre-Columbian era to the present, referencing specific works of all periods and genres.

Critical Analysis by Author

CAPOTE: Truman Capote by Plimpton
Call Number: On the Shelf under Bio Capote / Warren County Public Library
ISBN: 0385232497
People who knew him best tell his remarkable story.
DICKEY: One Voice of James Dickey by Van Ness; Dickey
Call Number: Online from SKYCTC Library with Campus Username and Password
ISBN: 9780826215727
Publication Date: 2005
Chronicles Dickey's career from the unparalleled success of his novel Deliverance in 1970 through his poetic experimentation in such books as The Eye Beaters, Blood, Victory, Madness, Buckhead and Mercy and Puella until his death in 1997.
ELLISON: Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man by Hill; Hill
Call Number: On the Shelf under PS3555.L625 I53525 2008 / SKYCTC Library
ISBN: 9780313334658
Gives students a thorough yet concise introduction to the novel.
GAINES: Ernest Gaines by Babb
Call Number: On the Shelf under PS3557 .A355 Z59 1991 / WKU Libraries (Cravens)
ISBN: 0805776303
Discusses the life and literary works of African-American author Ernest Gaines.
GIBBONS: Kaye Gibbons: A Critical Companion by DeMarr
Call Number: Online from SKYCTC with Campus Username and Password
ISBN: 9780313319334
Beginning with a biographical chapter, this companion shows how Gibbons's own life came to shape her fiction.
HOUSE: What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia by Catte
Call Number: On the Shelf under F217.A65 C37 2018 / WKU Libraries
ISBN: 9780998904146
Analyzes trends in contemporary writing on Appalachia, presents a brief history of Appalachia.
HURSTON: Critical Companion to Zora Neale Hurston by Jones
Call Number: Access online with SKYCTC login
ISBN: 9781438126937
A major figure in the Harlem Renaissance and an inspiration for future generations of writers.
American Women Writers by Carol Kort
Call Number: Online from SKYCTC Library with Campus Username and Password
ISBN: 9781438150086
Publication Date: 2016-02-01
American Women Writers, Third Edition profiles more than 190 such women, among them poets, essayists, journalists, editors, novelists, memoirists, and numerous other types of writers.
LEE: Harper Lee's to Kill a Mockingbird by Bloom
Call Number: Access online with SKYCTC login
ISBN: 9781438139968
Explorations of the issues of prejudice, racism, innocence, compassion, and hypocrisy.
MASON: Understanding Bobbie Ann Mason by Joanna Price
Call Number: Onlline at SKYCTC Library with Campus Username and Password
ISBN: 9781570033810
An analysis introducing Mason's nonfiction prose, short stories and novels.
MCCRUMB: From a Race of Storytellers by Holloway
Call Number: On the Shelf under PS3563 .C3527 Z75 2003 / WKU Libraries (Cravens)
ISBN: 9780865548930
Publication Date: 2003
Articles and essays about all aspects of McCrumb's work, including the ballad novels
MCCULLERS: Carson Mccullers by Bloom
Call Number: Online from SKYCTC Library with Campus Username and Password
ISBN: 9781438119274
Critical portrait and bibliographic information that directs readers to additional resources for further study
MORRISON: Bloom's How to Write about Toni Morrison by Burton; Bloom
Call Number: On the Shelf under PS3563.O8749 Z575 2008 / SKYCTC Library
ISBN: 9780791095485
See section on Beloved. Paper-topic suggestions, clearly outlined strategies on how to write a strong essay, and an insightful introduction by Harold Bloom on writing about Morrison.
Quindlen: American Women Writers by Kort
Call Number: Online from SKYCTC Library with Campus Username and Password
ISBN: 9781438150086
Publication Date: 2016
Profiles more than 190 such women, among them poets, essayists, journalists, editors, novelists, memoirists, and numerous other types of writers.
RICE: Popular Fiction by Gelder
Call Number: Online from SKYCTC Library with Campus Username and Password
ISBN: 9780415356473
Examines five bestselling popular novelists in detail to see how popular fiction is used, discussed and identified in contemporary culture.
STYRON: Letters to My Father by Styron; West
Call Number: Online from SKYCTC Library with Campus Username and Password
ISBN: 9780807134009
Detailing adventures, works, and ruminations on the craft of writing.
TARTT: Very Telling by Johnson
Call Number: On the Shelf under PS129 .V49 2006 / WKU Libraries (Cravens)
ISBN: 9781584655947
Publication Date: 2006
Interviews with some of today's most popular and accomplished writers, including Donna Tartt
TOOLE: Encyclopedia of the American Novel
Call Number: Online from SKYCTC Library with Campus Username and Password
ISBN: 9781438140698
See entry for Toole.
TOOMER: Cane by Toomer; Byrd; Gates
Call Number: On the Shelf under PS3539.O478 C3 2011 / SKYCTC Library
ISBN: 9780393931686
Critical and biographical information on the novel
TWAIN: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Bloom
Call Number: Access online with SKYCTC login
ISBN: 9781438176918
Critical analysis, timeline, and bibliography.
WARD: African-American Literature by Hoover
Call Number: Access online with SKYCTC login
ISBN: 9781438140599
See entry for Ward.
Warren: Encyclopedia of the American Novel
Call Number: Online from SKYCTC Library with Campus Username and Password
ISBN: 9781438140698
See entry for Warren.
WELTY: Eudora Welty by Bloom
Call Number: Online from SKYCTC Library with Campus Username and Password
ISBN: 9781438115221
Publication Date: 2009
Mississippi Pulitzer Prize winner.

Articles and Websites

AGEE: Article from Harvard Crimson Review
Themes in the novel.
AGEE: Article from Southern Literary Journal
Examines the restoration of the book "A Death in the Family" by James Agee. The author claims that the book was an autobiography of James Agee and was restored and edited by Michael A. Lofaro.
AGEE: National Endowment for the Humanities Article
Discussion of his life and work. By Danny Heitman.
CAPOTE: National Endowment for the Humanities
Article on life and works
CAPOTE: New York Times Article
Discusses effect of writing In Cold Blood
CHOPIN: Kate Chopin International Society
Resource list for Chopin's The Awakening
CHOPIN: PBS Re-Awakening Program
Program transcript with scholar interviews and additional resources.
DICKEY: New Georgia Encyclopedia
Discussion of life and works
DICKEY:
ELLISON: Article from The New Yorker
Discussion of Invisible Man and the author.
ELLISON: Library of Congress
Overview of life and work.
FAULKNER: Biography
Overview of life and career at biography.com
FAULKNER: Ledgers of History from the Library of Congress
Discusses the existence of a wealthy plantation owner's mid-1800s diary that had been read by William Faulkner and served as the great author's source for names, incidents and details in his prize-winning novels.
GAINES: Academy of Achievement Article
Discussion of life and works.
GAUTREAUX: New Orleans Public Radio
Susan Larson interview with the author includes background information and a focus on short stories and his humor.
GAUTREAUX: Southern Spaces Interview
Background information and interview
GIBBONS: Biographical material
Kaye Gibbons Archive at the University of South Carolina
GIBBONS: New Southerners
Kaye Gibbons reads from and talks about two of her books, Ellen Foster and Charms for the Easy Life. From Soundings Project from the National Humanities Center
GRISHAM: Interview from Amazon Books
"How I Wrote It" interview on Bookends
GRISHAM: National Book Festival Video
Interview with Grisham at the National Book Festival in 2009 from the Library of Congress.
HOUSE: KET Documentary
Discusses writing and biographical information
HOUSE: ReadingGroup Review and Guide
Overview of Clay's Quilt with biographical information and discussion questions.
HOUSE: WKU Interview and Reading
Discusses writing and life
HURSTON: Biographical material
Resources on her life and career at biography.com
KINGSOLVER: Harvard Crimson Article
Madeline Ross discusses Prodigal Summer
LEE: Article from National Endowment for the Humanities
50 years of reactions to To Kill a Mockingbird
LEE: New York Times Article on Lee's Death at 89
MASON: Biographical material
Short biography from Encyclopedia Britannica
MASON: Bobbie Ann Mason Book Fest 05 from the Library of Congress
Bobbie Ann Mason speaks at the National Book Festival.
MCCRUMB: Interview from Appalachian Voices
About the Ballad novels. Interview with Sharon McCrumb by Tonia Moxley.
MCCRUMB: Interview on My Appalachia
Appalachian author Sharyn McCrumb, who was in Kingsport, Tennessee, promoting The Unquiet Grave.
MCCRUMB: Rosewood Casket Site
Overview of novel and discussion questions.
MCCULLERS: New Georgia Encyclopedia
Discussion of life and works
MCWHORTER: Harvard Gazette
Discusses updates and background for Carry Me Home.
MCWHORTER: Pulitzer Prize
Overview of McWhorter's Pulitzer Prize and background for Carry Me Home.
MORGAN: Raleigh Television Network Interview
Stacey Cochran interviews Morgan about writing
MORGAN: ReadingGroup Review and Guide
Overview of Gap Creek with biographical information and discussion questions.
MORRISON: Biography
Various resources from Biography.com
MORRISON: National Book Festival
Webcast of Morrison at the 2011 National Book Festival
QUINDLEN: National Book Festival
Library of Congress webcast with transcript of Quindlen speaking.
QUINDLEN: NPR Interview
Interview "Over 50, And Having 'Plenty Of Cake'"
REYNOLDS: Davidson University Interview
Overview of interview with Reynolds on reading, writing, literature, and the future
REYNOLDS: Discovery Virginia
In Other Words, Voices of Virginia interview regarding writing and Rapture of Canaan
RICE: Encyclopedia of Gothic Literature
See entry for Rice.
RICE: NPR Interview
Conversation with Liane Hansen about Vampire novels.
STYRON: Biography.com Resource
STYRON: C-SPAN William Styron: A Life by James West III
Traces the life and writings of Mr. Styron and his beginnings in literature to his fight for public understanding of depression as a disease.
TARTT: KWBU Radio Review
Jim McKeown reviews The Secret History on "Likely Stories"
TARTT: New York Times Review
Review of The Secret History
TOOLE: Washington Post Article
Background information
TOOLE: Wall Street Journal
Article by Danny Heitman covers themes of Dunces and some biographical information on the author.
TOOMER: New Georgia Encyclopedia
Overview of life and works by Keith Hulett, University of Georgia Libraries
TOOMER: New York Times Article
Article about Toomer's life as a Harlem Renaissance writer by Felicia Lee.
TWAIN: "Scrapbook" of His Life from PBS
Interactive writings and artifacts in a digital format.
TWAIN: Biography
Various resources from Biography.com
WALKER: 30 Years of Color Purple from BookTV
Walker discusses her book 30 years after its publication.
WALKER: New Georgia Encyclopedia
Overview of life and works. By Qiana Whitted, Yale University.
WARD: New York Times Review
Parul Sehgal reviews Salvage the Bones
WARD: NPR All Things Considered
Writing Mississippi: Jesmyn Ward Salvages Stories of the Silenced
WARREN: PBS Documentary
Life and career
WARREN: Oral History Project from UK Libraries
Contains interviews with Warren and his friends, relatives, and colleagues.
WELTY: Eudora Welty Foundation
Discussion of life and works.
WELTY: Smithsonian Video
Presentation on Welty's photography, life, and writing.
WRIGHT: National Endowment for the Humanities and University of Kansas
Making the Wright Connection: An Online Community for the Study of Richard Wright with archives, audio, and critical discussion.
WRIGHT: Yale University
Lecture from Professor Amy Hungerford on Wright's novel and his "uncompromising portrait of America’s failed ideals at a time when those ideals are being tested during the Second World War."