Reviewed by Matthew Simmons 150 years after the end of the Civil War, I sit in Columbia, South Carolina. The banner that the local university’s football coach once called “That Damn Flag” has come down, to the joy of some and the consternation of others. In the spring of this year, I worked on a […]
May Read of the Month: “Harlow,” by David Armand
May 7, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Dixon Hearne David Armand’s new novel, Harlow, is a compelling read on several levels. The story deals with universal themes of alienation, oppression, futility, resilience and hope – and all unfolding in raw and biting detail. Other reviewers have already parsed Harlow’s plot, character, setting, and theme. Far more salient in this new […]
January Read of the Month: “Sailing to Alluvium,” by John Pritchard
January 15, 2014 by 1 Comment
Reviewed by Michael Pitts In the third installment to the “Junior Ray Saga,” John Pritchard demonstrates his prowess for celebrating the unique world that is the Mississippi Delta. A delightfully obscene and irreverent burlesque tale, Sailing to Alluvium follows the “diktective” work of the loveable Junior Ray Loveblood and his pal Voyd Mudd. As […]
“Leaving Tuscaloosa,” by Walter Bennett
July 11, 2013 by 2 Comments
Reviewed by Amy Susan Wilson In his novel Leaving Tuscaloosa, Walter Bennett creates a haunting fictional world steeped in a gripping story that raises questions regarding our moral obligations to human communities. The novel is set in the Deep South of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in 1962. This is the year before Bull Connor turned his fire […]
Meredith Edwards
March 27, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Meredith Edwards is a junior at Furman University majoring in English and French. She hails from Pendleton, South Carolina, a town known by its residents for dusty antique stores and heavily enforced single-digit speed limits. The first distinctly Southern novel she read was The Sound and the Fury, a work of art that so much […]