Southern Literature & GA Authors:

AN OVERVIEW

What is Southern Literature?• Sometimes called the literature of the American

South

• American literature about the Southern United States or by writers from this region.

• Can also be written by authors who were either brought up in the South, spent many years in the South, or came from southern parents

• Authors who were distant enough from slavery and the civil war to write objectively, but still close enough to the long-reaching effects of the war to feel its oppressive, hard-hitting hand.

William Faulkner / Mark Twain

• William Faulkner - considered the leading figure in Southern Literature

• Influenced southern writers more than anyone since Mark Twain. 

• Twain is often called the father of American literature

• Referred to himself as a southern writer even though Missouri is not the first state we think of when we think of “the South”.

Southern Literature States:Geographically, the South can reach as far west as Oklahoma and

Texas, and as far north as Kentucky, and Virginia.  Some might argue for the inclusion of parts of Illinois, Tennessee, or even Maryland.

Characteristics of Southern/GA Literature:

• The significance of family • A sense of community and one’s role

within it• The community’s dominating religion

and the burdens/rewards religion often brings

• The land and the promise it brings• A sense of social class• The issues of racial tension• The use of southern dialect

Additional Characteristics of Southern Literature:

Has a sense of human limitation (moral dilemma) Values manners/genteel decorum Involves elaborate celebrations Speaks with candidness Inclined to use humor: exaggeration, fish tales, &

whoppers May use profanity Involves recurring themes & motifs: Mom, trains, the

country, pickups, old dogs, & drinking Is character driven Shows reluctance to give up anyone or anything

once accepted.

Southern Literature Today:

So while geography is a factor, southern writing is much more…

Today, Southern literature continues to thrive with authors like Pat Conry, Fannie Flagg, Alice Walker, Tom Wolfe, and Wendell Berry.

Southern Literature/GA Author Awards:

The 100 Best Books in the History of Literature:

• Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison• Absalom, Absalom by William Faulkner• The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner• Best-Selling U.S. Hardcover Fiction: • Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1937)• Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1936)• Black Caucus of the American Library Association Literary

Award for Fiction: A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines (1994)

Library Journal's Most Influential Fiction of the 20th Century:

• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (#1)• Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (#4)• The Color Purple by Alice Walker (#6)• Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (#28)• The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner (#47)• Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

(#78)• A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor

(#87)• All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren (#94)• A Death in the Family by James Agee (#99)• The Moviegoer by Walker Percy (#136)• The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers

(#142)• National Book Critics Circle Award: • Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines (1993)• All the Pretty Horses Cormac McCarthy (1992)

BOOKS MADE INTO MOVIES:A Time to Kill (1996), based on the novel by John GrishamAll the King's Men (2006), based on the novel by Robert Penn WarrenBallad of the Sad Cafe (1991), based on the novel by Carson McCullersBastard Out of Carolina (1996), based on the novel by Dorothy AllisonBreakfast at Tiffany's (1961), based on the novel by Truman CapoteCavedweller (2004), based on the novel by Dorothy AllisonColor Purple, The (1985), based on the novel by Alice WalkerDeliverance (1972), based on the novel by James DickeyFried Green Tomatoes (1991), based on the novel by Fannie FlaggGone With the Wind (1939), based on the novel by Margaret MitchellInterview with the Vampire (1994), based on the novel by Anne RiceKiller Diller (2004), based on the novel by Clyde EdgertonLords of Discipline (1983), based on the novel by Pat ConroyPelican Brief (1993), based on the novel by John GrishamPrince of Tides (1991), based on the novel by Pat ConroyWalking Across Egypt (1999), based on the novel by Clyde Edgerton

National Book Award:

• The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (1953)• The Moviegoer by Walker Percy (1962)• The Color Purple by Alice Walker (1983-

Hardcover Fiction)• All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy

(1992)

Pulitzer Prize: The Color Purple by Alice Walker (1983)

GA Author/Southern Literature Websites:

A Southern List: A List of 125 Great Southern Books (http://www.ageefilms.org/southern_books.html)"While creating the award-winning documentary series, TELL ABOUT THE SOUTH: Voices in Black and White, the James Agee Film Project conducted a poll of book editors, publishers, scholars and reviewers, asking which of the thousands of Southern prose works published during the past century should be considered "the most remarkable works of modern Southern Literature."

Guide to Southern Writers - ARLS Pathfinder (http://www.clarke.public.lib.ga.us/pathfinders/southernauthors/swriters.html)A collection of resources compiled by the Athens-Clarke County Library on southern writers including quotes, dewey decimal call numbers, book citations and web sites.

Reader's Advice: Serious Southern Fiction (http://www.readersadvice.com/readadv/000115.html)Extensive listing of authors and titles.

Southern Literary Review (http://www.southernlitreview.com/)Includes author profiles, original content, book reviews, critical essays and more.

Southern Scribe (http://www.southernscribe.com/)"...a clearinghouse of information for working writers in the South and for those writing about the southern region. This information includes: resources for writing opportunities; research; and regional book news."

GA Author List:GEORGIA AUTHORS

Conrad Aiken Richard Malcolm JouhstonTina McElroy Ansa Tayari JonesVereen Bell Terry KayOlive Ann Burns James KilgoErskine Caldwell John Oliver KillensRosalynn Carter Sidney LanierBrainard Cheney Augustus Baldwin LongstreetPearl Cleage Grace LumpkinPat Conroy Carson McCullersHarry Crews James Alan McPhersonRosemary Daniell Caroline MillerJanice Daugharty Margaret MitchellOssie Davis Frances NewmanCarmen Deedy Flannery O'ConnorJames Dickey Ludlow PorchPam Durban Eugenia PriceAugusta Jane Evans (Wilson) Byron Herbert ReeseBerry Fleming John Rollin RidgeFrancis Fontaine Ferrol SamsHenry W. Grady Celeste SibleyLewis Grizzard Anne Rivers SiddonsJulien Green Marian McCamy SimsAnthony Grooms Lillian SmithEvelyn Hanna William Tappan ThompsonWill Harben Janelle TaylorCorra Harris Jean ToomerJoel Chandler Harris Alfre UlryMary Hood Alice WalkerMac Hyman Philip Lee WilliamsHa Jin Calder WillinghamGreg Johnson Frank Yerby

www.georgiaencyclopedia.org

Project? – YAY!!!NAME ___________________________________________ Date ______________________________ Period ________

GA Author WEBQUEST - PC LA - 8th Grade

Georgia Author's Name:

WHERE BORN / RAISED / LIVED

EDUCATION / DEGREE

BIG BREAK / FIRST PUBLISHED

OTHER BOOKS (DATES)

INSPIRATION

AWARDS / BEST SELLERS

IMPORTANT EVENTS IN LIFE

ACHIEVMENTS AFTER DEATH

OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Task:1. From the provided list, choose two GA or southern writers to

explore.2. Use the Web Quest guidelines to find out background information

on each author.3. Determine which characteristics of southern literature they have

in common in their writing.4. Create a project with the following components: Timeline of significant events (8+) in each author’s life. Comparison display with a minimum of four commonalities. Project must use color.*The type of display you create is up to you. *When you present you must be able to discuss your authors in depth without reading notes!

HAVE FUN!