From Booklist
Men and women, black and white--all four categories are represented in this exciting anthology of southern autobiographical writing. Editor Watkins' introduction extols the virtues of memoir writing in a region where fiction generally overshadows other forms. And proving his point is Harriet Jacobs, author of an exceptionally effective slave narrative, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (published in 1861), who brings home the awfulness of having to deal with sexual abuse from a master. And quite different in time and point but no less proof of Watkins' premise, contemporary novelist Larry Brown, in an excerpt from his memoir On Fire, heartrendingly writes about the death of his dog while he was away on a reading tour. As outstanding as they are, these examples of the wealth of material presented here are only two of the powerful reading experiences to be encountered. Brad Hooper


Book Description
In this marvelous anthology thirty-one of the South's finest writers--from Kaye Gibbons and Reynolds Price, to Eudora Welty and Richard Wright--make their intensely personal contributions to a vibrant collective picture of southern life.In the hands of these superb artists, the South's rich tradition of storytelling is brilliantly revealed. Whether slave or master, intellectual or "redneck," each voice in this moving and unforgettable collection is proof that southern literature richly deserves its reputation for irreverent humor, exquisite language, a feeling for place, and an undying, often heartbreaking sense of the past.


From the Inside Flap
In this marvelous anthology thirty-one of the South's finest writers--from Kaye Gibbons and Reynolds Price, to Eudora Welty and Richard Wright--make their intensely personal contributions to a vibrant collective picture of southern life.

In the hands of these superb artists, the South's rich tradition of storytelling is brilliantly revealed. Whether slave or master, intellectual or "redneck," each voice in this moving and unforgettable collection is proof that southern literature richly deserves its reputation for irreverent humor, exquisite language, a feeling for place, and an undying, often heartbreaking sense of the past.

FROM THE PUBLISHER