Southern literature is defined as literature about the American South, written by authors who were either brought up in the South, spent many years in the South, or came from southern parents. But exactly where does the "South" begin and end? Geographically, the South can reach as far west as Arkansas, Missouri, and Texas, and as far north as Kentucky, and Virginia.

Southern lit can be a paradox. Mark Twain, arguably the Father of Southern Literature, defined the characteristics that we associate with southern writing today. He even referred to himself as a southern writer, yet Missouri is not the first state we think of when we think of "the South." For Missouri, southern culture mostly exists in the Ozark Mountain region, which lies in the southern part of the state. And, of course, Twain grew up in Hannibal, a river town in northern Missouri.

Characteristics of southern literature are: the significance of family, a sense of community and one’s role within it, the community's dominating religion and the burden religion often brings, land and the promise it brings, and the use of southern dialect. History is held in high regard in the South, and so, the historical significance of the southern town in their stories is usually discussed at length.

When most people think of southern literature, they think of those 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 hand. This is referred to as the Southern Renaissance. It was during the Southern Renaissance that William Faulkner introduced us to his complex narrative techniques as in As I Lay Dying and Katherine Anne Porter used religious symbolism in her collection of short stories. And it was during this time that Robert Penn Warren wrote his highly-acclaimed novel All the King’s Men.

Truman Capote, born and raised in the deep south, is best known for his novel In Cold Blood, a brilliantly written piece with absolutely none of the characteristics associated with "southern writing." Then there are writers like Katherine Anne Porter and Cormac McCarthy who blend both southern and western storytelling styles.

This brings up an interesting issue in southern literature, namely what makes a writer southern. Purists believe that only writers born and raised in the U.S. Southern states qualify. This view comes from a belief that only natives of the south can capture the unique culture there. Others say that any writer who moves to the region also qualifies as a southern writer, especially in an increasingly mobile United States where fewer and fewer people stay in one place all their lives.

Interestingly, many writers from the south headed north as soon as they were old enough to break out on their own. So while geography is a factor, southern writing is much more.

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

See also: Southern Gothic

External Links

Where is the South in Today's Southern Literature? http://www.storysouth.com/summer2002/wheresouth.html Explores changes in southern literature

Southern Literary Review http://www.southernlitreview.com Book reviews. Profiles of southern authors. Directory of southern authors by state. Bookstore.

Southern Scribe http://www.southernscribe.com/ News and reviews about southern lit. Includes a helpful calendar of pertinent events.

storySouth http://www.storysouth.com A journal of new writings from the American south.

Tell about the South.

What's it like there?

What do they do there?

Why do they live there?

Why do they live at all?"

~William Faulkner,

Absalom, Absalom!