What do novelists like William Faulkner and Eudora Welty have in common that defines them by the honorific “Southern writer”? Is it growing up the region, with its warm, humid climate, that provides rich inspiration? Does a history marked by rebellion, loss, and economic struggle shape a certain outlook? Or societal stratification and racism? Or an identity shaped by family and a code of honesty, fortitude, and bravery?
Lisbeth Strimple Fuisz, a lecturer in the English Department at Georgetown University, leads spirited lectures and informal discussions about four authors—William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, John Kennedy Toole, and Ernest Gaines—whose works uniquely define what it means to write about the South.
Participants should read featured book prior to the session. Sherry and cookies are available for refreshment.
FEATURED BOOK
The Optimist’s Daughter (1972), Eudora Welty (Jackson, Mississippi)
This Pulitzer Prize-winning novel tells the story of Laurel McKelva Hand, a young woman who has left the South. She returns, years later, to be with her dying father, and alone in her old home, she comes to an understanding of the past.
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