The New Georgia Encyclopedia Companion to Georgia Literature - Softcover

9780820328768: The New Georgia Encyclopedia Companion to Georgia Literature

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0820328766 ISBN 13: 9780820328768

Publisher: University of Georgia Press, 2007

Georgia has played a formative role in the writing of America. Few states have produced a more impressive array of literary figures, among them Conrad Aiken, Erskine Caldwell, James Dickey, Joel Chandler Harris, Carson McCullers, Flannery O'Connor, Jean Toomer, and Alice Walker.

This volume contains biographical and critical discussions of Georgia writers from the nineteenth century to the present as well as other information pertinent to Georgia literature. Organized in alphabetical order by author, the entries discuss each author's life and work, contributions to Georgia history and culture, and relevance to wider currents in regional and national literature. Lists of recommended readings supplement most entries.

Especially important Georgia books have their own entries: works of social significance such as Lillian Smith's Strange Fruit, international publishing sensations like Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind, and crowning artistic achievements including Jean Toomer's Cane. The literary culture of the state is also covered, with information on the Georgia Review and other journals; the Georgia Center for the Book, which promotes authors and reading; and the Townsend Prize, given in recognition of the year's best fiction. This is an essential volume for readers who want both to celebrate and learn more about Georgia's literary heritage.

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About the Author:

HUGH RUPPERSBURG is Emeritus University Professor of English at the University of Georgia. He is the literature section editor of the New Georgia Encyclopedia.

Review:

A literary Godsend . . . Once in a blue moon a book comes across my desk that I can really use. I mean 'use' as opposed to 'read'; a book that will become part of my reference collection and will serve me well in my literary work. The most recent of such books [is] The New Georgia Encyclopedia Companion to Georgia Literature . . . A tremendous resource . . . A fine new volume. As a literary professional, let me say a very big 'thank you' to those who made this volume possible. You have made my job an awful lot easier . . . and I'm very grateful.

(St. John Flynn Cover to Cover, Georgia Public Broadcasting)

Countering Mencken's image of a cultural wasteland, the Companion to Georgia Literature affirms the richness and vigor of the state's literary landscape. (Joan Wiley Hall Mississippi Quarterly)

These days the South likes to see itself as more specific regions, customarily divided by state lines. An example is The New Georgia Encyclopedia Companion to Georgia Literature. The editor’s range is particularly good, reaching from James Dickey and John Oliver Killens to Harry Crews and Judith Ortiz Cofer. (American Literary Scholarship)

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