South Carolina Books

Especially for those who have relatives who grew up in San Diego, Texas.

I am surprised that this is the first review. I just bought my second copy, having given my first to my grown daughter.

The poem Sweet Tea by John Lane is worth the price of the book, or more. Actually that poem and most of the poems are priceless gems. I do live in South Carolina, but I was born a Yankee.

No matter, this is a wonderful book of poetry from South Carolina poets.

Mary P Jones
(ginger jones)

Ms. Nidiffer's thrilling account which unfolds from person to person, scene to scene and then back again, left me on the edge of my seat and unable to put this book down. Her in-depth interviews in chronological order hold her audience captive with startling realism and candor. Ms. Nidiffer has truly done her research here. It should come as no surprise that you may find your eyes watering from time to time as the stories of deaths and heroics are revealed. This is a story of a tragedy that can truly happen anywhere and how one small community came together as one.

Gillian Hanson provides her audience with a comprehensive and technically wonderful critical analysis of Silitoe's works - in effect, a brilliant overview of one the twentieth century's greatest writers. Hanson displays an amazing aptitude for conveying the inherent meaning in Silitoe's writing - an almost uncanny understanding of the thoughts and emotions that drove his fiction. It is an excellent choice for either scholarly efforts or casual reading - highly recommended.

Although best known for her prize winning play 'Crimes of the Heart, Ms. Henley has written numerous other plays, some award winning, some made into movies but all of then generally being considered as preserving regional theater voices to the stage and doing so with a wider appeal.

This book, one of a series on contemporary American writers. They are designed to explain the regional variations, the deviations from the standard form if you will that new writers keep evolving. The books explain the material, themes, use of language, point of view, structures, symbolism and responses of the writer. It shows the reader what the author is attempting to express and the means by which it is conveyed. They are not an attempt to take the place of the writers art, but to provide for the reader certain background information that makes the reader have a more profitable literary experience.

This book by Dr. Andreach discusses Ms. Henley's plays in a way that shows how her craft is developing over time and the relationship between her works from first to last.

Understanding Charles Johnson is a work of literary criticism that introduces the reader to the fiction of one of America's most acclaimed contemporary African-American writers. The first African-American male since Ralph Ellison to win the National Book Award (in 1990 for "Middle Passage"), Johnson's works carry deep-seated concern for African-American culture, an abiding interest in Western philosophy, a commitment to Buddhism and the impact of its principles, and more. Author and associate professor of English Gary Storhoff goes so far as to suggest that Buddhism is the linchpin of Johnson's work as he analyzes six classics: "Faith and the Good Thing", "Oxherding Tale", "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", "Middle Passage", "Dreamer", and "Soulcatcher and Other Stories." An erudite, literate, and welcome addition to African-American literary studies shelves.

An unusually clear and concise introduction to several areas of American Literary Theory. All to often, books of this sort are written by professors for an audience of professors. Dr. Spikes' book, instead, is an excellent tool for students and general readers intent on understanding just a little better the texts they read.

Clareson has created an entertaining examination of the development of American Science Fiction from the pulp magazines in the twenties and thirties to ground breaking and innovative novels existent at the end of the sixties. He shows the progression of modern science fiction and fantasy by exploring and developing the genesis of current tropes taken as a given by the modern reader. In the process of developing his themes, he revives the memory of writers now forgotten and out of print. After reading this work, I sought out the novels of Mack Reynolds, Cordwainer Smith, Samuel R. Delaney, Leigh Brackett, and Poul Anderson. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that many of the ideas and themes of Iain Banks, Charles Stross, and Neal Asher had been explored many years before. All in all, Clareson's text is interesting, eye opening, informative, and a rich resource for anyone interested in the formative years of Science Fiction.

Understanding Contemporary Chicana Literature uses the works of six notable Chicana authors to reveal common themes, images and concerns which make their writing part of a larger growing Latina community of work. Prose, novels, poetry and short works of Bernize Zamora, Ana Castillo, Sandra Cisneros, Denise Chavez, Alma Luz Villanueva and Lorna Dee Cervantes are considered in an assessment essential to any ethnic collection.

Though priced for flush university libraries rather than for skint individuals, this is an intelligent critique of DFW's work to date. Following an introduction, there are separate chapters on each of the 4 fiction books (the essays are discussed only in passing), illuminating the philosophical and aesthetic concerns of each book in a clear style with minimal academic jargon. Even longtime Wallace fans will find the book enlightening, and first-time readers couldn't hope for a better introduction to one of the most important American writers of our time. Highly recommended.