South and West: From A Notebook

From one of the most important chroniclers of our time, come two extended excerpts from her never-before-seen notebooks–writings that offer an illuminating glimpse into the mind and process of a legendary writer. Joan Didion has always kept notebooks: of overheard dialogue, observations, interviews, drafts of essays and articles Here is one such draft that traces a road trip she took with her husband, John Gregory Dunne, in June 1970, through Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. She interviews prominent local figures, describes motels, diners, a deserted reptile farm, a visit with Walker Percy, a ladies' brunch at the Mississippi Broadcasters' Convention. She writes about the stifling heat, the almost viscous pace of life, the sulfurous light, and the preoccupation with race, class, and heritage she finds in the small towns they pass through. And from a different notebook: the "California Notes" that began as an assignment from Rolling Stone on the Patty Hearst trial of 1976. Though Didion never wrote the piece, watching the trial and being in San Francisco triggered thoughts about the city, its social hierarchy, the Hearsts, and her own upbringing in Sacramento. Here, too, is the beginning of her thinking about the West, its landscape, the western women who were heroic for her, and her own lineage. In South and West, Joan Didion, one of the best authors of the 20th century, offers a unique autobiography through her travelogues. Her collections provide a rich history of the United States, filled with literary criticism and observations. For fans of Alissa Wilkinson (We Tell Ourselves Stories), Griffin Dunne (The Friday Afternoon Club), Sylvia Plath (Sylvia Plath Poems Chosen by Carol Ann Duffy), Patti Smith (Year of the Monkey), and Deborah Levy (The Position of Spoons).