Speak So I Shall Know Thee: Interviews with Southern Writers

I agree with that.... The poetry in the country has become sort of a company affair where support for the arts has just about ruined the arts and the system of bureaucrats managing the funds that are being developed here and there, is turning into trade unionism, which may be the best way to write poetry, but it is unfamiliar to me--A.R. Ammons, when asked if he agreed that the United States has not produced a major poet in the last 30 years. This comprehensive collection contains 31 interviews in which contemporary Southern writers talk about their craft, the trials and tribulations of writing, and about themselves. Poets, short story writers, and novelists are represented, including firmly established writers side by side with newly emerging talent--Lee Smith, James Dickey, A.R. Ammons, Harry Crews, Pat Conroy, Doris Bett, and Pulitzer Prize winner Donald Justice. Their discussions address what it means to be a Southern writer today, the current Southern literary scene, how one becomes a writer, advice for the beginner, the writer's early childhood experience, and many other matters.