This weekend marked Harper Lee’s birth 86 years ago and I could think of no better occasion than the birthday of one of the most celebrated and famously un-prolific Southern writers to return to blogging after a long absence. In fact, it was watching a recent documentary on Lee that brought a question to mind. What makes some Southerners* such darn good writers? Upon reflection, I settled on five factors I believe contribute to the quality of Southern prose.
1. Southerners, almost without exception, have chips on their shoulders. The reasons for this are many, varied, and depend on the particular Southerner. Some of the most obvious are that the South lost the Civil War and — both literally and figuratively — has never been able to recover. Another is that when people who aren’t familiar with the region think of it, vivid imagery from novels like Deliverance spring to mind. That 1970 book penned by Southerner James Dickey portrayed Georgia mountain folk as “toothless sociopaths” in the words or one New York Times article, and showed that — when necessary — even Southern city boys could become sociopaths, albeit with better teeth. And, though people who are familiar with the South know not every trip to the backwoods ends in peril, we have to admit some do.
2. Southerners are their own antagonists. Historically, we’ve seemed to sabotage our own progress on almost every front. I believe this is true economically, socially and racially. As just one example, we are the group that has lived and worked side-by-side with African Americans for the longest period of our shared histories. Slave owners were perhaps the best known and most prolific “race mixers.” But rather than parlaying that rocky history into solidarity after all these years, the South is still viewed as the region with the thorniest race relations. This self-sabotage is perhaps best illustrated in William Faulkner’s novel Absalom! Absalom! And, for those without the patience for Faulkner’s prose, the sentiment can probably best be expressed by the quote from the Pogo comic strip, notably set in the Okefenokee Swamp: “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
3. Southerners are natural storytellers. Not much happens in small Southern towns, so the storytellers among us learn early and often to embellish even the most everyday occurrences. For example, I know one ophiophobic Arkansan who can stretch a story about a backyard run in with a snake into an amusing hour-long yarn. This particular lady is such a storyteller that her own husband didn’t believe her when she called him from a hospital emergency room to report she’d had a heart attack. This factor helps explain why Southerners have written some of the most entertaining memoirs, including The Liar’s Club and All Over But the Shoutin’. It also makes a fair case that these tomes may not exactly qualify as nonfiction by the textbook definition of the term.
4. Southerners can’t eat all the time. The next best thing is thinking — and writing about — food. Food permeates Southern literature like the scent of baking fruitcake and evergreen runs through every sentence of Truman Capote’s “A Christmas Memory.” And there’s not much to envy about Maya’ Angelou’s early life except the food. This mouth-watering passage from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is enough to make vegans crave a butter-soaked cathead biscuit with ham: 
“On Sunday mornings Momma served a breakfast that was geared to hold us quiet from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. She fried thick pink slabs of home-cured ham and poured grease over sliced red tomatoes. Eggs over easy, fried potatoes and onions, yellow hominy and a crisp perch fried so hard we would pop them in our mouths and chew bones, fins and all. Her cathead biscuits were at least three inches in diameter and two inches thick. The trick to eating catheads was to get the butter on them before they got cold—then they were delicious. When, unluckily, they were allowed to get cool, they tended to a gooeyness, not unlike a wad of tired gum.”
5. Interesting dialects lend themselves to great dialogue. Thanks to mass media, American language is becoming depressingly homogeneous. Readers crave well-crafted exceptions to that rule. Dialogue that effectively reflects the unique ways people speak in a particular part of the world sings with authenticity. I would also argue that dialect-infused dialogue is one of the reasons so many native New Yorkers are great writers, as illustrated by the fact three of the 10 writers on this best-of list are from the South while three called New York City home. Here’s just one of many examples of dialect from To Kill a Mockingbird. Drop me a line if you need a translation.
“Not the same chiffarobe you busted up?’ asked Atticus.
The witness smiled. ‘Naw, suh, another one. Most as tall as the room. So I done what she told me, an’ I was just reachin’ when the next thing I knows she – she’d grabbed me round the legs, grabbed me round th’ legs, Mr. Finch. She scared me so bad I hopped down an’ turned the chair over – that was the only thing, only furniture ‘sturbed in that room, Mr. Finch, when I left it. I swear it ‘fore God.’”—————
* I do not consider myself one of these great Southern writers, but I did enjoy crafting this post and reading about writing. I have included additional links below:
http://www.ket.org/livingbywords/roots/thesouth.htm
http://citizenkerry.tumblr.com/post/18493365073/a-southerner-shares-his-thoughts-on-race-relations
http://www.clarke.public.lib.ga.us/pathfinders/southernauthors/swriters.html
Charlene Oldham 
This was very enjoyable and honest.
http://www.charliemccoin.wordpress.com
Charlie 😀
Thanks. I look forward to reading more from you, too.
Likewise! 😀
http://www.charliemccoin.wordpress.com
Great post, Charlene! A lot to think about and consider here. It’s also true about the presence of food in Southern writing. Almost on the same level as the French!
Thanks. You should check out Maya Angelou’s cookbook if you haven’t already. It takes a lot to make me want to cook tripe, but …
Great points, here. Gotta love some good southern cookin’ an’ writin’. I’ll be reading TKAMB this week… even though I’ve read it 4 times previously, it never gets old. Hm, I’m thinkin’ I’ll treat myself to the movie this week, as well!
If you have time, the PBS documentary on Harper Lee is worth it.
Thanks for stopping by my blog wadadlipen.wordpress.com to share this. To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my favourite books of all time, if not number one. And I love all things Maya. I’m a Caribbean Writer but a few things you said resonated; including being natural storytellers, food lovers – with a distinct culinary legacy, and embracing the natural sing of our many regional dialects…then there’s the darkness and tensions as well having to do with the legacies of slavery and colonialism. And tout monde sam and bagai finds its way into our literature. I hope you’ll check out my new book Oh Gad! to see what I mean. But I really just wanted to say I enjoyed this article.
Joanne C. Hillhouse
The natural sing — I love that.
I love lots of things in this, but (1) the idea that small towns lead to natural storytelling skills, And (2) so honored that you included a link to the interview series over at citizenkerry.com and (3) that it took Harper Lee’s bday to bring you back to blogging. Welcome back!
Darn that working for money. I really cuts into my blogging time!
I am aiming to post once a week. We will see how THAT goes.
I love this! My book for middle-graders coming out in late summer is set in the south with a southern point of view. I hope I have nailed it. 🙂
Thanks. I am looking forward to reading your book.
You have wonderful insight Charlene and a gifted hand to express your thoughts. Keep writing and thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much for the kind words! I am thinking about a new post on the animals in our lives and what inspires us to write about them.
The ideas that inspire us is the spirit working through us; if we are paying attention. Go for it. I look forward to the read.
Dear Charlene, first of all, thank you for this great article. I am writing my Master thesis on the contemporary authors of the South and current tendencies and methods in writing the fiction. I have found your article very helpful. I want to ask you, have you done any other articles dealing with this topic? Or maybe do you know about any other one that would help me with my research?
Thank you very much for your reply.
Kristina
No, but you might contact the folks at the Southern literary reviews whose articles I cited. I know some of them have done more work on the topic. Thanks!
That’s a great look into the Southern collective personality. I grew up in Canada but my parents live in Kentucky now. I find it interesting there, although I can’t say I totally understand the culture yet.
Although I grew up in the South, I’d have to say I don’t totally understand the culture either.
Unquestionably believe that which you said. Your favorite reason
appeared to be on the internet the easiest thing to
be aware of. I say to you, I definitely get annoyed while people
think about worries that they plainly don’t know about.
You managed to hit the nail upon the top and also defined
out the whole thing without having side-effects , people could take a signal.
Will likely be back to get more. Thanks
No matter if some one searches for his required thing, thus he/she wishes to be available that in detail,
so that thing is maintained over here.
Wonderful blog! I found it while surfing around on Yahoo News.
Do you have any suggestions on how to get listed in Yahoo News?
I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to
get there! Appreciate it
You really make it seem so easy with your presentation
but I find this matter to be really something which I
think I would never understand. It seems too complicated
and extremely broad for me. I am looking forward for your next
post, I will try to get the hang of it!
I have been exploring for a bit for any high-quality
articles or blog posts in this kind of area . Exploring in Yahoo I
at last stumbled upon this web site. Studying this info So i’m satisfied to exhibit that
I’ve an incredibly excellent uncanny feeling I found out exactly what I needed.
I so much certainly will make certain to do not overlook this web site and provides it a
glance on a continuing basis.
Thanks. Please check back any time.