Pathfinder: LITERATURE OF THE SOUTH

Scope|Overview Sources|Circulating Books|Periodicals, Journals & Trade Publications|Web Sites

*See also the library's pathfinders on:

SCOPE: The roots of Southern literature began as early as the 1600’s when Captain John Smith settled in Virginia and began writing books about his experiences in America. From there, slave narratives were being published as well as novels referred to as “plantation novels” which dealt primarily with slavery and antebellum southern culture. Margaret Mitchell’s “Gone with the Wind” is a fine example of this type of literature. Edgar Allan Poe’s works typify the southern gothic tradition. Prolific writer William Faulkner, achieved great success with numerous novels focusing on southern manners and mores. Anne Tyler, Larry McMurtry, and Pat Conroy exemplify trends in contemporary southern fiction.
The purpose of this pathfinder is to serve as a guideline for student research. It is not intended as a comprehensive listing of all the materials available in the library on this topic, but as a selective sampling of the many types of materials available.

OVERVIEW SOURCES

There are books located in the Reference Section of the library that provide a summary or overview of the topic you are researching. The following are some of the titles available.

REF PS21.D5 v.3 Antebellum Writers in New York and the South

REF PS 261.C569 1999 Contemporary Southern Writers

REF PS21.E537 2004 The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature

SUBJECT HEADINGS

Books dealing with southern literature are listed in the Baddour Library’s online catalog under the following subject headings.

American literature—Southern States—History and criticism
Southern States—in literature
Authors, American-Southern states

CIRCULATING BOOKS

Conkin, Paul Keith. The Southern Agrarians. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1988.

Inge, Tonette Bond. Southern Women Writers: The New Generation. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1990.

MacKethan, Lucinda Hardwick. Daughters of Time: Creating Woman’s Voice in Southern Story. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1990.

Manning, Carol S. The Female Tradition in Southern Literature. Urbana: University of
Illinois Press, 1993.

Rubin, Louis Decimus. The Edge of the Swamp: A Study in the Literature of the Old South. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1989.

PERIODICALS, JOURNALS & TRADE PUBLICATIONS

Southern Literary Journal

Click the Link for a List of Full-Text Journals Available Through our Databases in:

• American Literature

WEB SITES

Southern Literature and Culture on the Internet
http://academics.vmi.edu/english/southern.html

Library of Southern Literature
http://docsouth.unc.edu/southlit/
Subject specific website with links to lesson plans for instructors and biographical and bibliographical information on authors.