As a coastal person, I was uncomfortable reading Arizona. The dry cracked land, the absence of emerald-green, and the silence where dripping should be were disorienting to me. I think my soul might dry up and blow away if I were to move to the desert. But where I feel withered and desolate, the people … Continue reading Andrea Reads America: Arizona
I have to tell you, I was really excited when I realized my Andrea Reads America tour would have me reading Alaska in winter. I love cozying up with icy books when it is cold outside – I reread The Shipping News nearly every winter – and Alaska literature has not disappointed. I’ve gone back … Continue reading Andrea Reads America: Alaska
I didn’t look at an Alabama map when I selected books set there for my Andrea Reads America project, so I didn’t realize until I started reading that two of my three picks took place on the coast. Boy did they make me miss home. All that talk about herons, and shrimp, and the salt … Continue reading Andrea Reads America: Alabama
“‘I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.’ ‘What it do when it pissed off?’ I ast. ‘Oh, it make something else. People think pleasing God is all God care about. But any fool living in the world can see it always … Continue reading Literature Capsule: Southern Women
“I reckon there’s nothing awkwarder in the world than the sight of two women in long dresses at either end of a crosscut saw.” – Robert Morgan When I move to a new area, or get a hankering to immerse myself in a culture, or to smell the air of a region, I turn to … Continue reading Literature Capsule: Appalachia
Butterfly Mind 