The memoirist seek to capture not just a self but an entire world, and in this marvelous anthology thirty-one of the South's finest writers—writers like Kaye Gibbons and Reynolds Price, Eudora Welty and Harry Crews, Richard Wright and Dorothy Allison—make their intensely personal contributions to a vibrant collective picture of southern life. In the hands of these superb artists, the South's rich tradition of storytelling is brilliantly revealed. Whether slave or master, intellectual or "redneck," each voice in this moving and unforgettable collection is proof that southern literature richly deserves its reputation for irreverent humor, exquisite language, a feeling for place, and an undying, often heartbreaking sense of the past.
A bold and original retelling of the story of race in America Why has a nation founded upon precepts of freedom and universal humanity continually produced, through its preoccupation with race, a divided and constrained populace? This question is the starting point for Scott Malcomson's riveting and deeply researched account, which amplifies history with memoir and reportage. From the beginning, Malcomson shows, a nation obsessed with invention began to create a new idea of race, investing it with unprecedented moral and social meaning. A succession of visionaries and opportunists, self-promoters and would-be reformers carried on the process, helping to define "black," "white," and "Indian" in opposition to one another, and in service to the aspirations and anxieties of each era. But the people who had to live within those definitions found them constraining. They sought to escape the limits of race imposed by escaping from other races or by controlling, confining, eliminating, or absorbing them, in a sad, absurd parade of events. Such efforts have never truly succeeded, yet their legacy haunts us, as we unhappily re-enact the drama of separatism in our schools, workplaces, and communities. By not only recounting the shared American tragicomedy of race but helping us to own, even to embrace it, this important book offers us a way at last to move beyond it.
We hope that what is disclosed, discussed, and possibly discovered in this book will enlighten, encourage, and empower you to become an integral contributor and benefactor of a new Inclusive Era in Education. It is our desire that those of you reading this book who have not yet found a career path will consider pursuing teaching as a viable profession. Those of us who have been privileged to serve as teachers believe that similar rewards await a new generation of professional educators. Join us! For our readers who are not teachers or do not aspire to become teachers we solicit your continuous support and thoughtful cooperation with those tasked with the arduous responsibility of educating students. You are an indispensable partner in the intrinsic educational process! Together we can build a new Inclusive Era in Education, creating a brighter endearing future for all students and for the world!