Georgia Authors webtech.cherokee.k12.ga/creekland-ms/LieslNew/joel_chandler_harris.htm

1. Margaret Mitchell Flannery O'Connor  Georgia Authorshttp://webtech.cherokee.k12.ga.us/creekland-ms/LieslNew/joel_chandler_harris.htm Joel Chandler Harris Pat Conroy Sidney Lanier Celestine Sibley Lewis Grizzard Conrad Aiken Georgia Encyclopediahttp://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Categories.jsp?path=Literature

2. When Comparing Authors… Note the following: • Genre • Style • Themes

3. Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah GA Encyclopedia - http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?path=/Literature/Fiction/Authors&id=h-525 Joel Chandler Harris • Folktales • His characters http://stp.ling.uu.se/~starback/dcml/chars/brers.html • The Wren’s Nest • http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/atlanta/har.htm The stories, based on the African-American oral storytelling tradition, were revolutionary in their use of dialect and in featuring a trickster hero called Brer “Brother”) Rabbit, who uses his wits against adversity, though his efforts do not always succeed. The frog is the trickster character in traditional tales in Central and Southern Africa. The stories, which began appearing in the Atlanta Constitutionin 1879, were popular among both Black and White readers in the North and South

4. Margaret Mitchell “American author of the enormously popular novel GONE WITH THE WIND (1936), story about the Civil War and Reconstruction as seen from the Southern point of view. The book was adapted into a highly popular film in 1939, starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh. At the novel's opening in 1861, Scarlett O'Hara is a young girl. During the story she experiences Secession, the Civil War, Reconstruction, as well as three marriages and motherhood.” http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/mmitchel.htm Video Clip http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031381/trailers-screenplay-E10016-310 Margarett Mitchell Museum in Atlanta http://gwtw.org/ GA Encyclopedia - http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2566

5. Lewis Grizzard • Lewis McDonald Grizzard, Jr. (b. Oct. 20, 1946- d. March 20, 1994) was an American writer and humorist, famous for his Southern demeanor and commentary on the American South. Although he spent the early career as a newspaper writer and editor, becoming sports editor of the Atlanta Journal at age 23, he is much better known for his humorous columns in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. • He also published 25 books, including If I Ever Get Back to Georgia, I'm Gonna Nail My Feet to the Ground, I Haven’t Understood Anything since 1962, and Chili Dawgs Always Bark at Night and was a popular stand-up comedian. Although much of his comedy discussed the South and Grizzard’s life, it was also a commentary on issues prevalent throughout America, including divorce, politics, and health. Lewis Grizzard was the stepbrother of Southern humorist Ludlow Porch.

6. Pat Conroy http://www.patconroy.com/ Pat Conroy (born Oct. 26, 1945 in Atlanta, GA), -New York Times bestselling author who has written several acclaimed novels and memoirs. He was the eldest of 7 children born to Marine Colonel Donald Conroy, of Chicago and the former Frances "Peggy" Peck of Georgia. Conroy's stories have been heavily influenced by his upbringing and by tragedies in his family over the years. His father, a military pilot who flew nuclear weapons, used both physical and psychological violence against his children, and the pain of a youth growing up in such a harsh environment is evident in Conroy's novels, particularly The Great Santini. Conroy is a graduate of The Citadel, and his experiences there were the inspiration for two of his best-known works, the novel The Lords of Discipline and the memoir My Losing Season. http://www.geocities.com/lowenstein1992/patconroy.html

7. Sidney Lanier • Sidney Lanier contributed significantly to the arts in 19th Century America. His accomplishments as a poet, novelist, composer, and critic reflect his eclectic interests, and his melodic celebrations of Georgia's terrain are among his most widely read poems. His works reflect a love of the land, as well as his concern over declining values and commercial culture in the Reconstruction South. Some of his writings extol the rhythmic natural world and the religious vision it evokes. Lake Lanier was dedicated to him in 1955 in recognition of his life and accomplishments, and in 2000 he was inducted as a charter member into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame.

8. Flannery O’Conner “American writer, particularly acclaimed for her stories which combined comic with tragic and brutal. Flannery O'Connor belonged to the Southern Gothic tradition that focused on the decaying South and its doomed people. O'Connor's body of work was small, consisting of only 31 stories, 2 novels, and some speeches and letters. "Does one's integrity ever lie in what he is not able to do? I think that usually it does, for free will does not mean one will, but many wills conflicting in one man, Freedom cannot be conceived simply." (from Wise Blood, 1952) Flannery O'Connor was born in Savannah, Georgia, the only child of a Catholic family.”

9. Southern Gothic – • a great way of explaining the term southern gothic is comparing it with Winslow Homer’s American Gothic. It is a classic representation of a geographical location and the people and customs from that region. • Gothic writers tend to stereotype their characters but still maintain to puzzle and astound the reader at what they reveal through their writing. Being described as southern gothic also classifies O’Connor with the southern United State’s literary tradition along with Margaret Mitchum, Faulkner, and Tennessee Williams.

10. Celestine Sibley “…an Atlanta newspaper columnist who for 55 years wrote about the commonplaces of Southern life in a prose as soothing as the hum of cicadas in summer…” NY Times • Celestine Sibley, a renowned southern author, journalist, and syndicated columnist, reported for the Atlanta Constitution from 1941 to 1999. Over her long career, she wrote more than 10,000 columns and many news stories of astonishing range, dealing with such varied topics as politics and key lime pie. Sibley was one of the most popular and long-running columnists for the Constitution, and her well-written and poignant essays on southern culture made her an icon in the South. Regarded by her colleagues as a reporting legend, Sibley was also the accomplished author of nearly 30 books published between 1958 and 1997.

11. Conrad Aiken List of works - http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/751 Aiken’s burial site in Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah American poet, short story writer, critic and novelist. Most of Aiken's work reflects his intense interest in psychoanalysis and the development of identity. From the 1920s Aiken divided his life between England and the U.S., playing a significant role in introducing American poets to the British audience. "All lovely things will have an ending, All lovely things will fade and die, And youth, that's now so bravely spending, Will beg a penny and by." (from 'All Lovely Things Will Have an Ending') Conrad Aiken was born in Savannah, GA. In his childhood Aiken experienced a considerable trauma when he found the bodies of his parents-his physician father, brilliant but unstable, had killed his mother and committed suicide. • In 1930 Aiken was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his collection SELECTED POEMS

12. David Bottoms • David Bottoms is from Cherokee County. He graduated from Cherokee High School. • He taught for several years in Georgia schools and now teaches at Georgia State University. The time that Bottoms spent in Georgia has greatly influenced his works, which include both poetry and novels. In 2000, Bottoms was voted the Poet Laureate of Georgia. • P. 699 – 700 in Literature Book, “Snake on the Etowah” • Read “Homage to Buck Cline” (handout)

13. Bailey White Described as an old-fashioned storyteller, Bailey White still lives in the house where she grew up in Thomasville, Georgia. She became known to thousands of people nationwide after she began reading her writing on National Public Radio (NPR). Her oral and written stories evoke a vivid picture of life in south Georgia. • “Vanishing Species”, p. 702-706

14. Alice Walker • Best known for her novel, • “The Color Purple” which was awarded the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. • She is known for her poetry, short stories, and novels, which draw on rural life in Georgia during segregation. Walker has been influential in bringing African American women’s literature to more readers. • p. 743, 749, 1113, 1114 in Literature book

15. Martin Luther King, Jr. • Born in Atlanta, his vision of peace and tolerance stemmed from his life in Georgia where he grew up attending segregated schools. Determined to end segregation, King led protests and marches for civil rights and became an inspiring speaker and writer. In 1968, King was shot and killed, but his memory and written works still inspire people today to work for equality. • P. 171 – 172 in Literature book