Plantatia High-toned and Low-down Stories of the South

by Hearne, Dixon

• ISBN13: 9780982248911
• ISBN10: 0982248911
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-08-01
• Publisher: Southeast Missouri State Univ Press

Summary

Darien Cavanaugh, editor, Yemassee: For the past decade, Dixon Hearne has been one of the quiet heroes of American letters. Widely published in literary journals and reviews, he always leaves his readers with that feeling of being satisfied yet wanting more. Plantatia is full of familiar people and places¿a wisteria-bound and oak-shaded South comprised of honky tonks, corner stores, mills, and revival churches populated by drunks, gossips, and scandalous preachers¿part yarn and part folk in a way that is reminiscent of Zora Neale Hurston. I highly recommend Plantatia for aficionados of Southern literature but also for all readers who simply like a good story well told. Norman German, fiction editor, Louisiana Literature; author of A Savage Wisdom: Plantatia offers a buffet of headstrong and sassy stories sure to please every palate. Dixon Hearne is your acerbic tour guide through the high- and lowlife settings of an Old South revitalized by his keen eye and ear. These stories move with the patience of Eudora Welty and the confidence of Flannery O¿Connor. To steal one of Dixon Hearne's phrases, you'll leave these stories "with your heart laughing out loud." Billy Fontenot, editor, The Louisiana Review: This impressive debut collection from Dixon Hearne mixes relaxed storytelling of small-town life with insights into the human condition, along with a little of that strange, sad, mystical state of existence found only in the deep American South. Bev Marshall, author of Walking Through Shadows, Right As Rain, and Hot Fudge Sundae Blues: Dixon Hearne is a born storyteller and reading his "high-toned and low-down" stories reminded me of those precious porch-sitting days when the tales of my relatives evoked both laughter and tears. Darnell Arnoult, author of Sufficient Grace and What Travels With Us: Poems: In this debut collection of stories filled with raucous characters and lively romps, Dixon Hearne proves he has mastered the Southern tradition of old-fashioned front-porch storytelling.

Author Biography

Dixon Hearne teaches and lives in southern California. His writing, however, draws greatly from the rich images in his daily life growing up along the graceful river traces in West Monroe, Louisiana. His short stories, essays, and poemsùmany of which have earned awardsùappear in numerous magazines, literary journals, and anthologies. He is presently at work on a novel and editing a new book, Thanksgiving to Christmas: A Patchwork of Stories. He is co-editor of two recent collections of southern stories, a frequent presenter, and an invited speaker at the 2009 Louisiana Book Festival.