Overview

Southern Writers and the Machine: Faulkner to Percy traces the artistic treatment of mechanization among two generations of Southern writers. The book studies the artistic and philosophical responses to the increasing mechanization of the South in the work of Faulkner, Tate, O'Connor, Styron, Gaines, and Percy. It argues that these writers were working within a self-conscious aesthetic tradition which evolved out of the southern writer's unique position in relation to a past traditional order and a rapidly emerging future industrial society. The book breaks new ground by analyzing in close detail the relationship between the historical fact of mechanization and the artistic strategies employed in response to it.

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9780820418568

Table of Contents

Reviews

Focussing on a selected group of writers, Jeffrey Folks suggests that the basic theme of 20th-century Southern fiction, the revolutionary effect of mechanization on an agrarian community, may be approached through close attention to the self-conscious artistic strategies employed by Faulkner, Tate, Percy and others. 'Southern Writers and the Machine' offers an original, stimulating way of thinking about a much discussed problem. (Lewis P. Simpson, Editor Emeritus, The Southern Review) oThis book! takes a unique approach to illuminating the nature of Southern fiction in general and specific writers in particular. Folks provides insights that the study of Southern fiction desperately needs - insights that flow from a comparatively original perspective. (David Madden, Louisiana State University) Jeffrey Folks examines the critical element in the process that transformed the Old South into the Modern South. With the coming of the machine the South's attitude toward the land and toward those who worked that land changed forever. In this series of carefully researched and clearly written essays Folks shows where the mind of the South is and how it got there. If you are interested in Southern literature, this book belongs in your library and on your nightstand. (James A. Perkins, Author of 'Snakes, Butterbeans and the Discovery of Electricity') Teachers and scholars in the field of Southern American literature stand to benefit from othis book!. A distinguished critic of Southern literature, Professor Folks brings to this project a distinguished record of publications which now culminate in 'Southern Writers and the Machine'. (Charlotte H. Beck, Maryville College) 'Southern Writers and the Machine' is a useful contribution to the study of Southern literature and culture, particularly since it emphasizes modernization, an aspect many commentators on the South are still reluctant to deal with. (Axel Knoenagel, Southern Humanities Review)

Author Information

The Author: Jeffrey J. Folks is Professor of English at Tennessee Wesleyan College, where he has taught since 1976. Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he received his B.A. from Reed College and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Indiana University (Bloomington). In 1986-87 he served as Fulbright Senior Lecturer to Yugoslavia. He has published numerous articles on Southern literature in critical journals, in addition to frequent interviews and reviews.

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