Long Time Leaving: Dispatches from Up South

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Long Time Leaving: Dispatches from Up South

by Roy Blount Jr.

3.31 · rating details · 135 ratings · 47 reviews

“I left the South in search of the Enlightenment. I’m pro-choice, in favor of gay marriage, and against creationism and the war in Iraq. But both my parents’ people are deep Southern from many generations, and I spent a little over a third of my life, including the presumably most formative years (toilet training through college), living in the South. Mathematically, that ...more“I left the South in search of the Enlightenment. I’m pro-choice, in favor of gay marriage, and against creationism and the war in Iraq. But both my parents’ people are deep Southern from many generations, and I spent a little over a third of my life, including the presumably most formative years (toilet training through college), living in the South. Mathematically, that makes me just about exactly as Southern as the American people, 34 percent of whom are Southern residents. But it goes deeper than math—my roots are Southern, I sound Southern, I love a lot of Southern stuff, and when my [Northern] local paper announces a festival to ‘celebrate the spirit of differently abled dogs,’ I react as a Southerner. I believe I care as much about dogs’ feelings as anybody. It is hard for me to imagine that a dog with three legs minds being called a three-legged dog.”

A sly, dry, hilarious collection of essays—his first in more than ten years—from the writer who, according to The New York Times Book Review, is “in serious contention for the title of America’s most cherished humorist.”

This time Blount focuses on his own dueling loyalties across the great American divide, North vs. South. Scholarly, raunchy, biting and affable, ol’ Roy takes on topics ranging from chicken fingers to yellow-dog Democrats to Elvis’s toes. And he shares experiences: chatting with Ray Charles, rounding up rattlesnakes, watching George and Tammy record, meeting an Okefenokee alligator (also named George, or Georgette), imagining Faulkner’s tennis game, and being swept up, sort of, in the filming of Nashville. His yarns, analyses, and flights of fancy transcend all standard shades of Red, Blue, and in between.

Roy on language: “Remember when there was lots of agitated discussion of Ebonics, pro and con? I kept waiting for someone to say that if you acquire white English, you can become Clarence Thomas, whereas if you acquire black English, you can become Quentin Tarantino.”

Roy on eating: “The way folks were meant to eat is the way my family ate when I was growing up in Georgia. We ate till we got tired. Then we went “Whoo!” and leaned back and wholeheartedly expressed how much we regretted that we couldn’t summon up the strength, right then, to eat some more.”

Roy on racism: “Anybody who claims . . . not to have ‘a racist bone’ in his or her body is, at best, preracist and has a longer way to go than the rest of us.”

Blount’s previous books have included reflections on a Southern president (Jimmy Carter), a novel about a Southern president (Clementine Fox), a biography of Robert E. Lee, a celebration of New Orleans, a memoir of growing up in Georgia, and the definitive anthology of Southern humor. Long Time Leaving is the capper. Maybe it won’t end the Civil War at last, but it does clarify, or aptly complicate, divisive delusions on both sides of the longstanding national rift. It’s a comic ode to American variety and also a droll assault on complacency North and South—a glorious union of diverse pieces reshaped and expanded into an American classic, from one of the most definitive and esteemed humorists of our time.(less)

Hardcover, 400 pages

Published May 1st 2007 by Knopf

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Oct 11, 2011

Ann rated it

Shelves: audiobook, nonfiction, essay

I'll be straight with you, content wise I wouldn't rate the book as a 5 star. It's not exactly what you'd call 'meaty' or 'deep.' You don't really come away from it with any thoughts. And some of it is repetitive. But you will NOT regret the ride. I listened to this on audiobook because I enjoy his voice so much, which was worth it on one hand for the sheer relish and joy he packs into every sentence, and for the accents I wouldn't be able to pull off in my head. It made long drives short, ...more

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Dec 07, 2009

Charles Matthews rated it

The temptation in writing about someone as witty as Roy Blount Jr. is just to rear back and quote. So let’s put temptation before us, with a sample of what’s to be found in his latest book, “Long Time Leaving”:

• On Truman Capote: “his writing did over time tend to break up in the opposite but complementary directions of mistiness and nastiness (until all the romance was gone and he was reduced to a mode we might call desiccated indiscreet)”

• On pretentious academic stud...moreThe temptation in writing about someone as witty as Roy Blount Jr. is just to rear back and quote. So let’s put temptation before us, with a sample of what’s to be found in his latest book, “Long Time Leaving”:

• On Truman Capote: “his writing did over time tend to break up in the opposite but complementary directions of mistiness and nastiness (until all the romance was gone and he was reduced to a mode we might call desiccated indiscreet)”

• On pretentious academic studies of the blues: “the Garons have heaped upon the supremely no-nonsense Memphis Minnie, of all people, a load of flummery. They present us with an enormous wad of tulle and bubble wrap and tell us there’s a wildcat in there.”

• On religion: “I never heard anyone say ‘What would Jesus do?’ when I was growing up. We knew Jesus would most likely do what he did do – something crazy by community standards, some far-out-liberal, crucifiable offense, something we weren’t about to do.”

• On dogs: “I have been unable, so far, to find a very gratifying petting surface on a poodle. Where a poodle is fluffy, I can’t get any traction, and where it’s close-cropped it’s like petting a nubbly carpet. I prefer a dog that’s somewhere between a chicken and a baseball to the touch.”

• On Bill Clinton: “The big galoot still tugs at us personally, like a two-year-old trying to drag us over to the candy counter.”

If that’s not enough to persuade you that Blount might well be the finest American humorist since James Thurber, then you need to read this book anyway. Dave Barry might be more skilled at exploring the weirdness to be found in the flea markets and garage sales that constitute American culture, and David Sedaris (unless you are one of those who are shocked, shocked to learn that he makes stuff up) might be better at locating the hilarity behind the frequently painful episodes of his personal life. But no one has a finer ear, is a more talented listener, and is better at getting what he hears onto paper than Blount, whether he’s doing a spot-on parody in which William Faulkner plays mixed doubles tennis with Zasu Pitts, Clark Gable and Dorothy Parker, or he’s re-creating the kind of conversation you might hear at a Southern dinner table.

You might call Blount a deconstructed Southerner. His latest book is a collection of essays on some of his favorite things: food, music, books, movies, friends, places and politics. But because roughly half of it is made up of the columns slugged “Gone Off Up North” that he wrote for the Oxford American magazine, it’s largely about what it means to be from the South – in Blount’s case, Decatur, Ga. – but not of the South, or at least not the South as imagined by some Northerners and Left Coasters, a place largely inhabited by clones of Jerry Falwell, Snuffy Smith and David Duke.

Blount, who characterizes himself as “a pre-baby boom liberal Southern Democrat living in semirural Massachusetts,” has now spent about two-thirds of his life out of the South. “The Enlightenment is essentially what I left home looking for, and I found it,” he tells us. The South is a nice place to visit but he doesn’t want to live there. Yet he is ineluctably a Southern writer. “I maintain you can’t live in the South and be a deep-dyed Southern writer. If you live in the South you are just writing about folks, so far as you can tell, and it comes out Southern, For all we know, if you moved West, you’d be a Western writer. Whereas, if you live outside the South, you are being a Southern writer either (a) on purpose or (b) because you can’t help it. Which comes to the same thing in the end: you are deep dyed.”

Humorists don’t win Nobel Prizes in Literature, more’s the pity, even though the craft of being funny is far more arduous than that of being serious, as the labored examples of countless newspaper columnists and blathering bloggers show. As some actor or other is said to have proclaimed on his deathbed, “Dying is easy. Comedy is hard.” Blount’s special gift, the one he shares with such towering figures as Thurber and Mark Twain, is a kind of sprezzatura: He makes it look easy.

The greatness of Blount is not only that he’s witty, but also that he’s wise. “A book,” he tells us, “ought to be something that a person can read the way a person is meant to eat chicken: something with plenty of unabashed and also intimate flavor, ruddy and deep-dyed flavor, flavor hard to separate from the structure, flavor that is never really exhaustible.” “Long Time Leaving” is that kind of book. So pull up a copy and dig in.

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Aug 13, 2007

Haley rated it

Shelves: nonfiction

Pretty funny in a my-dad-would-love-this kind of way, which was great because my dad's a pretty funny, insightful guy. As a transplant to the Northeast myself, I appreciated his insistence on the complexities origin and identity, never being fully comfortable with the label "Southern writer."

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Aug 26, 2011

Jeff Crompton rated it

Blount is one of my favorite humorists - although I'm not sure that's quite the right word for him; he's pretty funny, but also insightful. Many of his books are collections of his short pieces; this is one of the best of those. Many of the essays have to do with being a Southerner, or rather, a Southerner in the North. But he also writes about Mark Twain, Shakespeare, Memphis Minnie, and the Boswell Sisters. Blount is more than ready to ramble and digress, and some folks seem to be put off ...more

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Aug 10, 2007

Gwen rated it

Recommends it for: Southerns sick of the Southern stereotype

I love Roy Blount, Jr. He explains the troubles that come with being a liberal Southerner--on the one hand, we're often embarrassed of things happening in our states (particularly in politics, such as the new Oklahoma Global War on Terrorism license plate). On the other hand, it's annoying how people from outside the South act like a) all Southerners must be KKK members and b) there are no race problems in any other region of the U.S., and particularly not up North. And at the same time, our...more

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Feb 08, 2011

Nikki Handros added it

This is not a novel. It is a collection of essays by humorist Roy Blount, Jr.
It took me two years to read it. Now...that sounds awful, but I would pick it up in between my usual reading and sail through a couple of Roy's spirited observations on life in the South from the perspective of a Southerner who has defected to Yankee territory.
I highly recommend a copy by your bedside for a lift when you are feeling down. Many of his recollections and recitations are laught-out-loud funny...more

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Jul 07, 2008

Ellen rated it

Roy Blount, Jr. is one of my favorite panelists on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, which I listen to religiously every week. Naturally, I was interested in reading his writing.

This collection of short essays and humorous pieces, however, is hit and miss. Most of its failings, however, could have been relieved by a good editor. There are far too many pieces that go over the same themes, same issues, same ground. If some tough choices had been made, this could have been an excellent 2...more

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Apr 09, 2009

stefanie rated it

Bought this one last week in Oxford Mississippi! Had to buy it after reading the jacket - he sounds a little like me in that the longer he is away from the South the more Southern stuff he likes. Has many examples of being assumed to be a redneck and people being shocked that he is smart - reminds me of my mother's experiences working for a publishing company and everytime she called the NYC office they would put her on speaker phone and all laugh at her! Meanies!

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Jun 28, 2007

Pamela rated it

This collection of Roy Blount's humor essays has its moments: whenever Blount talks about food, fishing, or country music, he strikes gold. Whenever he drops a droll anecdote about life in the South, it's amazing. But what made reading these essays somewhat tedious were his often incomprehensible takes on politics. Additionally, thought not Blount's fault, this collection repeats so many of the same jokes that they become less than funny--they become straight-up annoying. If Blount writes an...more

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Aug 18, 2010

Dan Rheingans rated it

While there are a few moments of humor in the collection of articles by Mr. Blout, I found him to be excessively talky. It sincerely felt as though he was just writing to hear himself talk at a number of points. I wouldn't suggest this one to others.

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Feb 01, 2009

Meredith rated it

Anyone from the south (especially those who have also lived in the north) will find this an interesting, engaging, and humorous read. I've rarely picked up a book on a whim and enjoyed it so much. Beware, though, laughing out loud will ensue.

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Nov 15, 2010

Bernando rated it

Roy is excellent. had this one on tape. His narration is as Brett Favre says "aww'some" (Imagine someone from Mississippi saying it). His memories from childhood, and his now perspective being a Georgian in NPR world of Boston- quite a contrast.

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Aug 08, 2011

Greg Converse rated it

Garrison Keillor was right. Roy Blount Jr. writes good sentences. I was drawn to this book through Blount's reading about the Southern approach to food. He covers a great many topics with humor and grace and good sentences.

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Jun 24, 2011

Maa rated it

What a hoot! Blount never fails to make me laugh, ponder and wonder at the insanity of we humans. Even better though? Has anyone ever heard a recording of Blount? His books are even better when he's reading them.

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Jun 15, 2010

Harry rated it

Gave-up on this one. Essays about the South by someone who has exiled themselves from the South. Roy Blount had a cameo appearance on HBO's "Treme". So I thought I'd give him a chance. Mistake.

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Mar 07, 2009

Jan rated it

He's just funny. Even when you don't agree with him, he's funny. My favorite remains the essay, "The Way We Were Meant to Eat". I'm not sure how it would translate if one is not Southern but I imagine there are folks like this in every region/culture in the world.

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Aug 30, 2009

Jennifer rated it

Clever of course, but repetitive. Since it's a collection of short essays, he tends to say the same thing over and over.

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Aug 19, 2009

Brooxie Carlton rated it

A series of essays, articles, etc. by Roy Blount Jr. about being from the south and living up north. Some are really funny.

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Jan 10, 2010

Landismom rated it

Shelves: humor

Not Blount's best book, but hell, his mediocre writing is better than many other people's best work.

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Aug 20, 2009

Margaret rated it

I loved this collection of essays! Very humorous and true to North-South dynamics, I thought.

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Apr 27, 2011

Dan Piette rated it

Stories from The South

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Aug 28, 2008

Jeansue Libkind rated it

A collection of his articles on being a Southerner, primarily in the Northeast, with explanations for Yankees. Best read in spurts. I adore Roy’s humor and have since I met him over 20 years ago. He’s a ready wit on Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me and his dry assessment of how Southerners are perceived by Northeners is accurate to a fault and extremely funny. If Roy’s humor can’t overcome Yankee prejudice, I don’t know what will….maybe everyone should spend four years in Dixie and repent.

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Apr 29, 2008

Sophie rated it

I, sadly, had to give up on this book. Blount writes really well, and has some great thoughts and insights to share about the country and human nature -- but in my present mode (mom-dom), I just didn't have the brain power left by the time reading-time came around to be able to properly appreciate his logic. Or, for that matter, to be able to penetrate the labyrinth of anecdotes to be able to pick up the main train of his thought. LOVED the anecdotes, but I lost the forest for the trees.

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Jul 03, 2009

Tammy marked it as to-read

Shelves: in-library

975 Blo

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Dec 17, 2007

Katy rated it

I read an article in the Nashville Scene about Roy Blount and discovered some similarities between the man and myself. Ties to Atlanta and Nashville, experience as a transplanted southerner in the northeast, not quite fitting in in the south or the north...
Parts of this collection of short stories were pretty funny, particularly since I can relate to many of his experiences. Other parts were decidedly unfunny, and rather dull even. Entertaining, but not as good as I expected.

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Jun 14, 2008

Mike rated it

As a displaced Southerner myself, finding Roy Blount's essays in the Oxford American were like a revelation. Finally, a Southern humorist who isn't in the Blue Collar Comedy/Hee Haw/Lewis Grizzard mold. Blount is deeply funny, intelligent, with an ear for language missing from far too many essayists. And he perfectly captures the peculiar situation of liberal southerners -- myself included -- who never feel entirely comfortable among the Yankee intelligentsia.

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Nov 20, 2007

Debbie Howell rated it

As a fellow Southerner in exile, I related to and enjoyed parts of this book very much. However, Blount seemed to be trying too hard to prove that although he still talks Southern, he's actually got a brain in his head. He seemed especially strident when discussing politics and religion. Sometimes his writing was obtuse, and since the essays were pulled from various sources, sometimes there was repetition. A disappointment, despite a couple of great essays.

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Nov 25, 2009

Melissa rated it

Ok, I gave this one a good effort. There were moments of the book that I enjoyed. But it just didn't grab me. I think I read one page each night before I would realize that I didn't pay any sort of attention for that last page and just give up for the night.

It could be that the South just doesn't interest me as much as Mr. Blount thinks it will?

So, 4 months into it, I'm finally giving up (sad that I only had like 50 pages left).

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Oct 06, 2007

Samira rated it

Shelves: essays

I think that I mostly was interested in this book because the author grew up in Decatur, GA (where I now live) and now lives in Northampton, MA (my favorite of the places that I have lived). That said, I found that the essays did not really hold my interest. Technically, I did not finish this book, though I feel like I did what you do with a book of essays--I skimmed through and read what appealed.

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Jul 24, 2007

Troy rated it

Shelves: southerninterest

People seem to think that Southern humor is simply encapsulated by the Blue Collar Comedy Tour; redneck jokes, working on trucks, trouble with women...but I love Roy Blount Jr. for the fact that he uses these topics and uses them to make you think and laugh. The man has a way with words, and continues the great Southern tradition of telling stories with exposition.

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About Roy Blount Jr.

Roy Blount Jr. is the author of twenty-two books, covering subjects from the Pittsburgh Steelers to Robert E. Lee, to trying to understand the South. He is a regular panelist on NPR's Wait, Wait . . . Don't Tell Me! and is a contributing editor of The Atlantic Monthly. Born in Indianapolis and raised in Decatur, Georgia, Blount now lives in western Massachusetts with his wife, the painter Joan Gri...more

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