Gather at the River: Notes from the Post-Millennial South

by Hal Crowther, Louis D. Rubin Jr. (Foreword)

To read Hal Crowther is to find yourself agreeing with views on topics you never knew you cared so much about. In Gather at the River, Crowther extends the wide-angle vision of Southern life presented in his highly acclaimed collection Cathedrals of Kudzu. He cuts to the heart of recent political, religious, and cultural issues but pauses to appreciate the sweet things that the South has to offer, like music, baseball, great writers, and strong women.
Some of these essays invite debate. Crowther gives a balanced perspective on the tragedy of the Branch Davidians at Waco, shedding light on a different world of religiosity and revealing urban media prejudices for what they are. He describes the unique heroism of a fallen Marine in the Iraq war, a war fought by one class and promoted by another. And his solution to racial conflict -- interracial procreation -- will jump-start readers' sensibilities.
In other chapters, Crowther discusses the grim portrayal of the South in early film and the triumphs of Southern music. His literary essays include appreciations of William Faulkner, Thomas Wolfe, Elizabeth Spencer, and Wendell Berry, and a biting lampoon of exhibitionist memoirs. Among the Southerners Crowther profiles with pride are the art historian and Museum of Modern Art curator Kirk Varnedoe; the great, cursed baseball player Shoeless Joe Jackson; the curmudgeonly realist H. L. Mencken; and the singer Dolly Parton, whose candid artifice inspires the author's litmus test for Southern authenticity.

Genres: Nonfiction

184 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2005

About the author

Hal Crowthers current collection of essays, Gather at the River, was 2006 finalist for the National Book Critics Circle prize for criticism. For his first collection, Unarmed But Dangerous, he was cited by Kirkpatrick Sale as the best essayist working in journalism today. Cathedrals of Kudzu, published in 2000, has been one of the New Souths most honored and critically acclaimed works of non-fiction. It received the Lillian Smith Book Award from the Southern Regional Council, the 1999-2001 Fellowship Prize for Nonfiction from the Fellowship of Southern Writers, and the 2001 Book of the Year Award for essays from Foreword Magazine. The Southern Book Critics Circle also chose Cathedrals as a finalist for the Southern Book Award in Nonfiction. "

Reviews

[Kevin]

This is another fantastic collection of essays from Hal Crowther. Great insights, wisdom, knowledge, and views expressed in excellent writing. Mr. Crowther is becoming one of my favorite authors :)

[Brett Brunmeier]

An awe-inspiring collection of essays and social commentary. Treat yourself to this author's work.