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Alabama author Peter Huggins talks about the meaning of "place" and recites his poem "An Airfield in Alabama."

Writer and editor Todd Keith discusses what we mean when we designate someone an "Alabama writer" and why it matters.

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Audio

The Harlem Renaissance

Scholar: Dr. Susana Morris, Department of English, Auburn University

Interviewer Maiben Beard and Dr. Susana Morris discuss the Harlem Renaissance as a whole in Part 1 and focus on its literature in Part 2.

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Alabama Authors

Arna Bontemps, George Wylie Henderson , Zora Neale Hurston

Harlem Renaissance Audio, Part 1 (MP3 format)

Harlem Renaissance Audio, Part 2 (MP3 format)

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Harlem Renaissance Parts 1 and 2 Transcript (PDF format)

Harlem Renaissance Reading List (PDF format)

Harlem Renaissance Web Sites

Harlem Renaissance Discussion Questions

  • What role did segregation (legal segregation in the South and de facto segregration in the North) play in the Harlem Renaissance?
  • The Harlem Renaissance has been described as a time "when the Negro was in vogue." Why do you think some aspects of black culture became fashionable in the Nineteen Twenties?
  • There was a debate during the Harlem Renaissance about whether black artistic endeavors should be realistic in depicting the "nitty-gritty" of black life or should be "uplifting." This debate has continued to the present day. Take a side and defend your position. How does the racial mix of the expected audience influence your arguments?

Harlem Renaissance Lesson Plans

Travel Writing

Scholar: Dr. Christopher Keirstead, Department of English, Auburn University

Interviewer Maiben Beard and Dr. Christopher Keirstead discuss travel writing in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries.

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Alabama Authors

William Bartram, Carl Carmer, Archie Fairly Carr, James Saxon Childers, Philip Henry Gosse, Octavia Walton Le Vert, Albert Murray, Eleanor de la Vergne Risley, Anne Royall, Patricia Storace, Hudson Strode

Travel Writing Audio (MP3 format)

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Travel Writing Transcript (PDF format)

Travel Writing Reading List (PDF format)

Travel Writing Web Sites

Travel Writing Discussion Questions

  • How does the writerís purpose in making a trip influence what s/he writes about it?
  • What differences would you expect between the description of a place written by a native and that written by a traveler?
  • Some travelers write as soon as they return home. Some even write while they are on a trip. Others wait years or even decades before writing an account of their travels. How would you expect this difference to influence what is written?

Travel Writing Lesson Plans

Old Southwest Humor

Scholar: Dr. Benjamin B. Williams, Professor emeritus, Department of English, Auburn University Montgomery

Interviewer Maiben Beard and Dr. Benjamin B. Williams discuss Old Southwest humor.

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Alabama Authors

Joseph Glover Baldwin, John Gorman Barr, George Washington Harris, Johnson Jones Hooper, Hardin E. Taliaferro, Kittrell J. Warren

Old Southwest Humor Audio (MP3 format)

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Old Southwest Humor Transcript (PDF format)

Old Southwest Humor Reading List (PDF format)

Old Southwest Humor Web Sites

Old Southwest Humor Discussion Questions

  • Writer Mark Twain was influenced by the Old Southwest humorists and even borrowed some of their ideas for his own work. Why do you think Twain’s stories are well-known today while those of the Old Southwest humorists are not?
  • Tricksters like Hooper’s Simon Suggs and Harris's Sut Lovingood are found in the literature of many cultures and appear in folktales around the world. Give some examples from modern culture. Why is this kind of character so widespread?
  • William T. Porter reprinted stories from other newspapers in The Spirit of the Times, acknowledging the original sources but not asking their permission or paying them. This practice (widespread then) would be considered copyright violation today. On the one hand, Porter was profiting from others’ work. On the other hand, he gave them a wider audience and actively helped some writers find publishers for their books. What parallels can you find today? Is this practice right or wrong? Defend your position.

Old Southwest Humor Lesson Plans

The Flush Times of Alabama and Mississippi

Reader: Dr. Dwayne Cox, Head of Special Collections & Archives, Auburn University Libraries

Librarian and archivist Dr. Dwayne Cox reads an excerpt from Joseph Glover Baldwin's The Flush Times of Alabama and Mississippi.

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Alabama Authors

Joseph Glover Baldwin

Flush Times Audio (MP3 format)

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Flush Times Transcript (PDF format)

Flush Times Reading List

  • Baldwin, Joseph G. The Flush Times of Alabama and Mississippi: A Series of Sketches. New York: D. Appleton and Co., 1853. Rpt. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1987. Rpt. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2005. [An online version of Flush Times is available from Google Book Search at http://books.google.com/books?id=tWgTAAAAYAAJ.]
  • Cohen, Hennig, and William B. Dillingham, eds. Humor of the Old Southwest. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1964. Rpt. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1975. Rpt. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1994.
  • Inge, M. Thomas, ed. The Frontier Humorists: A Critical View. Hamden, Conn.: Archon Books, 1975.
  • Inge, M. Thomas, and Edward J. Piacentino, eds. The Humor of the Old South. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2001.
  • Justus, James H. Fetching the Old Southwest: Humorous Writing from Longstreet to Twain. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2004.
  • Meine, Franklin J., ed. Tall Tales of the Southwest: An Anthology of Southern and Southwestern Humor, 1830-1860. New York: Knopf, 1930. Rpt. St. Clair Shores, Mich.: Scholarly Press, 1970.
  • Williams, Benjamin Buford. A Literary History of Alabama: The Nineteenth Century. Rutherford, N.J.: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1979.

Flush Times Web Sites

Flush Times Discussion Questions

  • Trials were a form of popular entertainment at the time this story was written. In fact, the "earthquake" misunderstanding starts because a jury in a different case wants to hear Cave's closing arguments. Could a similar incident occur today? Why or why not?
  • How would you rewrite this story to change it from a comedy into a tragedy?
  • What significance do you attach to the fact that the author, Joseph Glover Baldwin, was a lawyer? How would the story be different if he had been a minister or a doctor?

Presenting William Bartram

Scholar: Dr. John C. Hall, Museum of the Black Belt, University of West Alabama

Dr. John C. Hall speaks about naturalist, artist, and author William Bartram. This presentation was made on March 27, 2008, as part of the Draughon Seminars in State and Local History. A video of this presentation is available for viewing at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-g-P3Ti1N0. The audio has been divided into three parts to make downloading easier.

Click here for more information.

Alabama Authors

William Bartram

William Bartram Part 1 Audio (MP3 format)

William Bartram Part 2 Audio (MP3 format)

William Bartram Part 3 Audio (MP3 format)

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William Bartram Transcript (PDF format)

William Bartram Reading List

  • Bartram, William. William Bartram on the Southeastern Indians. Ed. Gregory A. Waselkov and Kathryn E. Holland Braund. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1995.
  • Cashin, Edward J. William Bartram and the American Revolution on the Southern Frontier. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2000.
  • Fagin, N. Bryllion. William Bartram: Interpreter of the American Landscape. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1933.
  • Harper, Francis, ed. The Travels of William Bartram: Naturalist Edition. Athens, Ga.: University of Georgia Press, 1998. [An online version of the original Travels is available from Documenting the American South at http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/bartram/menu.html.]
  • Magee, Judith. The Art and Science of William Bartram. University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2007.
  • Sanders, Brad. Guide to William Bartram's Travels: Following the Trail of America's First Great Naturalist. Athens, Ga.: Fevertree Press, 2002.
  • Slaughter, Thomas P., ed. The Natures of John and William Bartram. New York: Vintage, 1996.
  • Spornick, Charles D., Alan R. Cattier, and Robert J. Greene. An Outdoor Guide to Bartram's Travels. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2003.

William Bartram Web Sites

William Bartram Discussion Questions

  • Why do you think so much time elapsed between Bartram’s return from the South to Pennsylvania and the publication of his book?
  • Why did William Bartram’s Travels have an influence on Romantic Period poets such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth?
  • The Franklin tree may have been rescued from extinction as a result of William Bartram collecting and planting its seeds. On the other hand, the giant evening primrose, another plant Bartram collected, became a roadside weed in Europe. Are collecting activities such as those of the Bartrams ecologically beneficial or harmful?

William Bartram Lesson Plans

The Historical Novel

Scholar: Dr. Bert Hitchcock, Professor emeritus, Department of English, Auburn University

Interviewer Maiben Beard and Dr. Bert Hitchcock discuss the historical novel.

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Alabama Authors

Ace Atkins, Douglas Fields Bailey, Wyatt Blassingame, Arna Bontemps, Joe David Brown, Carl Carmer, Forrest Carter, Jeremiah Clemens, Lonnie Coleman, T. C. de Leon, Jesse Hill Ford, Tom Franklin, Ravi Howard, J. H. Ingraham, Mary Johnston, Madison Jones, Perry Lentz, Andrew Lytle, Robert R. McCammon, John Trotwood Moore, Sena Jeter Naslund, Julia Oliver, Gin Phillips, Catherine Rodgers, Lee Smith, Virginia Eggertsen Sorensen, Emma Gelders Sterne, T. S. Stribling, Margaret Walker, Lella Warren, John Weld

Historical Novel Audio (MP3 format)

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Historical Novel Transcript (PDF format)

Historical Novel Reading List (PDF format)

Historical Novel Web Sites

Historical Novel Discussion Questions

  • Many writers of historical fiction are meticulous about their research. However, even the most careful will “change history” by adding or eliminating characters, rearranging geography, altering the sequence of events, etc., to improve their stories. From your own experience, is fiction a useful tool for learning history?
  • Sir Walter Scott believed that the writer should focus on people rather than on period details because human nature is the same underneath our cultural influences. Other writers believe that the world in which people live shapes their personalities and behavior, so they provide period details to help readers better understand their characters’ actions. How do you feel about this?
  • Writers sometimes use historical settings to examine contemporary issues. For example, Arthur Miller’s The Crucible uses the Salem witch trials to make a point about McCarthyism in the Nineteen Fifties. Does the period atmosphere that results from this change make the author’s message more or less clear to the average person? Explain.

Historical Novel Lesson Plans

Nineteenth Century Women's Literary Culture in America

Scholar: Dr. James Emmett Ryan, Department of English, Auburn University

Interviewer Maiben Beard and Dr. James Emmett Ryan discuss women's contributions to literary culture in Nineteenth Century America.

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Alabama Authors

Rebecca Harding Davis, Caroline Lee Hentz, Louise Clarke Pyrnelle, Howard Weeden, Augusta Jane Evans Wilson

Nineteenth Century Women's Literary Culture in America Audio (MP3 format)

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Nineteenth Century Women's Literary Culture in America Transcript (PDF format)

Nineteenth Century Women's Literary Culture in America Reading List (PDF format)

Web Sites

Nineteenth Century Women's Literary Culture in America Discussion Questions

  • Why do you think that books written by American women were more popular than books by American men during the Nineteenth Century?
  • One of the ideas associated with the concept of "separate spheres" was that women were naturally superior to men in moral and spiritual matters. What connections can you see between this idea and the writing done by Nineteenth Century women?
  • Women writers in the Nineteenth Century were mostly white Protestant women from the Northeastern United States (with a few notable exceptions from the Southern states). Why do you suppose this was the case?

Nineteenth Century Women's Literary Culture in America Lesson Plans

Letters from Alabama (U. S.): Chiefly Relating to Natural History

Reader: Mr. Aaron Trehub, Assistant Dean for Library Technology, Auburn University Libraries

Librarian Aaron Trehub reads an excerpt from Philip Henry Gosse's Letters from Alabama.

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Alabama Authors

Philip Henry Gosse

Letters from Alabama Audio (MP3 format)

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Letters from Alabama Transcript (PDF format)

Letters from Alabama Reading List

  • Barber, Lynn. The Heyday of Natural History, 1820-1870. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1980.
  • Gosse, Philip Henry. Letters from Alabama (U. S.): Chiefly Relating to Natural History. London: Morgan and Chase, 1859. Rpt. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1993. [An online version of Letters from Alabama is available from Google Book Search at http://books.google.com/books?id=fCg5AAAAMAAJ.]
  • Irmscher, Christopher. The Poetics of Natural History: From John Bartram to William James. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1999.
  • Merrill, Lynn L. The Romance of Victorian Natural History. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.
  • Prince, Sue Ann, ed. Stuffing Birds, Pressing Plants, Shaping Knowledge: Natural History in North America, 1730-1860. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 2003.
  • Thwaite, Ann. Glimpses of the Wonderful: The Life of Philip Henry Gosse, 1810-1888. London: Faber and Faber, 2002.
  • Welch, Margaret. The Book of Nature: Natural History in the United States, 1825-1875. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1998.

Letters from Alabama Web Sites

Letters from Alabama Discussion Questions

  • Letters from Alabama is not really a collection of letters, and it was not written when Gosse was living in Alabama. It is a collection of essays based on notes and drawings he made during that stay, and it was written over fifteen years after Gosse had returned to England. Why do you think Gosse presented this material in letter format? What differences would you expect if these were actual letters written in 1838?
  • Gosse lived in Alabama in 1838, approximately the same time period described in the stories of "Old Southwest" humorists such as Joseph Glover Baldwin and Johnson Jones Hooper. Gosse's Alabama seems a completely different place from that of Baldwin and Hooper. What do you think accounts for this difference?
  • In Letters from Alabama, Gosse was describing an exotic locale (frontier Alabama) for a middle-class British audience. In addition to the local plants and animals, he also discussed food, building methods, language usage, and local customs (including slavery). Suppose Gosse had visited Alabama fifty years later (1888). What changes would you expect, and what would you expect to be the same? What if he had visited one hundred years later (1938)?

Autobiography and Memoir

Scholar: Dr. Bert Hitchcock, Professor emeritus, Department of English, Auburn University

Interviewer Maiben Beard and Dr. Bert Hitchcock discuss autobiography and memoir.

Click here for more information.

Alabama Authors

Helen Blackshear, Rick Bragg, Mary Ward Brown, Virginia Pounds Brown, R. Scott Brunner, Jimmy Buffett, Truman Capote, John Henrik Clarke, Dennis Covington, Vicki Covington, Angela Davis, Rebecca Harding Davis, Virginia Foster Durr, Patricia Foster, Frye Gaillard, Charles Gaines, Wayne Greenhaw, Virginia Van der Veer Hamilton, Trudier Harris, A. Cleveland Harrison, James Haskins, Lillian Hellman, Paul Hemphill, Aileen Kilgore Henderson, Homer Hickam, Zora Neale Hurston, Rheta Grimsley Johnson, Helen Keller, Martin Luther King, Jr., Viola Goode Liddell, Andrew Lytle, John McCormack, Deborah E. McDowell, Barbara Robinette Moss, Lewis Nordan, Nancy Huddleston Packer, Judith Hillman Paterson, Howell Raines, Eleanor de la Vergne Risley, Nate Shaw, Celestine Sibley, E. B. Sledge, Virginia Sorensen, William Spratling, T. S. Stribling, Hudson Strode, Gay Talese, Ellen Tarry, Margaret Walker, Eugene Walter, Booker T. Washington, John Weld, Edward O. Wilson, Kathryn Tucker Windham, Tobias Wolff, Clement Wood

Autobiography and Memoir Audio (MP3 format)

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Autobiography and Memoir Transcript (PDF format)

Autobiography and Memoir Reading List (PDF format)

Autobiography and Memoir Web Sites

Autobiography and Memoir Discussion Questions

  • Many autobiographies and memoirs are being written now by young people. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of writing at a young age vs. waiting until the author is older?
  • Legal issues aside, do you think the author of an autobiography or memoir should "tell all" or should s/he make an effort to protect the identities or reputations of other people? Does your answer change depending on how long ago the events described took place?
  • Autobiographies always leave out part of the author's life story, the part that happens after the book is published. Knowing that, would you rather read a famous personís autobiography or wait for a biography to be published after his/her death?

Autobiography and Memoir Lesson Plans

Crime Fiction

Scholar: Dr. Christopher Keirstead, Department of English, Auburn University

Interviewer Maiben Beard and Dr. Christopher Keirstead discuss crime fiction.

Click here for more information.

Alabama Authors

Ace Atkins, Wyatt Blassingame, Jimmy Buffett, W. E. Butterworth/W.E.B. Griffin, Truman Capote, C. Terry Cline, Jr., Octavus Roy Cohen, Thomas H. Cook, Cecil Dawkins, Babs H. Deal, Tim Dorsey, Anne George, Carolyn Haines, Gustav Hasford, W. L. Heath, John Logue, Sara Elizabeth Mason, Julia Oliver, Richard North Patterson, Celestine Sibley, Mike Stewart, Clement Wood

Crime Fiction Audio (MP3 format)

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Crime Fiction Transcript (PDF format)

Crime Fiction Reading List (PDF format)

Crime Fiction Web Sites

Crime Fiction Discussion Questions

  • As the popularity of crime fiction has increased, publishers have increased the numbers of new titles being released in this genre. Is this more likely to increase or decrease the quality of the novels produced? Explain.
  • The line between "literary fiction which features crime" and "crime fiction" varies depending on who is drawing it—authors, publishers, booksellers, critics, or readers. Why do you think we make this distinction? What are some works that you think straddle this line?
  • Crime novels that feature minority detectives may include settings that describe cultures or sub-cultures that are unfamiliar to the average mystery reader. Do such books increase tolerance for these minority cultures or do they attract readers who are already more tolerant?

Crime Fiction Lesson Plans

Last updated on 2009-10-08.