The idea of place��ny place��emains one of our most basic yet slippery concepts. It is a space with boundaries whose limits may be definite or indefinite; it can be a real location or an
abstract mental, spiritual, or imaginary construction.
Casey Clabough�� thorough examination of the importance of place in southern literature examines the works of a wide range of authors, including Fred Chappell, George Garrett, William
Hoffman, Julien Green, Kelly Cherry, David Huddle, and James Dickey. Clabough expands the definition of ��ere��beyond mere geography, offering nuanced readings that examine tradition and
nostalgia and explore the existential nature of ��lace.��br> Deeply concerned with literature as a form of emotional, intellectual, and aesthetic engagement with the local and the
regional, Clabough considers the idea of place in a variety of ways: as both a physical and metaphorical location; as an important factor in shaping an individual, informing one of the ways
the person perceives the world; and as a temporal as well as geographic construction.
This fresh and useful contribution to the scholarship on southern literature explains how a text can open up new worlds for readers if they pay close enough attention to place.
