Conversations with Dorothy Allison

by Mae Miller Claxton (Editor)

Overview

Since the publication of her groundbreaking novel, Bastard Out of Carolina (1992), Dorothy Allison (b. 1949) has been known-along with authors such as Larry Brown and Lee Smith-as a purveyor of the working class, contemporary South. Allison has frequently used her position, through passionate lectures and enthusiastic interviews, to give voice to issues that concern her most: poverty, working-class life, domestic violence, feminism and women's relationships, the contemporary South, and gay/lesbian life. Often called a "writer-rock star" and a "cult icon," Allison is a true performer of the written word. At the same time, Allison takes the craft of writing very seriously. In this collection, spanning almost two decades, Allison the performer and Allison the careful craftsperson both emerge, creating a portrait of a complex woman. In the absence of a biography of Allison's life, Conversations with Dorothy Allison presents Allison's perspectives on her life, literature, and her conflicted role as a public figure. Mae Miller Claxton is a professor of English at Western Carolina University. She is the coeditor of Anthology of American Literature, eighth edition, volumes I and II (2003) and a contributing editor for The Heath Anthology of American Literature, sixth edition, volumes A-E (2009). She has published articles in Mississippi Quarterly, Southern Quarterly, South Atlantic Review, and English Journal.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781617032868
Publisher:	University Press of Mississippi
Publication date:	05/09/2012
Series:	Literary Conversations Series
Pages:	197
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Mae Miller Claxton is a professor of English at Western Carolina University. She is the co-editor of Anthology of American Literature, eighth edition, volumes I and II and a contributing editor for The Heath Anthology of American Literature, sixth edition, volumes A—E. She has published articles in Mississippi Quarterly, Southern Quarterly, South Atlantic Review, and English Journal.

Table of Contents

Introduction vii

Chronology xvii

Moving toward Truth: An Interview with Dorothy Allison Carolyn Megan/1993 3

Dorothy Allison, Crossover Blues Blanche McCrary Boyd/1993 17

Literary Heroine: Talking with Dorothy Allison Owen Keehnen/1994 21

Dorothy Allison Minnie Bruce Pratt/1995 26

An Interview with Dorothy Allison Susanne Dietzel/1995 40

"We're as American as You Can Get": Dorothy Allison Michael Rowe/1995 53

The Roseanne of Literature Alexis Jetter/1995 70

Dorothy Allison: A Family Redeemed Susan Salter Reynolds/1998 78

Dorothy Allison Laura Miller/1998 83

An Open Book David L. Ulin/1998 93

Dorothy Allison Renée Klorman/1998 98

Dorothy Allison Robert Birnbaum/2002 102

Writer Out of Carolina: Dorothy Allison David A. Fryxell/2003 118

Marina Lewis Talks with Dorothy Allison Marina Lewis/2006 122

Lessening the Damage: Interview with Dorothy Allison Ellise Fuches/2006 141

An Interview with Dorothy Allison Jordan Hartt/2007 150

Interview with a Master: Dorothy Allison Kendra Tuthill/2009 154

Interview with Dorothy Allison Rob Neufeld/2009 166

Index 175