Literary Trails of Eastern North Carolina: A Guidebook

by Georgann Eubanks

Overview

This concluding volume of the Literary Trails of North Carolina trilogy takes readers into an ancient land of pale sand, dense forests, and expansive bays, through towns older than our country and rich in cultural traditions. Here, writers reveal lives long tied to the land and regularly troubled by storms and tell tales of hardship, hard work, and freedom. Eighteen tours lead readers from Raleigh to the Dismal Swamp, the Outer Banks, and across the Sandhills as they explore the region’s connections to over 250 writers of fiction, poetry, plays, and creative nonfiction. Along the way, Georgann Eubanks brings to life the state’s rich literary heritage as she explores these writers' connection to place and reveals the region’s vibrant local culture. Excerpts invite readers into the authors' worlds, and web links offer resources for further exploration. Featured authors include A. R. Ammons, Gerald Barrax, Charles Chesnutt, Clyde Edgerton, Philip Gerard, Kaye Gibbons, Harriet Jacobs, Jill McCorkle, Michael Parker, and Bland Simpson.

Literary Trails of North Carolina is a project of the North Carolina Arts Council.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781469607023
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	04/01/2013
Edition description:	1
Pages:	377
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Georgann Eubanks is a writer, teacher, and consultant to nonprofit groups across the country. She is director of the Table Rock Writers Workshop, was a founder of the North Carolina Writers' Network, and is past chair of the North Carolina Humanities Council. She lives in Carrboro, N.C.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Trail 1 The Southeastern Corridor: Waters Dark and Clear 1

Tour 1 Raleigh 5

Tour 2 Cary: Apex: Holly Springs: Fuquay-Varina: Angier: Buies Creek: Lillington: Sanford: Southern Pines: Aberdeen 31

Tour 3 Fayetteville 51

Tour 4 Wagram: Riverton: Laurinburg: Maxton: Pembroke: Fairmont Tabor City 68

Tour 5 Lumberton: Elizabethtown: White Lake: Singletary Lake: Clarkton: Whiteville: Lake Waccamaw: Green Swamp 85

Tour 6 Calabash: Sunset Beach: Shallotte: Holden Beach: Oak Island: Southport: Bald Head Island: Fort Fisher 100

Tour 7 Carolina Beach: Wilmington: Wrightsville Beach 115

Trail 2 The Middle Corridor: The Harvest 133

Tour 8 McGee's Crossroads: Benson: Dunn: Averasboro: Wade: Spivey's Corner: Newton Grove: Bentonville: Smithfield 137

Tour 9 Goldsboro: Cliffs of the Neuse: Mount Olive: Faison: Clinton: Warsaw: Kenansville: Chinquapin: Willard: Burgaw 153

Tour 10 Wilson: Stantonsburg: Snow Hill: Kinston: New Bern: Pollocksville: Jacksonville: Topsail Beach 173

Tour 11 Swansboro: Salter Path: Atlantic Beach: Morehead City: Beaufort: Harker's Island: Minnesott Beach 192

Trail 3 The Northeastern Corridor: Lost and Found 207

Tour 12 Zebulon: Wake Forest: Louisburg: Littleton: Thelma: Roanoke Rapids: Weldon 211

Tour 13 Seaboard: Jackson: Rich Square: Windsor: Murfreesboro 227

Tour 14 Gatesville: Great Dismal Swamp: Elizabeth City: Shawboro: Currituck: Duck: Corolla 241

Tour 15 Rocky Mount: Tarboro: Princeville: Parmele: Williamston: Edenton 256

Tour 16 Fountain: Greenville: Washington: Bath: Belhaven: Lake Mattamuskeet: Columbia: Creswell 275

Tour 17 Ocracoke Island: Portsmouth Island: Hatteras Island: Pea Island 293

Tour 18 Kitty Hawk: Kill Devil Hills: Nags Head: Wanchese: Manteo: Fort Raleigh City 308

Acknowledgments 329

A Note on the North Carolina Literary Trails Program 333

Permissions 335

Index 339

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Follow [Eubanks’s] travels . . . and you will have the most enjoyable and efficient survey of authors and literary connections in [Eastern North Carolina].”—D.G. Martin

“Bravo to the North Carolina Arts Council for these guidebooks, which encourage both natives and visitors to explore our state’s rich literary landscape.” — Ron Rash, North Carolina author of the New York Times best seller Serena

“I thought I knew a lot about the literary history of my part of the state, but it turns out, with Georgann Eubanks as my guide, I did not know the quarter of it. Eubanks’s research is exhaustive but never exhausting, for her prose is clear-eyed and crisp and her attention to writers who have not gotten their due is especially enlightening. This book is an invaluable resource to all of us, but especially to those who assume that the only culture east of Interstate 95 is agriculture.” — Michael Parker, author of The Watery Part of the World

“With this book, Georgann Eubanks concludes her monumental trilogy. Rich with anecdotes, photographs, and snippets from dozens of writers, she ends appropriately at the Outer Banks where our literary history began. Every school library in our state should have a copy on its shelves.” — Margaret Maron, author of Three-Day Town

“Georgann Eubanks leaves no stone unturned as she chronicles the many writers born of and influenced by this state. And her masterful storytelling allows us to feel we have witnessed it all firsthand. I am particularly thrilled with this latest volume to see the area I know as home so beautifully documented. It is rendered with a sharp curious eye, a strong sense of place, and a great respect and love for the written word.” — Jill McCorkle, author of Life After Life

Editorial Reviews

“The sheer volume of detail Eubanks brings to bear is staggering.” — Wilmington-Star News

“A valuable resource and a wise investment by the state in preserving its literary heritage and fostering interest in North Carolina’s history.” — North Carolina Historical Review

“Another fun way to plan a mini-vacation.” — Southern Pines Pilot

“Follow [Eubanks’s] travels . . . and you will have the most enjoyable and efficient survey of authors and literary connections in [Eastern North Carolina].”—D.G. Martin

“Bravo to the North Carolina Arts Council for these guidebooks, which encourage both natives and visitors to explore our state’s rich literary landscape.” — Ron Rash, North Carolina author of the New York Times best seller Serena

“I thought I knew a lot about the literary history of my part of the state, but it turns out, with Georgann Eubanks as my guide, I did not know the quarter of it. Eubanks’s research is exhaustive but never exhausting, for her prose is clear-eyed and crisp and her attention to writers who have not gotten their due is especially enlightening. This book is an invaluable resource to all of us, but especially to those who assume that the only culture east of Interstate 95 is agriculture.” — Michael Parker, author of The Watery Part of the World

“With this book, Georgann Eubanks concludes her monumental trilogy. Rich with anecdotes, photographs, and snippets from dozens of writers, she ends appropriately at the Outer Banks where our literary history began. Every school library in our state should have a copy on its shelves.” — Margaret Maron, author of Three-Day Town

“Georgann Eubanks leaves no stone unturned as she chronicles the many writers born of and influenced by this state. And her masterful storytelling allows us to feel we have witnessed it all firsthand. I am particularly thrilled with this latest volume to see the area I know as home so beautifully documented. It is rendered with a sharp curious eye, a strong sense of place, and a great respect and love for the written word.” — Jill McCorkle, author of Life After Life

From the Publisher