Ruminations on Reading and Writing

My friend Elijah Ammen teaches reading remediation to help students who would otherwise be passed through the system or drop out of school and writes about the lessons he creates, and the lessons he learns, on Lesson Planet, which is all round just an excellent resource for teachers.  His latest posting there, Southern Literature: Gritty, Gothic, and Grotesque, gives an excellent overview of the defining characteristics and incredible value of a genre of literature for which he and I both share a great love: Southern Literature.  The class on Southern Lit Elijah and I took under the exceptional tutelage of Dr. Whit Jones is one of the highlights of my College years and has deeply influenced my personal writing style and aesthetics.  I would earnestly encourage my readers read Elijah's brief expose on the treasures to be found in this much over looked genre and pick one of the works he mentions as your next story to read and reflect on.