I found this rather battered book from end of the last century on Eagle Eye Books' charity rack for $1. I wanted to read about Southern writing and Eudora Welty's "Why I Live at the PO" in the introductory essay by Tony Earley. I heard Miss Welty read "Why I live at the PO" aloud in the 1970s! And "Lunch at the Piccadilly" by Clyde Edgerton seemed like a good choice too. I'm familiar with his work After reading the essay, I decided to reproduce it within journal entries for this book. Earley's essay begins with this journal entry.

Second page of Tony Earley's introductory essay...

I agree with Tony Earley, "Why I Live at the PO" is both a work of genius and an often unfortunate influence on Southern writing. His story, "Quill" on page 232, delivered dry humor in a moment of sadness. It is just the sort of family story Southerners like to tell.

This is Page 3 of the Earley essay...

I enjoyed "Lunch at the Piccadilly" by Clyde Edgerton, Page 40. I have lived this sort of scene many times with elders in my life. Edgerton managed a compassionate but humorous tone throughout.

This is Page 4 of the Earley essay...

Sadly, New Stories from the South is no longer publishing. It was produced by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill between 1986 and 2010. I remember being aware of it but never having the time to investigate. The series attempted to collect the year's best stories written by Southern writers or about the Southern United States. The stories were chosen from more than 100 literary magazines, including The Atlantic, Harper's Magazine, The New Yorker, the Oxford American, The Paris Review, Ploughshares, and The Southern Review. Shannon Ravenel, who edited the annual Best American Short Stories anthology, which is still produced, launched the New Stories from the South series in 1986. By that time Ravenel was a seasoned American literary editor and co-founder of Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. She compiled and edited every volume of New Stories from the South until 2006. Afterwards there were guest editors. New Stories from the South collected the work of prominent modern American writers, including Steve Almond, Russell Banks, John Barth, Madison Smartt Bell, Wendell Berry, Roy Blount Jr., Larry Brown, James Lee Burke, Robert Olen Butler, Andre Dubus, William Faulkner (publishing a posthumously discovered story for the first time), Barry Hannah, Nanci Kincaid, Aaron Gwyn, Barbara Kingsolver, Bobbie Ann Mason, Reynolds Price, Keith Lee Morris, John Sayles, Lucy Corin, Lee Smith, and Peter Taylor.

Final Page of Tony Earley's introductory essay...

Based on the two stories I read, I am rating this collection an 8. I'm glad I picked it up but don't feel I have time to read every story. I'm reimagining 1999. It was an interesting time in my life. I recall the people of my work life and my other communities of that time very fondly. Many of my friends from those times are still, I am happy to say, a part of my life. I am passing this book along without completing it because so many other unread books on my shelves are calling to me. I will release it with a copy of the National Book Award winning, THE COLLECTED STORIES OF EUDORA WELTY. "Why I Live at the PO" is on Page 46.

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This book has traveled forth from Dancing Goats. I hope that its new owner is enjoying it!

Yesterday I noticed that this book has returned to the Dancing Goats Little Free Library in Decatur. May it enjoy another reader soon.