A Literary Tour of the South

The southern United States, with its rich history and traditions, is full of famous literary places. Many acclaimed authors and playwrights were born in, lived in, or wrote about the American South. In nearly every Southern state, a literary minded traveler can find some tie to a writer or his or her work.

Certainly one of the most heralded writers in the south is Tennessee Williams, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of such works as A Streetcar Named Desire, and The Glass Menagerie. There are tributes to him housed in several different southern states, including the one from which he took his name. Named Thomas when he was born in Columbus, Mississippi, Williams changed his name after moving to Toulouse Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. His former home in Columbus is now home to the Mississippi Welcome Center, and the house in New Orleans is now a landmark in The Historic New Orleans Collection. He also lived in Key West, Florida for a time, and upon his death, he bequeathed the rights to his works to The University of the South, in Sewanee, Tennessee.

Asheville, North Carolina was the birthplace of Thomas Wolfe, heralded as a great writer by such literary giants as William Faulkner and Jack Kerouac, and is also the location of his grave. The Thomas Wolfe Memorial can be found on Spruce Street in Asheville, housed within the boarding house his mother owned, where Wolfe went to live with her at the age of 6, leaving the remainder of his family behind at their prior residence.

If you are interested in more modern southern literature, then perhaps Fannie Flagg is to your taste. If so, perhaps you will want to stop by The Whistle Stop Café in Juliette, Georgia, which Ms. Flagg immortalized in her book which later became the movie Fried Green Tomatoes. The building began life in 1927 as a general store and did not actually become a café until after the movie was filmed on site. Flagg is also known for her stints on such shows as The Match Game.

For fans of mystery writer Steven Womack, the multiple award-winning creator of the Harry Dean Stanton, Nashville, Tennessee is a treasure trove of places to visit. From the myriad locales brought to life in his books, to the places he has lived and worked, such as Harpeth Hall, there is no shortage of Womack-related sites to behold in the Volunteer State.