May 19, 2000

'Southern Aberrations: Writers of the American South and the Problems of Regionalism'

By NINA C. AYOUB

Is there a Mason-Dixon Line in Southern literature? What makes a writer Southern? Birth, themes, inclination?

Edgar Allan Poe chose to declare himself. "I am a Virginian," wrote the Boston-born Poe, who lived much of his life in Richmond. "At least, I call myself one." Playing Southern gentleman was a favorite role for Poe, says Richard Gray, even when his being a professional writer and editor upset Southern images of literature as a province of gifted amateurs.

In Mr. Gray's

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