Jerry Leath Mills wrestles with the question of what makes Southern literature identifiable as Southern:
My survey of around thirty prominent twentieth-century Southern authors has led me to conclude, without fear of refutation, that there is indeed a single, simple, litmus-like test for the quality of Southernness in literature, One easily formulated into a question to be asked of any literary text and whose answer may be taken as definitive, delimiting, and final. The test is: Is there a dead mule in it?
Heath’s very fine article then goes on to catalog the ways in which mules come to violence in the works of such writers as Cormac McCarthy, William Faulkner, Truman Capote, Reynolds Price, Frank Conroy and others.
(Via the Bookninja boys.)
I guess the SBC has a mascot now. Question is, how are we going to kill it?
Comment by Jeff — 1/6/2005 @ 11:14 am
CAAF was raised by a German Shepard, she should have picked up a few tips during her formative years!
Enjoy,
Comment by Dan Wickett — 1/6/2005 @ 12:03 pm
Sadly, Aztec gave me no tips on how to kill mules. My real faux Southern heritage suggests that the Southern Bloggers Cabal kill its mule with a forcefeeding of boiled peanuts at the roadside.
Comment by CAAF — 1/6/2005 @ 12:06 pm
Jesus, that piece is so right on. Faulkner was a total muleogynist.
Comment by Jimmy Beck — 1/6/2005 @ 12:17 pm
Isn’t it hilarious? Someone must send a link to Old Hag once she returns — I think she also subscribes to the dead mule theory.
Comment by CAAF — 1/6/2005 @ 12:28 pm
Ol’ Cormac didn’t treat them all that nicely either – I had forgotten the pair that fell into the earth to find good old Lester’s stash. A quick read of Child of God and you realize you really don’t ever want to ask McCarthy “Whar are you thinking about?”
Enjoy,
Comment by Dan Wickett — 1/6/2005 @ 12:35 pm
A dead mule…
I found mention of this paper over at Tingle Alley. An excerpt of the paper:
My survey of around thirty prominent twentieth-century Southern authors has led me to conclude, without fear of refutation, that there is indeed a single, simple, litmus-li…
Trackback by Sample the Web — 1/6/2005 @ 1:39 pm
Of course, the folks at Dead Mule have known this for for 9 years or so now: http://www.deadmule.com/content/
They published a story by Mr. Rowe once (the first story I ever read of his actually); it was dead mule-free, but featured a gigantor catfish.
Comment by gwenda — 1/6/2005 @ 3:27 pm
Hmmm, boiled peanuts? Interesting. Or, we just stuff the mule w/ good old salted ones and then force a gallon of RC down his gullet and wait for the explosion.
Comment by Jeff — 1/6/2005 @ 11:13 pm
Jeff, v. nice and sick. We can throw a few Pop Rocks in there too … they’re not regional specific but they will add dynamite.
Comment by CAAF — 1/6/2005 @ 11:38 pm