By Gary Richards
THE AMERICAN South arguably has the nationâs most vibrant, celebrated regional literature, and key among its writers are outstanding women, ranging from Harriet Jacobs, Constance Fenimore Woolson, and Kate Chopin in the 19th century to LeAnne Howe, Jesmyn Ward, and Karen Russell in the 21st century.
The 20th century is a particularly rich era, and one thinks of a constellation of Southern women writers from this period whose works have become integral to our national literary heritage: Margaret Mitchellâs âGone with the Windâ (1936); Flannery OâConnorâs macabre short stories; Harper Leeâs âTo Kill a Mockingbirdâ (1960); Alice Walkerâs âThe Color Purpleâ (1982); and Dorothy Allisonâs âBastard Out of Carolinaâ (1992).