Gully Dirt: On Exposing the Klan Raising a Hog and Escaping the South

No part of America scars its children as does the south.In this incandescent memoir Robert Coram tells how a rough-edged boy escaped from a nowhere little town in rural southwest Georgia and became an accomplished writer.With a flawless ear and an unblinking eye Coram escorts us across a unique landscape capturing the nuances of life in a small southern town during the 1950s not by writing of the romantic south but rather of a south that can be narrow and harsh and brutal. He takes on the big issues: race religion love death and family values. His coming-of-age story is troubling sometimes embarrassing to read but always hilarious.As a native son Coram captures in pitch-perfect tone the voice of a teenage boy a new voice from the old south--a voice as fresh and as blinding as a southern sunrise.Coram holds nothing back. No part of his early life is too embarrassing or too personal including losing his virginity in a church and public beatings by his father. Though centered on Corams long-suffering mother his brutal father and his dog that lived in hope the main feature of his story may be the humor. Rarely does a writer draw so much humor from such a harsh childhood. His story will linger in your heart.Coram is the author of seven novels and seven works of non-fiction including four acclaimed biographies. He lives in Atlanta.