Southern Lit recs?

[mordia]

I'm in a Southern Lit course and we have to pick a work to write a paper on later and I have a problem: I have too many ideas.

I've thought of a few so far, so if you have any thoughts on these (do read it, don't read it, burn it, read it but not for this class, whatever) would you be so kind as to share them?

Cane - Jean Toomer -- We read excerpts and I really liked the style. Hadn't really thought of using it until today.
The Awakening - Kate Chopin -- Because it's been on my "to read" list for a little while.
Golden Apples - Eudora Welty -- My teacher suggested this one, because I said I liked Flannery O'Connor.

I like Flannery O'Connor and William Faulkner, but I've either "done" them before (O'Connor/Wise Blood) or I tried to read something by them and failed miserably at the time (Faulkner/As I Lay Dying).

But, if you have any other thoughts or favorites or something, I'm happy to explore those, too. (There's a limit on what I can use in the class, but I'd be happy to read more outside of class. I can post more specifics, but it's laaaaate, and my professor is flexible. Kate Chopin doesn't actually "count" in this regard, but he said it would be okay.)

(PS - hope everything is done right as far as posting.)

[sammybluejay]

The Awakening is wonderful! I have a few copies of it lying around because I keep finding them for like $2 and caving and getting them... Her short stories are also pretty great.

I tried to get through As I Lay Dying for a class and it almost killed me. I just could not get into it, at all. It felt like torture.

[andy]

We read a good bit of American local color writing, 1880-1920 edited by Elizabeth Ammons and Valerie Rohy (I had a pretty old Penguin edition, I dunno if there are newer reprints) for one of my courses last year, not all of the texts are Southern lit, but there's a very good selection of interesting short texts so it's something you might explore if you're not sure what text(s) to pick. But I would definitely advice against picking a topic without having first read the text(s) your essay would be based on, it's just too hard to tell how much you'd like a whole text based on bits of it and it's so horrible to have to do an assignment on a text you don't like.

[jsoppenheimer]

If you're thinking Eudora Welty, I haven't read Golden Apples, but Delta Wedding is great, so either of those should be a good coice. Another favorite of mine is A Confederacy of Dunces, and I think the wacky characters/language/themes should give you plenty of material for a paper. Then, of course, there's Truman Capote. I've only read Other Voices, Other Rooms, and I think it would make for a very interesting discourse, but he has plenty of other works from which to choose. Hope this helps!

[rizzolina]

Their eyes were watching God by Zora Neale Hurston