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    In search of Boo Radley

    She has the plot and the main players in mind and now she needs a special name for a character unlike any other. She invents a surname and with the aid of her attorney sister, searches local courthouse records to be sure the choice will not offend area residents. Satisfied her selection is unique, she [...]

    Thoughts on apocalyptic fiction

    It seems like post-apocalyptic films and books are all over the place right now. Just watching the previews for the movie 2012, which came out in November, made me want to cry. I don’t want the world to end in 2012, or anytime soon, really. So why are we so fascinated with it?

    Alabama vs. Florida, on the literary front

    I had a special reason to celebrate the University of Alabama’s victory over the University of Florida in the SEC Championship game on December 5. At the Federation of State Humanities Councils’ national conference in November, I made a wager on the game with the incoming chairman of the Federation board, David Colburn. David is [...]

    A look at genre fiction

    Halloween got me thinking about horror fiction. I’m a big fan of the horror genre, and I think that one of the reasons I enjoy it so much is that it’s revelatory. What we fear says a great deal about who we are.

    A new view of Dr. Seuss

    I was talking to a coworker a few weeks ago about some night classes she had taken recently–one of which was in the humanities. She mentioned that she had written a paper on Dr. Theodor Seuss Geisel, the famous children’s books author and illustrator. I assumed that the subject matter of her paper was directed [...]

    Use a writing workshop as a starting point

    I have always been an avid reader. What I didn’t realize about myself until recently, however, is that I also love to write. Writing can be used for numerous purposes. It can be a healthy outlet for working through an emotion. It can allow people to organize their thoughts and prove (or disprove) a point. [...]

    Students Launch 13th edition of Vulcan Historical Review

    In addition to celebrating the 40th anniversary of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the student members of Phi Alpha Theta presented the 13th Edition of the Vulcan Historical Review (VHR) student journal to distinguished guests and fellow students on Thursday, September 24.

    Reading Shakespeare in the kudzu patch

    All summer, I read Shakespeare out on my porch with a cold drink, pausing to watch the dragonflies hover around the leaves of my hibiscus.

    An inheritance of literary enjoyment

    One of the most cherished gifts I have ever received was from my grandmother-in-law. I loved going out to see her, because she was an amazing woman–with such a strong personality that commanded respect–and also because she had one room covered wall to wall with books. She had every kind of book imaginable–a true mixture [...]

    Tennessee Williams Tribute

    The fall season of literary festivals in the South officially begins each year with the Tennessee Williams Tribute and Tour of Victorian Homes in Columbus, Miss., an official city along the Southern Literary Trail, a project funded by AHF, and birthplace of the playwright. This year’s edition begins on September 7 and continues through September [...]