State of the Heart

State of the Heart

South Carolina Writers on the Places They Love

  • Author: Rogers, Aïda; Conroy, Pat
  • Publisher: University of South Carolina Press
  • ISBN: 9781611172515
  • eISBN Pdf: 9781611172522
  • eISBN Epub: 9781611172522
  • Place of publication:  South Carolina , United States
  • Year of digital publication: 2013
  • Month: May
  • Language: English

In State of the Heart, Aïda Rogers has crafted an artful love letter to our state, with contributions from a host of nationally and regionally recognized writers who've written short essays on the South Carolina places that they cherish. This anthology provides a multifaceted historical and personal view of the Palmetto State.

Thematically organized, this collection offers a geographic and emotional scope that is as diverse as its contributors. Sportswriters describe beloved arenas; historians reflect on church ruins and forts. A playwright recalls the magic of her first theater experience; a food writer revels in a coastal joint that serves fresh oysters. Backyards, front porches, a small library at a children's home, the drama and camaraderie of building the Savannah River Site, and places that are gone except in the memories of the writers who loved them—these are just a few of the locales covered, all showing how South Carolina has changed and inspired people in a variety of ways.

State of the Heart evokes a sense of history and timelessness by bringing together heartfelt responses to South Carolina locales rooted in memory, drawing on reflection, inspiration, and love. The anthology reveals a state that is more than a playground for tourists; it's a state of human hiding places that echo in the hearts of its literary citizens. Though presented as a book about place, the collection is ultimately about our shared connections to one another, to a complex common past, and to ongoing efforts to frame and build a future of promise and possibility.

  • Cover
  • Contents
  • List of Illustrations
  • Foreword
  • Acknowledgments
  • Introduction: When the Peach Trees Bloom
  • The Beckoning
    • Near the Doorway
    • A Most Unexpected Muse
  • Counters, Barstools and Booths
    • For the Love of Dogs
    • “Please Tip the Oysterman”
    • Sipping from the Secret Cup
  • Chasing Tranquility
    • Weekend with Sadie
    • Big Woods
    • The Heart of the Garden
    • Close to the Clouds
    • Solace Among the Sycamores
    • Reflection in the Water
  • From the Press Box
    • Where Dreams Rise and Fall
    • When Camelot Came to Columbia
  • Becoming and Overcoming
    • The Musty Smell of Books
    • The Beautiful Ugly
    • Transformation
    • The Beach House
  • The Ever-Present Past
    • The Fiery Serpent in the Wilderness
    • A Snapshot of My Mother at the Dock Street
    • Pilgrimage to Sullivan’s Island
    • A Place Called Hobcaw
    • Where God is Courteous
  • Gone
    • Remembering Keowee: The View Through the Bridge
    • Blackberries for BMWs
    • The Groins
    • The Upper Broad River: A Pastoral
    • No Forever for Old Farms
  • Birds, Fish, Water
    • For the Birds
    • Holy Ground
  • The Comforts of Home
    • My Quarter Acre of Paradise
    • A Little Different, a Little the Same
    • Home
    • Tobacco Roads
    • Mama’s House
    • Backyard Bliss
  • Evening Quiet
    • My Own Place
  • Contributors

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