ONEONTA, N.Y. -- Assistant
Professor
George Hovis of the
English
Department at the SUNY College at Oneonta is the author of a new
book entitled "Vale of Humility: Plain Folk in Contemporary North
Carolina Fiction," which was released this month by the University
of South Carolina Press.
Hovis' book explores the work of six representative contemporary
writers from the state's three geographic regions: Lee Smith and
Fred Chappell from the mountains, Doris Betts and Clyde Edgerton
from the piedmont, and Reynolds Price and Randall Kenan from the
coastal plain. Hovis analyzes their work within the broader southern
literary tradition and explores the persistence of the yeoman farmer
as cultural icon in contemporary fiction
Dr. Hovis' short stories have appeared in several literary
journals, and his scholarship on American writers includes articles
on Thomas Wolfe, Tennessee Williams, Randall Kenan, and Fred
Chappell. He is currently at work on a novel that chronicles
cultural transitions in the Sunbelt South.
George Hovis joined the SUNY-Oneonta faculty in 2006 after having
taught for several years at Murray State University in Kentucky. A
native of North Carolina, he holds a Ph.D. in English from the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At SUNY-Oneonta, he
teaches courses in creative writing and American literature. |
