Spring greetings!

I am embarrassed to acknowledge that it has been two months since I last updated Read Southside Virginia. I apologize for the delay.

Although my attention was away from this blog, my mind was still on - and sometimes in - Southside Virginia. I spent most of the months of February and March feverishly researching the history of the Charlotte County Library for my Master's paper. I turned that in three weeks ago, and hopefully I will be able to share a copy with the CCL soon.


That means that I can refocus on this blog and on sharing information about local authors, novels set in Southside Virginia, and other interesting tidbits with you. I was hoping that there would be some fascinating historical fact that makes April 25th especially unique in Southside Virgina, but the closest thing that I could find is that today is the late Etta Fitzgerald's birthday [however, she is from Tidewater].

So, in lieu of a "This Day in Southside Virginia History" entry, I will instead share a wonderful link with you. The Virginia Association of Teachers of English have created the Literary Map of Virginia. This resource offers author biographies and reading lists. Southside Virginia is separated into three regions on the map: Southwestern, Central, and Eastern. Enjoy!

Look for upcoming posts about William Hoffman's first novel The Trumpet Unblown (1955) and Poet Laureate Kelly Cherry's Girl in a Library: On Women Writers & the Writing Life (2009).

Please submit comments below, or send questions and/or recommendations to lucy.hart.peaden@gmail.com. Thanks for reading!