This work explores the continuation of the Classical literary tradition in Southern literature from the Colonial era to the present. It contrasts American writing outside the South which attacked or consciously undermined the Classics with a Southern literature that staunchly adhered to the eternal verities of the Classical tradition. The work treats both major and minor Southern writers throughout her four centuries. This continued influence is responsible for the global interest in Southern literature.

The Classical Origins of Southern Literature

Literature & Fiction

Kibler, James Everett

History & Criticism

Abbeville Institute, Ltd.

CAROLINA DUTCH FORK CALENDAR: Manners and Customs in the Olden Times

Dutch Fork Press

Tiller is set in upcountry South Carolina in the year 2008. Its chief character, who has just turned sixty, is doing what he can to maintain a sane life in and for his farm community in a time that is seriously out of joint. After the tragic loss of his wife two decades ago, Chauncey still lives alone on his family farm, but has slowly rejoined the world. It is his ties to the land and the members of his community that aid in the healing process. Tiller details this coming back to normalcy through his primary friendships with Kildee and Bess Henderson, Clint Blair (his dead wife's brother) and Trig Tinsley, a childhood friend who has had his own problems. These are characters met in Kibler's three previous novels set in this same community: Memory's Keep (which takes place in 1975), Walking Toward Home (set in 2003), and The Education of Chauncey Doolittle (set the year before in 2007). A new character, Dana Oxner, now divorced, returns home from corporate life in Charlotte seeking normalcy as well. Both she and Chauncey have scars that still need healing and together find solace in one another. In many ways the novel inverts the plot of Thomas Hardy's famous tragic novel, The Return of the Native. Tiller can be read alone, but achieves richness and complexity from its three predecessors. It thus forms the cap and final volume of a full tetralogy. Few such literary accomplishments are to be found in modern literature.

Tiller (Clay Bank County)

Humor & Satire

Green Altar Books

Faulkner the Southerner is the first biography to place the author in the context of his Southern culture and the continuity of Southern letters. Doing so helps prevent glaring misreadings of his fiction. It explores Faulkner's humor, sense of honor, rootedness in place, criticism of the machine culture and racial attitudes. It treats Faulkner the raconteur, successful farmer, sensitive preservationist, conservative, and Southern traditionalist.

Faulkner the Southerner and the Continuity of Southern Letters

The Gentler Gamester

ADVANCE READERS HAVE called The Gentler Gamester, Shakespeare in a watermelon patch and Shakespeare with Spanish moss. The main character, an out of luck, young man in Lowcountry Carolina, finds Dame Fortune's favor. In a series of unexpected events, she is ever turning her wheel, and the characters experience life's unpredictability. The Roger and Loutrell subplot provides comic counterpoint to a serious tale of one man's redemption. This is Kibler sixth work of fiction. James Kibler is best known for his fellowship of Southern Writers Award winning Our Father's Fields, which has now become something of a classic. This fiction has garnered praise from George Garrett, Ron Rash, Fred Chapell, Robert Morgan, among others.

United States

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Books by Kibler, James Everett

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Kibler, James Everett. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Classical Origins of Southern Literature

CAROLINA DUTCH FORK CALENDAR: Manners and Customs in the Olden Times

Tiller (Clay Bank County)

Faulkner the Southerner and the Continuity of Southern Letters

The Gentler Gamester

The Gentler Gamester