Strange and Lurid Bloom

Book excerpt: Caroline Gordon, regarded as a minor figure of the Southern Renaissance, was enviviosned as a writer, sometimes as a mother, but most often as a wife to Allen Tate and as a hostess and novelist who entertained and sometimes mentored artists visiting their home in Tennessee. This critical interpretation assesses Caroline Gordon's early struggles to gain voice and respect as a writer, her tendency to explore themes of sexual and racial tension, and the strange and lurid bloom of Gordon's genius.