Pat Conroy was the epitome of the "Southern Writer" for many years and called by some "the most beloved American writer of his generation"—and was also a God-haunted Catholic who wrote often and deeply about religious faith.

waiting in fear of the burn

I found I was playing the whole house,

And suddenly, without warning this long year of suffering comes back in fragments,

In his 2024 National Book Award-winning novel, 'James,' Percival Everett grapples with philosophical and metaphysical questions as well as racial issues, while enveloping all in sarcasm and irony.

Richard Bernstein tackles difficult topics in his short study of an extraordinary entertainer, Al Jolson (born Asa Yoelson in Lithuania in 1886), and a profoundly important movie—and not just because “The Jazz Singer” is recognized as the “first talkie.”