When it comes to the genre of Southern Gothic, readers think of Falkner, O’Connor, and Williams. But Southern Gothic fiction has come a long way since the dawn of Modernism. New List Salon Press wanted to bring the genre and the readers out of the past and into the future. Southern Gothic: New Tales of the South features over a dozen fresh stories by established and up-and-coming authors (gay and straight) who turn the genre on its head. Here’s an interview with one such author, Michael Russell. His frank portrayal of homosexuality and religion in the south will not only remind you of why Southern Gothic fiction is so revered, but also why true love conquers all.
Michael, your story “Long Finger from the Sky” focuses on “forbidden love.” Can you discuss how that fits into the Southern Gothic genre, and how, as a gay writer, that theme is important, or prevalent to you?
It’s a standard theme in the genre. It probably shows up in every Tennessee Williams play. Being gay, our love is automatically forbidden, and if you look through literary history, forbidden love is a compelling theme regardless of sexual orientation. My novel First Floor on Fire has a subplot in which one character is in love with his older brother, which is about as taboo as you can get. Southern Gothic stories are full of the human heart divided against itself. I sometimes think of the genre as being about people messing up their lives in ways we can understand.
You grew up in Arkansas, which is also the setting of your story. How does this reflect your experience of being gay and southern?
Unfortunately, I never made love in a cave during a tornado, but the story does [Read more…] about Talking Southern Gothic Fiction with Michael Russell
