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If you care to define the South as a poor, rural region with lousy race relations, that South survives only in geographical shreds and patches and most Southerners don't live there any more.

The nature of the South is changing faster than the stereotypes are. Much of the South now looks like San Jose. Is it still southern?

I travel all the time, but when I come back to the South, I see such progress. In a real sense, a great deal of the South has been redeemed. People feel freer, more complete, more whole, because of what happened in the movement.

My style is not specific to the antebellum South, but it's heavily inspired by the Jim Crow era.

I had been to the South many times and I thought I knew what the South was, but not until you live with people and live through their lives do you know what it's really about.

While I've said that there are plenty of things I dislike about the South, I can be clear that there are things I love about the South.

I think we Southerners have talked a fair amount of malarkey about the mystique of being Southern.

As you know, the South is known for its hospitality, traditions, football, pageants, and food. Football is almost like a religion here. People say their priorities are faith, family, and then football. People eat, breathe, and sleep it in the South. It's a huge deal.

You know, I love the South.

There's something sort of intrinsic in being a Southerner that doesn't go away. You can't get rid of it, but it's not something that's terribly obvious.