Finding Home: Porter Briggs' Journey Through Southern Identity
Cover story from the Arkansas Democrat Gazette’s Sunday Arts & Culture section
Porter Briggs sits on the front porch of his family’s home, the same wraparound porch that features prominently in his new book, South, Towards Home. It’s early morning, and the fog hasn’t quite lifted from the valley below. This is the hour, he tells me, when the South feels most like itself—suspended between night and day, between past and present.
“I never intended to write a book about the South,” Briggs admits, coffee mug in hand. “I intended to write a book about home. But for me, for better or worse, those two things are inseparable.”
South, Towards Home has been called “a masterful exploration of Southern identity” by critics, but Briggs resists the idea that he’s written anything definitive. “The South isn’t singular,” he says. “It’s not one story but thousands, millions. I can only tell mine and hope it resonates with others who are trying to understand their own relationship with place.”
The book, published by Southern Accent Publishers, weaves together personal memoir with cultural observation, creating what reviewers have called “a nuanced portrait of the contemporary South.” But Briggs is quick to point out that his South might not be recognizable to everyone.
“My South includes immigrant communities, includes LGBTQ folks, includes people who’ve been here for generations and people who arrived last week,” he says. “That’s the reality of the South today, even if it doesn’t fit the narrative some people prefer.”
[Article continues with discussion of specific chapters, the writing process, and upcoming book tour dates…]