Reading McCarthy Episode 4: Southern Gothic and the Grotesque in McCarthy, with Bill Hardwig
READING MCCARTHY is a podcast devoted to the consideration and discussion of the works of one of our greatest American writers, Cormac McCarthy. Each episode calls upon different well-known Cormackian readers and scholars to help us explore different works and various essential aspects of McCarthy’s writing. Scott Yarbrough is your host in these deep dives into the world of McCarthy.
This episode considers the Southern Gothic and the Grotesque as it relates to the work of Cormac McCarthy. Our guest is Bill Hardwig, Associate Professor of English at the University of Tennessee. His book Upon Provincialism: Southern Literature and National Periodical Culture, 1870-1900 was published by the University of Virginia Press in 2013. He has edited critical editions of In the Tennessee Mountains by Mary Murfree and a forthcoming edition of Evelyn Scott’s Background in Tennessee and is co-editor with Susanna Ashton of Approaches to Teaching the Works of Charles W. Chesnutt in the MLA teaching series. He has written and published various essays on McCarthy and is currently working on a book-length study of McCarthy’s fiction tentatively titled How Cormac Works: McCarthy, Language, and Style. He is also creator of the website Literary Knox (www.literaryknox.com) , which presents the rich literary history of the city in which he works and lives, Knoxville, Tennessee.
Music for READING MCCARTHY is composed, performed, and produced by Thomas Frye. Interludes this week include “The World to Come,” “Running with Wolves,” “Toadvine,” “Much Like Yourself,” and “Blues for Blevins.”
The opinions of the host and his guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions of their institutions or the Cormac McCarthy Society.
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Starting in spring of 2023, the podcast began accepting minor sponsorship offers to offset the costs of the podcast. This may cause a mild disconnect in earlier podcasts where the host asks for patrons in lieu of sponsorships. But if we compare it to a very large and naked bald man in the middle of the desert who leads you to an extinct volcano to create gunpowder, it seems pretty minor...