State of the Heart

A collection of heartfelt recollections of place from a pantheon of Palmetto State writers

In State of the Heart, Aïda Rogers has crafted an artful love letter to our state, with contributions from a host of nationally and regionally recognized writers who've written short essays on the South Carolina places that they cherish. This anthology provides a multifaceted historical and personal view of the Palmetto State.

Thematically organized, this collection offers a geographic and emotional scope that is as diverse as its contributors. Sportswriters describe beloved arenas; historians reflect on church ruins and forts. A playwright recalls the magic of her first theater experience; a food writer revels in a coastal joint that serves fresh oysters. Backyards, front porches, a small library at a children's home, the drama and camaraderie of building the Savannah River Site, and places that are gone except in the memories of the writers who loved them—these are just a few of the locales covered, all showing how South Carolina has changed and inspired people in a variety of ways.

State of the Heart evokes a sense of history and timelessness by bringing together heartfelt responses to South Carolina locales rooted in memory, drawing on reflection, inspiration, and love. The anthology reveals a state that is more than a playground for tourists; it's a state of human hiding places that echo in the hearts of its literary citizens. Though presented as a book about place, the collection is ultimately about our shared connections to one another, to a complex common past, and to ongoing efforts to frame and build a future of promise and possibility.

Includes essays by: William P. Baldwin III, Kendall Bell, Cynthia Boiter, Shane Bradley, Lee Gordon Brockington, Ken Burger, Amanda Capps, John Celly, Robin Asbury Cutler, Billy Deal, Clair DeLune, Nathalie Dupree, Mary Eaddy, Starkey Flythe, Daniel E. Harmon, Steve Hoffius, Celie S. Holmes, Dot Jackson, Dianne "Dinah" Johnson, Sandra E. Johnson, John Lane, J. Drew Lanham, Nick Lindsay, Vennie Deas Moore, John Hammond Moore, Sam Morton, Horace Mungin, Kirk H. Neely, Liz Newall, Tom Poland, Dori Sanders, W. Thomas Smith Jr., Deno Trakas, Ceille Baird Welch, Marjory Wentworth