Lonelier than God: Robert Penn Warren and the Southern Exile [Hardcover]

RANDY HENDRICKS is a professor of English at the State University of West Georgia.

The wandering figure was ever present in Robert Penn Warren's work. Randy Hendricks here explores the centrality of the theme of exile as a way of understanding Warren's artistry, showing that the exile figure is both a key to Warren's relation to much of twentieth-century Southern literature and an index to his growth as an artist.

Understanding the exile theme, as Hendricks reveals, is crucial to understanding Warren's regionalism, his thinking on race, and his complex theories of language. This insightful work makes clearer Warren's place in American literature and his importance to the definition of "Southern" and is a valuable resource for anyone seeking to better understand the interplay between regional consciousness, modernity, and the literary imagination.

Hendricks has written one of the strongest books on Warren to date. This is an indispensable addition to the ongoing discourse on Warren (and modern Southern writing generally), but it is also a model of readability and mature critical reflection. It is precisely the kind of criticism Warren himself practiced—when he was at his best.

The wandering figure was ever present in Robert Penn Warren’s work. Randy Hendricks here explores the centrality of the theme of exile as a way of understanding Warren’s artistry, showing that the exile figure is both a key to Warren’s relation to much of twentieth-century Southern literature and an index to his growth as an artist.