Terrains of the Heart

In this collection of essays Willie Morris explores the subject of “home” and what it means to Americans. Morris takes the reader on a chronological journey of places he lived and worked: as a student at the University of Texas in Austin, as Rhodes scholar in Oxford, England, as Editor-in-Chief of Harper’s magazine in New York City, in Bridgehampton on Long Island, in Washington, DC, where he wrote guest columns for The Washington Star in 1976, and, finally, returning to his native Mississippi in 1980. “Willie Morris in this book that is reminiscent of the rhythms of Thomas Wolfe reveals his love of a place where individuals, relationships, the link with generations gone not only matter but buttress the everyday life. Like all the fine artists who live linked to a place from which they draw nourishment and strength, Morris makes us understand his people and his land.” (Chicago Tribune Book World)