Not tempted in the least to read a Strom Thurmond biography? Haven’t picked up The Tao of Travel or heard of Charleston’s own Josephine Humphreys? With Art & Craft: Thirty Years on the Literary Beat, Bill Thompson will convince you to make a miles-long reading list covering all kinds of unexpected ground. You can credit his talent for playing up the intrigue in any subject and his straight-forward writing style peppered with phrases so wonderful you’ll go back to read them again.
Of course, it also helps that in this University of South Carolina Press release, Thompson allows brilliant writers from the last three decades to speak through 80 interviews he penned while serving as the book reviews editor for The Post and Courier (14 reviews are included, too). Art & Craft features area authors to be sure, but its thematic sections also cover literature, biography, travel writing, Civil War history, and more written by authors from all over the nation. As a result: surprises at every turn.
