Long Time Leaving

A sly, dry, hilarious collection of writings from Roy Blount Jr., who, according to The New York Times Book Review, is "in serious contention for the title of America's most cherished humorist." This time Blount focuses on his own dueling loyalties across the great American divide, North vs. South. Scholarly, raunchy, biting and affable, ol' Roy takes on topics ranging from chicken fingers to Elvis's toes. And he shares experiences: chatting with Ray Charles, rounding up rattlesnakes, and imagining Faulkner's tennis game. His yarns, analyses, and flights of fancy transcend all standard shades of Red, Blue, and in between. Long Time Leaving is a comic ode to American variety and also a droll assault on complacency North and South -- a glorious union of diverse pieces reshaped and expanded into an American classic. Roy Blount Jr. is the author of nineteen other books, most recently Feet on the Street: Rambles Around New Orleans. He is a panelist on NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, a columnist for Oxford American, a contributing editor to The Atlantic Monthly, and president of the Authors Guild. He lives in western Massachusetts.