The Bitterweed Path: A Rediscovered Novel / Edition 1

by Thomas Hal Phillips, John Howard

Overview

This long out-of-print and newly rediscovered novel tells the story of two boys growing up in the cotton country of Mississippi a generation after the Civil War. Originally published in 1950, the novel's unique contribution lies in its subtle engagement of homosexuality and cross-class love. In The Bitterweed Path, Thomas Hal Phillips vividly recreates rural Mississippi at the turn of the century. In elegant prose, he draws on the Old Testament story of David and Jonathan and writes of the friendship and love between two boys—one a sharecropper's son and the other the son of the landlord—and the complications that arise when the father of one of the boys falls in love with his son's friend. Part of a very small body of gay literature of the period, The Bitterweed Path does not sensationalize homosexual love but instead portrays sexuality as a continuum of human behavior. The result is a book that challenges many assumptions about gay representation in the first half of the twentieth century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807845950
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	06/17/1996
Series:	Chapel Hill Books
Edition description:	1
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.76(d)

About the Author

Thomas Hal Phillips, a former Hollywood screenwriter and consultant whose film work includes Nashville, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Ode to Billy Joe, and Walking Tall II, now lives in his native Mississippi. He is author of the novels The Golden Lie, Search for a Hero, Kangaroo Hollow, and The Loved and the Unloved.

What People are Saying About This

David Bergman

"An extraordinary find. It will force many critics to reexamine the nature of pre-stonewall gay fiction and the range of how homosexuality was constructed in post-war America."

From the Publisher

[This book] is a delicate, sensitive work, written in a warm, quiet rhythm which creates and maintains a mood and an atmosphere proper to the story's locale and period. . . . Phillips has made the action of his story flow as effortlessly as time itself; he has brought [Southern rural] life during the early years of the century into the sort of believable reality which other Southern writers carefully avoid.—Thomas Sugrue, New York Times Book Review, September 10, 1950



[Phillips's] readable style and his ability to create a feeling of ever-growing tension will hold the reader from beginning to end.—Library Journal, June 15, 1950



The Bitterweed Path is an extraordinary find. It will force many critics to reexamine the nature of pre-Stonewall gay fiction and the range of how homosexuality was constructed in postwar America. It is an important, overlooked book.—David Bergman, author of Gaiety Transfigured: Gay Self-Representation in American Literature



Thomas Hal Phillips's 1950 novel, The Bitterweed Path, is a remarkable rediscovery. It is in itself a moving, subtle, skillful work of fiction. And its rare depiction of homoerotic relationships in an era in which the subject was largely tabooed, redoubles the novel's importance and impact. John Howard's excellent introduction to the book, placing it in historical context, further adds to the importance of this publishing event.—Martin Duberman, author of Black Mountain, Paul Robeson, Cures, and Stonewall



The Bitterweed Path is lyrical, sexy, and fascinating—a haunting work of art from a time and psychological place that is illuminating to revisit in light of where the world is today.—Howard Cruse, author of Stuck Rubber Baby



A small gem of a homoerotic novel, written about a time and a place when gay didn't exist, but male love did. We owe our thanks to John Howard for rediscovering it, and to Thomas Hal Phillips for writing it.—John D'Emilio, author of Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities: The Making of a Homosexual Minority in the United States, 1940-1970

John D'Emilio

"A small gem of a homo-erotic novel, written about a time and a place when gay didn't exist, but male love did."

Martin Duberman

"A remarkable discovery. A moving, subtle, skillful work of fiction. It's rare depiction of homo-erotic relationshis in an era in which the subject was largely tabooed, redoubles the novel's...impact. John Howard's excellent introduction, further adds to the importance of this publishing event."

Editorial Reviews

Originally published in 1950, ###The Bitterweed Path# tells the story of friendship and love between two boys growing up in the cotton country of Mississippi a generation after the Civil War. A fine example of the southern literary tradition, the novel is also part of a very small body of gay literature of the period. As such, it challenges many assumptions about gay representation in the first half of the twentieth century. "###The Bitterweed Path# is lyrical, sexy, and fascinating--a haunting work of art from a time and psychological place that is illuminating to revisit in light of where the world is today."--Howard Cruse, author of ###Stuck Rubber Baby# "A small gem of a homoerotic novel, written about a time and a place when gay didn't exist, but male love did. We owe our thanks to John Howard for rediscovering it, and to Thomas Hal Phillips for writing it."--John D'Emilio, author of ###Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities: The Making of a Homosexual Minority in the United States, 1940@-1970#

"[Phillips's] readable style and his ability to create a feeling of ever-growing tension will hold the reader from beginning to end."--###Library Journal#, June 15, 1950

"[This book] is a delicate, sensitive work, written in a warm, quiet rhythm which creates and maintains a mood and an atmosphere proper to the story's locale and period. . . . Phillips has made the action of his story flow as effortlessly as time itself; he has brought [Southern rural] life during the early years of the century into the sort of believable reality which other Southern writers carefully avoid."--Thomas Sugrue, ###New York Times Book Review#, September 10, 1950

"###The Bitterweed Path# is an extraordinary find. It will force many critics to reexamine the nature of pre-Stonewall gay fiction and the range of how homosexuality was constructed in postwar America. It is an important, overlooked book."--David Bergman, author of ###Gaiety Transfigured: Gay Self-Representation in American Literature#

"ÝPhillips's¨ readable style and his ability to create a feeling of ever-growing tension will hold the reader from beginning to end."--###Library Journal#, June 15, 1950

"ÝThis book¨ is a delicate, sensitive work, written in a warm, quiet rhythm which creates and maintains a mood and an atmosphere proper to the story's locale and period. . . . Phillips has made the action of his story flow as effortlessly as time itself; he has brought ÝSouthern rural¨ life during the early years of the century into the sort of believable reality which other Southern writers carefully avoid."--Thomas Sugrue, ###New York Times Book Review#, September 10, 1950

"Thomas Hal Phillips's 1950 novel, ###The Bitterweed Path#, is a remarkable rediscovery. It is in itself a moving, subtle, skillful work of fiction. And its rare depiction of homoerotic relationships in an era in which the subject was largely tabooed, redoubles the novel's importance and impact. John Howard's excellent introduction to the book, placing it in historical context, further adds to the importance of this publishing event."--Martin Duberman, author of ###Black Mountain#, ###Paul Robeson#, ###Cures#, and ###Stonewall#

"""###The Bitterweed Path# is an extraordinary find. It will force many critics to reexamine the nature of pre-Stonewall gay fiction and the range of how homosexuality was constructed in postwar America. It is an important, overlooked book.""--David Bergman, author of ###Gaiety Transfigured: Gay Self-Representation in American Literature#"

"""[Phillips's] readable style and his ability to create a feeling of ever-growing tension will hold the reader from beginning to end.""--###Library Journal#, June 15, 1950"

"""[This book] is a delicate, sensitive work, written in a warm, quiet rhythm which creates and maintains a mood and an atmosphere proper to the story's locale and period. . . . Phillips has made the action of his story flow as effortlessly as time itself; he has brought [Southern rural] life during the early years of the century into the sort of believable reality which other Southern writers carefully avoid.""--Thomas Sugrue, ###New York Times Book Review#, September 10, 1950"

"""Thomas Hal Phillips's 1950 novel, ###The Bitterweed Path#, is a remarkable rediscovery. It is in itself a moving, subtle, skillful work of fiction. And its rare depiction of homoerotic relationships in an era in which the subject was largely tabooed, redoubles the novel's importance and impact. John Howard's excellent introduction to the book, placing it in historical context, further adds to the importance of this publishing event.""--Martin Duberman, author of ###Black Mountain#, ###Paul Robeson#, ###Cures#, and ###Stonewall#"

"Originally published in 1950, ###The Bitterweed Path# tells the story of friendship and love between two boys growing up in the cotton country of Mississippi a generation after the Civil War. A fine example of the southern literary tradition, the novel is also part of a very small body of gay literature of the period. As such, it challenges many assumptions about gay representation in the first half of the twentieth century. ""###The Bitterweed Path# is lyrical, sexy, and fascinating--a haunting work of art from a time and psychological place that is illuminating to revisit in light of where the world is today.""--Howard Cruse, author of ###Stuck Rubber Baby# ""A small gem of a homoerotic novel, written about a time and a place when gay didn't exist, but male love did. We owe our thanks to John Howard for rediscovering it, and to Thomas Hal Phillips for writing it.""--John D'Emilio, author of ###Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities: The Making of a Homosexual Minority in the United States, 1940@-1970#"

From the Publisher

"The author's readable style and ability to create a feeling of ever-growing tension will hold the reader from beginning to end," said LJ's reviewer of this novel (LJ 6/15/50), which concerns the love between two boys in Mississippi a generation after the Civil War. Its homosexual theme no doubt limited its original release, but the book should find a much wider audience now.

Library Journal