Andrew Siegrist is a graduate of the Creative Workshop at the University of New Orleans. His work has appeared in The Baltimore Review, Arts & Letters, The Greensboro Review, Pembroke Magazine, Fiction Southeast, Bat City Review, and elsewhere. He lives on the Cumberland River outside of Nashville, Tennessee.
His new story collection is We Imagined It Was Rain.
At Electric Lit Siegrist tagged eight books that capture the essence of Tennessee, including:
The Overstory by Richard PowersRead about another entry on the list.
Though this would not be considered a Tennessee novel, the inspiration behind the writing of it definitely derives heavily from the state. In interviews,Powers regularly described the impact that the old-growth forests of the Smoky Mountains had, and still have, on him and his writing. So much so, that after researching the trees of the eastern part of Tennessee for this novel, he decided to make his home there. He describes the awe of entering a forest, of the light change, the sounds and the smells. This book demands the reader pay attention to what we so often take for granted, the things that grow all around us.
Having lived in a rural community in Tennessee that is constantly under threat of development, this novel reinforced my belief in the critical importance we share to save any bit of nature that we can. No matter how big or small. His writing calls us to take the time to look around us and appreciate what this earth has blessed us with.
The Overstory is among Katie Yee's ten titles that make the Earth come alive and Lia Leendertz's six best books to celebrate spring.
--Marshal Zeringue
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