Since 1972 Barry Hannah has published two novels and a prize-winning collection of short stories. His third novel, Ray, is scheduled for publication in fall 1980. While some stories and novel segments are set in the South during the Civil War, the setting of most of his fiction is the contemporary South. Because of his prolific output, the lyricism of his prose, and his Gothic sense of humor, some have heralded Hannah as the heir apparent to the Faulkner crown. Like his Mississippi brother in letters, Hannah uses the South as microcosm. In his fiction, the South, its people, its traditions, its social ills, and its violence all become emblems of the universal human condition.

Hannah was born and grew up in Clinton, Mississippi, a town near Jackson. He received his B.A. degree from Mississippi College in Clinton and his M.A. and M.F.A. degrees from the...