In the 1980s, Vietnam emerged in our culture as a legitimate and compelling topic for discussion rather than something to be hidden in shame. Bobbie Ann Mason 1980scompelculture Change image and share on social
We had a cistern for water. My grandmother churned butter and made lye soap. She and my mother did the washing in a wash kettle outdoors, using a fire to heat the water. That's the way they did the wash until the 1950s. Bobbie Ann Mason 1950sbutterchurn share on social
Because we lived only a mile outside the town of Mayfield, I was acutely conscious of being country. I felt inferior to people in town because we had to grow our food and make our clothes. Bobbie Ann Mason acutelyclotheconscious Change image and share on social
'In Country' is about a high school girl's quest for knowledge about her father, who died in Vietnam just before she was born. Bobbie Ann Mason bearcountrydie Change image and share on social
'In Country' was also made into a film, which opened the story up to a broader audience. Bobbie Ann Mason audiencebroadcountry Change image and share on social
It was a romantic dream to be a writer. It seemed like a calling. Bobbie Ann Mason calldreamromantic Change image and share on social
My father-in-law, Barney Rawlings, spent a couple of months hiding out in France in 1944, frantically memorizing a few French words to pass himself off as a Frenchman, but his ordeal had not inspired in me any action until I started taking a French class. Bobbie Ann Mason actionbarneyclass share on social
Writing about where I was from and the people I knew was not something that would have occurred to me early on, because like so many Southerners of that period - the Sixties - I rejected those things when I went north. Bobbie Ann Mason earlyknownorth share on social
Memory is a powerful thing for a writer. Bobbie Ann Mason memorypowerfulthing Change image and share on social
I was too shy to do anything but read, but there was nobody to tell me what to read. Bobbie Ann Mason readshy Change image and share on social
