Southern Storytellers: Kay Powell, Frances Mayes, And Roy Blount Jr.

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Kay Powell, Frances Mayes, and Roy Blount Jr.

We have a big anniversary coming up here on “Two Way Street.” On July 5, we’ll celebrate three years on the air. In that time we’ve talked with well over 100 guests – authors, performers, chefs, scientists, historians and others who have good stories to tell; because that’s what TWS is all about: storytelling.

To mark our anniversary, beginning this week and running through June, we’re going to revisit some of our favorite shows from the past three years.

Today, we’ll listen back to three of the best Southern storytellers who’ve visited with us:

During her 13 years as obituary editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Kay Powell established herself as one of the finest writers in her genre. She shares with us stories about the rich and famous as well as the “ordinary” Georgians who she memorialized.

Frances Mayes had a breakout best-seller when she wrote “Under the Tuscan Sun” about her year living in Tuscany. But she grew up in Fitzgerald, Georgia, which became the subject of her more recent book “Under Magnolia.” We talked to her about the similarities she found between her native Georgia and rural Italy.

Finally, we’ll share an excerpt of an interview we did late last year with the great Southern humor writer Roy Blount, Jr.

Roy is a native of Decatur, Georgia, but long ago moved  to New York, where he became one of the foremost interpreters of Southern ways for the rest of the country. When we talked, he’d just published “Save Room for Pie,” his book about the Southern food he loves.