Synopses & Reviews
Interweaving visceral, atmospheric prose with historical photographs, images and texts, The Pink Institution traces four generations of Mississippi women from their run-down, post-Civil War plantations to the modern-day trailer parks that house the youngest generations. As the impoverished decay of the Deep South expresses itself through their bloodlines, a new impression of Southern history and heritage emerges. The lyrical gravity and singular style of this unforgettable debut novel will transform the reader in its wake.
Selah Saterstromandrsquo;s writing has appeared in 3rd Bed and Pitkin Review. She is the editor of Soul Collections, a collection of prose and poetry written by at-risk teenagers in North Carolina. Born in Mississippi in 1974, she now lives in Asheville, North Carolina, where she teaches at Warren Wilson College.
Review
"Saterstrom writes with a poet's economy and eye for visceral detail, collapsing into a mere 140 pages a four-generation history of a Southern family bedeviled by alcoholism, poverty, racism, violence, and mental illness. Her spareness is a mercy. The story she tells is brutal, almost impossible to take; at the same time, her exquisite, cut-to-the-quick language makes this book impossible to put down." and#151;The Huffington Post, "11 Underappreciated Literary Masterpieces"
Synopsis
Beautiful and violent, spare and ominous, this wholly original novel explodes mythologies of Southern femininity.Interweaving visceral, atmospheric prose with historic photographs, images, and texts,
The Pink Institution is a testament to the legacy that war, violence, abuse, and poverty have wrought upon the Deep South. It is also a multigenerational family saga that captures the rich beauty and passionate despair of the land and its inhabitants.
As we follow four generations of Mississippi women from their run-down, post-Civil War plantations to their modern-day trailer parks, the impoverished decay of the Deep South expresses itself through their bloodlines and a new impression of Southern history and heritage emerges.
Synopsis
Beautiful and violent, spare and ominous, this wholly original novel explodes mythologies of Southern femininity.
In a multigenerational family saga that captures the rich beauty and passionate despair of the land and its inhabitants, The Pink Institution is a riveting, visceral novel written in a style that elegantly unites poetic prose with historic photographs and texts. It is also a testament to the legacy that war, violence, abuse, and poverty have wrought upon the Deep South. As we follow four generations of determined and relentless Mississippi women from their run-down, post-Civil War plantations to their modern-day trailer parks, the impoverished decay of the Deep South expresses itself through their bloodlines in a haunting reenactment of the past.
Synopsis
Beautiful and violent, spare and ominous, this wholly original novel explodes mythologies of southern femininity.
About the Author
Selah Saterstrom earned her Masters of Theology and Literature from the University of Glasgow in Scotland and an MFA from Goddard College in Vermont. Her work has appeared in 3rd Bed, Pitkin Review, and in the Seattle Research Institute's anthology, Experimental Theology. She is also the editor of Soul Collections, an anthology of prose and poetry written by at-risk teenagers. Born in Mississippi in 1974, she now lives in Asheville, North Carolina, where she teaches at Warren Wilson College. This is her first novel.