Blest be the tie

Storytelling is asserted to be one of the important bonds that held together a family in Goose Creek, North Carolina, during the 1960's and 1970's. Stories from five members of this family were tape recorded; six were then transposed into fictive short stories. These stories cover a period from 1934 to 1984. They work together to create the impression of an entire family. Seventeen poems are included to further establish a sense of time, place, and community. The short stories and poems are intertwined in seven sections according to chronology. Throughout the work, the importance of a deceptively simple way of life is affirmed.