Gene Baro, a young American writer himself, speaks of the social and spiritual implications of the South, and argues that the school of fiction associated with it is a truer picture of Southern society than most of us realise. Mr. Baro's poems and short stories have been published in several magazines, including Botteghe Oscure and New World Writing. He is curator of the Collection of Creative Writing at the University of Florida at Gainsville, and reviews regularly for the New York Herald Tribune.