However, to Groom, New York was an alien territory. This was an exceedingly important learning experience for Winston Groom. Many of the times, he spent with literacy acquaintances such as George Plimpton, James Jones, Joseph Heller, Irwin Shaw and one Truman Capote. In New York, Winston Groom spent his spare time writing.

Washington Star’s writer in residence, Willie Morris believed that the young Groom had the potential to become a great writer, thus he encouraged Winston Groom to head to New York. Grooms main task was to cover court beat and politics as well. Despite the fact that Winston Groom was born in Washington, DC he was raised in the town of Mobile, Alabama that is located in the Gulf Coast.Īfter serving in the army for a small duration of time, Winston Groom returned to Washington, where he served as a reporter for the Washington Star, which is now defunct. While the South and its cultures is evident in Groom’s novels, his nonfiction works also feature the Southern roots. By moving in line with tradition of other Southern writers such as Carson McCullers, William Faulkner and Pat Conroy, Winston Groom fills his books with quirky characters who pay homage to the modern day South and the Southern history within a single breath. All the characters that he creates speak with Southern voices, and the life in his works moves in line with a distinctive Southern timeline. Groom’s Southerness permeates in all of his fiction and non-fiction books. Winston Groom is a renowned Southern novelist.

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