This is the third and final, volume in the Pineapple Anthology of Florida Writers, begun to mark the 500th anniversary of the European discovery of La Florida when Ponce de Leon stepped on Florida soil in 1513. The authors chosen either wrote in Florida or wrote about it. This volume presents selections from 30 writers who wrote from 1500s to today. The early writings here include works by Spanish, French, and British settlers.The middle years include Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Oliver Goldsmith, who never saw Florida but used it in their poems.Severla writers, such as Henry James and William Dean Howells, helped expose Floirda to the nation. H. L. Mencken reported on the aftermath of the jacksonville fire, John Rothchild wrote of the state's past, and Jack Kerouac wrote of his dislike of the state. The latest offerings include works by two bestselling mystery writers, Michael Connelly and Randy Wayne White. Backroads Florida is captured by Harry Crews and Totch Brown, and there is an essay by a man known primarily for his music, Jimmy Buffett.
