Signs and Wonders ~ Roger Pinckney

In this collection of essays, master storyteller Roger Pinckney paints a vivid portrait of his lowcountry South Carolina birthplace and his present home on Daufuskie Island. In a distinctive literary voice with keen sensitivity to current environmental and social issues, Pinckney chronicles a rural community life that is threatened by modern-day intrusions and resort developments. The stories are filled with the sweet smells of the sea and the salt marsh, and with the sights of sunset skies and wide open spaces. Peopled with hunters and fishermen, family and friends, and fellow islanders with their own stories to tell, this book is a poignant rendering of the emotional, social, and physical geography of a very special place and the struggle to preserve.

From the tranquil lakes of Minnesota to the rolling surf of the Carolina coast, Roger Pinckney's interaction with creatures of the wild--fur, feather and human--provide fascinating reading for lovers of the outdoors and students of human nature. Pinckney's life on Daufuskie Island, South Carolina, provides a colorful backdrop for his reflections on hunting, fishing, environmental desecration, life and death. An acute observer and reporter, he envelops the reader in the lilting patois of the Gullah people, the earthy repartee of his hunting and fishing companions, and the ever-changing panoply of colors, sights and sounds of the lowcountry's forest, fields and rivers. A born storyteller, Pinckney's writing has been compared to that of Mark Twain, Robert Ruark and John McPhee. More than merely capturing a place and a time, his rich narratives seize the mood and celebrate the soul of his island and its people.