27 VIEWS of CHARLOTTE: The Queen City in Prose & Poetry is an anthology of the city best known for banking, trees, diversity, and sports. Journalists, novelists, poets, and essayists offer a broad and varied picture of life, present and past, in Charlotte—from a history of the city’s stint as capital of the Confederacy, to a deeply personal essay about integrating restaurants during the civil rights era, to reflections on contemporary Charlotte’s overwhelming growth and New South reputation.

Authors appreciate Charlotte’s diversity and vitality, tout its vibrant arts and food scenes, and praise its surging Uptown neighborhood. Yet they don’t shy away from its ongoing struggles: cultural, political, and economic. The views create a literary montage of Charlotte, reflecting its social, historic, and creative fabric.

With an introduction by the Charlotte Observer’s long-time editor, Jack Claiborne, 27 Views of CHARLOTTE is the sixth book in Eno Publishers’ award-winning “27 Views” series that features the literary communities of contemporary Southern towns.

Charlotte contributors

Janaka B. Lewis

Ailen Arreaza

Mignon F. Ballard

Rye Barcott

Virginia Brown

Jack Claiborne, Introduction

Mark de Castrique

Fannie Flono

David Goldfield

Judy Goldman

Sandra Y. Govan

Amy Hallman

Robert Inman

Mary Kratt

Joyce and Jim Lavene

Elisha T. "Mother" Minter

Tamar Myers

Grace C. Ocasio

Aimee Parkison

Irania Patterson

Cathy Pickens

Dannye Romine Powell

David Radavich

Sharon Raynor

Amy Rogers

Rick Rothacker

Peter St. Onge

Ann Wicker

A.J. Mayhew