Bruce E. Johnson, Author
During the 20th century, some of America’s best and best-known writers lived and spent time in WNC—among them Thomas Wolfe and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. Bruce E. Johnson’s Tom, Scott & Zelda: Following In Their Footsteps tracks time the three legends spent in Asheville, Hendersonville, Tryon and Lake Lure. A former high school English teacher, Johnson moved to Asheville nearly 30 years ago and frequently writes about regional history.
He attributes the continuing popularity of the three writers to their poetic styles. “Sadly, too, the tragic nature of their personal lives will always command our attention, as it is difficult to separate their art from the influence their lives exerted on it,” he says. “They each died young and unconvinced their efforts to become and remain relevant authors had been successful.”
Delving into the past is the best part of writing a book like this one, Johnson says. “For me, the research is not complete until I have literally stood where each of them stood: from Room 441 in the Grove Park Inn to the porch of the Old Kentucky Home to the grassy knoll at Highland Hospital which marks the spot where Zelda died.”
Tom, Scott & Zelda: Following In Their Footsteps, February, 2019, history, paperback, $19.95, by Bruce E. Johnson, and published by Knock On Wood Publications, Asheville, NC. To learn more, visit BruceJohnsonBooks.com.
