Chris Offutt is the king of grit lit, or creek literature, the violent and desperate rural noir of workers who live in small and painfully impoverished towns. He believes that the vision we have of his country is the one given by middle-class writers.
“90% of American writers are that type of people. They have no idea what it's like to enlist at 17 thinking that at least in the army you will have three meals a day and a miracle,” he says.