“The beautifully composed imagery of '12 Years a Slave' underscores the savagery of its subject, which is an American South not of knights and ladies but obscene values and a grotesque pageantry, every gorgeous shot of the languid landscape radiating toxicity like a hyperlush blossom that's poison to the touch.”

American novelist

Stephen Michael Erickson is an American novelist known for works such as Days Between Stations, Tours of the Black Clock and Zeroville. His fiction has brought him recognition as a distinctive voice in contemporary American literature. He is the author of several influential novels, including Days Between Stations, Tours of the Black Clock and Zeroville. His career has been marked by honors such as the American Academy of Arts and Letters award, the Lannan Lifetime Achievement Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship.