John William Corrington is a contemporary Southern writer of some distinction whose reputation rests largely on his achievements in poetry and short fiction. His first book of poems, Where We Are (1962), won the Charioteer Poetry Prize, and his short stories have received awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and have appeared in Best American Short Stories and Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards. Corrington's three novels-- And Wait For The Night (1964), The Upper Hand (1967), and The Bombardier (1970)--commanded generally favorable reviews when they first appeared, but they have received virtually no critical or scholarly attention since. That is unfortunate, for all three show signs of superior craftsmanship. A Roman Catholic in the deep South, Corrington shares a great deal with Flannery O'Connor and Walker Percy: like them, Corrington combines a keen historical sense with a theological perspective that gives full play to grotesque characters, paradox, dark...