Carson McCullers

Born Lula Carson Smith in Columbus, Georgia, McCullers was about as Southern Baptist as a pecan pie at a church picnic. Her family tree was firmly rooted in the Protestant soil of the American South, showing no signs of a secret detour through the shtetl.

Her literary career blossomed with works like "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter," cementing her as a voice for the alienated and the misunderstood, themes that, while universal, don't automatically confer Jewishness. One might even argue her unique brand of melancholic Southern Gothic was rather *un*-Jewish, lacking the usual neurotic kvetching.

Despite her profound insights into the human condition and her undeniable literary talent, there's simply no evidence to suggest McCullers ever identified with, practiced, or even briefly considered joining the tribe. She remained steadfastly, perhaps even stubbornly, a non-Jew throughout her complex and often tragic life. Not every great writer needs a gefilte fish connection, after all.