"I have found that anything that comes out of South is going to be called grotesque by the Northern reader, unless it is grotesque, in which case it is going to be called realistic. Whenever I'm asked why Southern writers particularly have a penchant for writing about freaks, I say it is because we are still able to recognize one."
Let's break up this statement.
"I have found that anything that comes out of South is going to be called grotesque by the Northern reader, unless it is grotesque, in which case it is going to be called realistic."
What they're saying is that Northerners usually find the South harsh
"Whenever I'm asked why Southern writers particularly have a penchant for writing about freaks, I say it is because we are still able to recognize one."
He's saying that Southern writers see themselves as freaks, or outcasts.
Basically, he's making a statement about the South, and how life in the South is rough.
