Pierce Pettis has spent 25 years crafting songs full of insight, imagination, and emotion, often drawing on the imagery and landscape of his boyhood in the American South. His new, eighth album, Great Big World, is receiving reviews like this one from British critic Neil Pearson, who called it "one of the best singer/ songwriter albums of the past few years" and said, "few writers draw you into a song like Pierce Pettis."

Such critical praise is not new to Mr. Pettis, whose previous work critic Alanna Nash called "songs of beauty and passion that arrive at a listener's head and heart at precisely the same time." His albums, though, have never had large sales, and in a recent e-mail interview he discussed his faith and his attitude toward anticipating a small audience for Great Big World.

WORLD: As you look over your collection of songs, do you see a pattern, or certain themes emerging?

Read the complete article.