Requiem for a Dollar Store Christmas Bear
His mother could afford only a single Christmas gift, and he treasured it. It kept him warm. At least for a little while.
Poetry
Fleeing for My Life
A South Carolina poet on how we leave a special place—but it never leaves us.
By Julia Wendell /
There Must Be Light
The poet laureate of Ohio—a ninth-generation Appalachian—on holiness, the murmur of autumn trees, and the anticipation of honeysuckle.
By Kari Gunter-Seymour /
The Squirrels, the Twilight, the Kudzu, and the Mine-Dumps
Six centuries of Appalachian history in four poems.
By William Woolfit /
A Note to Florida Legislators
“Educate” has Latin roots, meaning “to draw out” from within or “to lead out” into something larger. The Alabama poet Dr. Jacqueline Allen Trimble calls out the powerful people who want our schools to do neither.
By Jacqueline Allen Trimble /
Yes to the Work
Five poets on the complex undercurrents of military service.
By Laura Gunnells Miller, Paul Jones, Kae Chatman, JS Alexander and Will Maguire /
Bare Bones
A Georgia professor of ecology offers a classic look at autumn—in the woods and in ourselves.
By Gary Grossman /
Real Love
A Kentucky poet sings solidarity to the landscape, language, and love that claim her.
By Eleni Karelis /
Where We Go From Here
Looking back through decades of struggle, uncertainty, and hope
By Mary Dean Lee /
Where I’m From: Seven Decades in Seven Scenes
An island poet from North Carolina recounts a life defined by books, music, and events far beyond her control.