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Portrait of Joy Priest, featured in a Kentucky poet interview about her Horsepower poetry collection, highlighting Joy Priest Southern poetry and new poems.

…And I Sing

Kentucky poet Joy Priest shares, in this conversation with Chuck Reece, how writing became both her salvation and her rebellion.

Kentucky poet Joy Priest, author of "Horsepower" featured in Salvation South magazine—"The Only Way I'd Known," a new collection of poems exploring Black Southern resilience and mythic landscapes.

The Only Way I’d Known

From the nocturnal streets of Houston to the mythic fields of the Delta, Joy Priest’s poems bear witness to the moments that threaten to undo us—and the small, hard-won salvations that follow.

A striking image showing a barren, dark forest with a vibrant open door leading to lush greenery and flowers, symbolizing themes from At the Threshold of What Hasn’t Been Destroyed, a powerful collection of Mexican American poetry by National Book Award-longlisted poet Octavio Quintanilla.

At the Threshold of What Hasn’t Been Destroyed

Three stark poems from the National Book Award-longlisted Texan Octavio Quintanilla, filled with longing, displacement, and the fragile beauty of human connection.

Professional portrait of Texas border poet Octavio Quintanilla in a quiet indoor setting with minimal background featuring contemporary styling. Accompanies an interview with him that explores Mexican American literature and poetry crossing borders through themes of family and duality, highlighting the intersection of language and cultural experience.

Across the Borderline

Octavio Quintanilla’s roots lie deep in both South Texas and Mexico. And his work dwells between worlds—geographic, cultural, and emotional.

Illustration of wild violets accompanying and Thresh & Hold author Marlanda Dekine’s poetry, her National Poetry Month poems

We Have Always Been Here

South Carolina’s Marlinda Dekine testifies to fierce love—for the natural world, for self, and for a grandma’s lessons.

Respite for the Poor, Ruin to the Unpunished

Edison Jennings finds decay, tragedy, and the haunting echoes of forgotten Appalachian lives in two vivid poems.

Collage inspired by Harlem Renaissance artist Aaron Douglas's "The Creation," accompanying Christian J. Collier's poetry collection, "The Inheritance I'm Cloaked In," by the Black Southern poet.

The Inheritance I’m Cloaked In

From nine different bars in Hixson, Tennessee, to his grandmother’s cotton field, Collier’s poems map the Southern geography of memory and belonging.

A silhouetted tree branch against a starry night sky, accompanying the North Carolina poetry of Han VanderHart. Southern identity, poetry, and National Poetry Month.

The Song Starts There

Han VanderHart’s visceral verses weave together memories of country living, intimate relationships, and the confounding complexities of identity in the American South.

Han VanderHart, Southern poet and author of Larks, winner of the Hollis Summers Poetry Prize, and What Pecan Light, photographed with tattoos and a cat.

“Are We Not One Body?”

The North Carolina poet Han VanderHart feels power in the places where the stories of Southerners intersect—and believes that, by telling them courageously, we help each other heal.

A painting of figures in dark red coats gathered near a glowing fire in a forest, symbolizing Kentucky poet laureate Silas House's essay on how poems and songs provide hope and community in the divided America of 2025.

A Crackling Fire of Hope

Kentucky poet laureate Silas House on how poetry serves as a theological lesson, a source of community, and a lifeline during the upheaval of 2025.

An illustration of a harried mother of three trying to meditate amidst lush green leaves, symbolizing a mother’s journey through a tiny cabin family vacation, motherhood and self-discovery, and family travel mishaps.

I Know I Need a Small Vacation

A mother of three hungers for even the tiniest of getaways, just a weekend in a cabin in the woods. But solace isn’t a destination. Maybe it’s in the journey?

Frye Gaillard and Cynthia Tucker discuss Southern redemption stories, civil rights legacy, and Southern culture and history in this interview.

Does This Road Lead to Redemption?

Two of the South’s most respected journalists—Pulitzer Prize winner Cynthia Tucker and author/historian Frye Gaillard—address a hard question: Has the South exported its worst qualities to the nation, or can our better angels survive?

The Word That Changed Appalachia Forever

Poet Frank X Walker’s creation of the word “Affrilachia” sparked a movement that for three decades has celebrated Black Appalachian culture, challenged long-held stereotypes, and staked out common ground for mountain folks.