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Stories

Smooth river stones in clear, flowing water with sunlight reflecting off the surface, evoking Mississippi’s natural beauty. In the upper right, the Salvation South New Poets Prize Honorable Mention badge highlights Jennifer Peterson’s award-winning Mississippi poems and her recognition as a Southern poet.

Every Place Is Home to Someone

This finalist for the New Poets Prize—also poet laureate for Hattiesburg, Mississippi—takes us on intricate tours of Saturday in a small town, the thin line between redemption and judgment, and how beauty and love unfold in everyday moments.

Hellhounds and Phantoms

The Smithsonian’s “Biography of a Phantom” answers countless questions — and raises countless more — about Robert Johnson, the Mississippi bluesman who legendarily sold his soul to the devil.

Strangers With Doughnuts

Sometimes, you get a treat from the universe just exactly when you need one. And sometimes, if your stars align, it comes glazed with sugar.

American Hope & Prayer

He was singing a song lamenting the murder of George Floyd when a woman who had stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, said she didn’t agree. Not at all.

Maps and Legends

We welcome the renowned music writer Don McLeese to Salvation South with a story about the biggest legend in the history of Southern music.

Making Sense of Mississippi

O.N. Pruitt was the “picture man” where journalist Berkley Hudson grew up. Pruitt’s photographs helped Hudson understand the state he ran away from — and the state that drew him back.

A Talisman From Poseidon

She keeps the murex shell she found on the beach 63 years ago after Hurricane Donna ravaged her island home, and at her house, hurricane season never ends.

Using My Words

Growing up Black in a small Georgia town was hard enough. But Miriam Delaney Heard also had to break the chains of the religion she was raised in. Her salvation came from writing her own story.

Inside the Wonder of Lonnie Holley

Jim Crow dumped its worst on Lonnie Holley. But his globally recognized music and art prove how beautifully he survived the belly of that beast. Just don’t call him an “outsider.”

This Log Shall Not Be Moved

Sometimes, we need a talisman to remind us of the difference between who we used to be and who we are now. In Rachel Martin’s house, it’s a log. A very particular log.

Frank O’Hara Gets Dirty in Bull City

Imagine you plopped a crazy 1950s New York School poet down into a 21st century Saturday night in Durham. It’d be dirty, you know, in that good way.

Lonnie Holley: A Southern Icon

After a youth full of pain, the Alabama musician and artist creates joyous works that help us understand our region.

A Story I Don’t Know How to Tell

A South Carolina mother wrestles with the legacy she’ll leave her four children. Because the real truth about faith, politics and shifting values is complicated.