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Stories

The image shows a dramatic artistic photograph of a wooden spoon engulfed in orange and red flames against a black background, with fire trailing from both the bowl and handle of the spoon. The composition symbolically represents the intersection of chronic illness spoon theory, trauma, and Appalachian wooden spoons through its powerful visualization of a kitchen implement transformed into something both destructive and beautiful.

Spoon Theory

Morgan DePue on how good memories, childhood trauma, and chronic pain can all rest in the hollow of that wooden spoon you hold in your hand.

Sabbath Outing

A poem from Karen Luke Jackson about a Sunday respite from the world in the quiet atop a North Carolina mountain.

Semper Fido

Hundreds of thousands of American veterans suffer from conditions leaving them in need of daily assistance. The always faithful service dogs of North Carolina’s Canines for Service are coming to the vets’ rescue.

The Sound of a Well-Chilled Sazerac

This is what happens when a New Orleans saxophonist draws his inspiration from Sweden. Meet the virtuosic Randal Despommier.

Cavorting on Common Ground

George Lancaster describes how he and his friend Bill built a committed and lasting friendship — despite their religious and political differences.

A New One From the Blind Boys of Alabama

Plus, Chuck runs down the three cracking good stories we’re publishing in Salvation South this week.

Carrying the Legacy of Paul Prudhomme

Two New Orleans restaurants trace their origins directly to the famed Cajun dining spot, K-Paul’s: Brigtsen’s and Gabrielle now carry the late chef’s torch.

A Song of My Heart

Atlanta writer Nelson d. Ross always followed his heart, but he recently learned that his ticker needs some repair. He has high hopes for what comes next.

The Division of History

Two hundred years ago, a freed Charleston slave named Denmark Vesey attempted to lead a rebellion. To many Black people, he is a hero, but his name is still anathema to many whites.

Those @$%!! Yellow Flies!

When a band of yellow flies attacked Jennifer Kornegay in the coastal Alabama woods, she got intimately acquainted with some of the nastiest critters in the Southern ecosystem.

Nasty Flies, Heart Songs and Critical History

This week, we explore the country of hearts, avoid nasty yellow flies and learn some critical Southern history.

Southern Characters and History

It’s a week of variety and food for thought at Salvation South.

A Dream Re-Rendered

Zeniya Cooley is a young Black writer who grew up loving “Gone With the Wind.” Today, she reckons with a world where books imagining a more inclusive world are banned while Old South tomes like “GWTW” go unchallenged.