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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.

Silas House Speaks the Truth

With the publication of his seventh novel, “Lark Ascending,” the Appalachian writer tells a riveting tale set in a frightening future, but he’s also hard at work on reckoning with — and reconciling — the conflicting facts of his mountain home.

A Love Letter From Beyond the Grave

Released three years after his death, “Things Happen That Way” is the final album from the late, great master of New Orleans funk, Dr. John.

The River Rats of New Orleans

On the other side of the levee from the city, there is a small community called the batture that few people ever see. Macon Fry has lived there for 30 years.

Why Silas House Matters

This week’s Salvation South covers not only the great Appalachian writer, but also the over-the-levee community of New Orleans and that city’s late great king of funk music, Dr. John.

A Stolen Poem

North Carolina writer Kathleen Purvis remembers the time another girl in her class stole her writing and passed it off as her own. The incident hurt her — but it also taught her lessons that shaped the rest of her life.

Jake Blount’s Straight Line from Lowcountry Shouts to Afrofuturism

The traditional musician Jake Blount plumbs the depths of African American string band music and comes up with a thoroughly modern style that’s like nothing you’ve ever heard.

From Haunting Memories to Afrofuturism

This week’s edition of Salvation South begins with the haunting memories of a childhood incident and ends with a trip into Afrofuturism — with a stop on the Alabama coast just for fun.

Have You Ever Been Bushwacked?

Two famous dive bars on the Alabama coast — The Flora-Bama Lounge and Pirate’s Cove — serve thousands of their famous Bushwacker frozen cocktails every day. The big question is: Which bar makes the best one?

What a Day That Will Be

Her granddaughter doesn’t understand her grandmother’s faith, but can’t question how it has sustained her and her family for many years. A short story by Lillian Howell.

Lord Love the Dogs

Salvation South takes you into your weekend with a heartwarming story about the dogs who help our disabled veterans.

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.