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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.

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.

Two Poems by Jesse Breite

An Arkansas native poet brings us pieces that remember an important figure in Southern Black history and that evoke the scorching heat of summer days.

“Do You Know About Ernestine Crowell?”

Ernestine Crowell is the self-described “militant Black woman” who rides herd over the 105 members of Alabama’s House of Representatives. She is feared. She is beloved. She is one of a kind.