Jermaine Thompson, Author at Salvation South

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Jermaine Thompson

In the Belly of the Catfish

Between the pull of home, bodies of water, and the weight of memory, these two poems cast and retrieve.

By Jermaine Thompson /

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Salvation South contributor Russell Worth Parker helped write “Always Faithful,” the story of how a U.S. Marine major worked to get his Afghan translator out of the country when it fell last year. Today, the translator is building a new life in Texas with his wife and four children. (With a review of the book by J.A. Dailey)

In Salvation South’s story lineup this week, we do a deep dive into the Ring Shout — an essential piece of Southern culture. We throw in some Elvis Presley and Pat Conroy for a bonus.

The Appalachian mountains are full of women who “become everybody’s mother.” This poem from Marianne Leek pays Christmas homage to one of them.

What do they do there? Why do they live there? Why do they live at all?

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When Mississippi’s Dusti Bongé turned to painting, she defied the limits set for women of her era, forging a path from Biloxi to the New York art world. Ellen Ann Fentress finds in Bongé’s story—and in her own—the urgency, satisfaction, and bittersweet cost of pursuing creative dreams in life’s second half.

2025 Membership Drive through May! Join our Family Circle and get stylish new swag!

Jermaine Thompson

In the Belly of the Catfish

By Jermaine Thompson /

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