NOVEMBER 2 EDITION
Kenny Chesney’s new book lands this week—exclusive excerpt and essay from coauthor Holly Gleason. Essayist Patty Ireland leans on everlasting arms. Poet Kevin Nance visits Aunt Lila's pear tree.
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Poetry

Kentucky poet Joy Priest, author of "Horsepower" featured in Salvation South magazine—"The Only Way I'd Known," a new collection of poems exploring Black Southern resilience and mythic landscapes.

The Only Way I’d Known

From the nocturnal streets of Houston to the mythic fields of the Delta, Joy Priest’s poems bear witness to the moments that threaten to undo us—and the small, hard-won salvations that follow.

By Joy Priest /
A striking image showing a barren, dark forest with a vibrant open door leading to lush greenery and flowers, symbolizing themes from At the Threshold of What Hasn’t Been Destroyed, a powerful collection of Mexican American poetry by National Book Award-longlisted poet Octavio Quintanilla.

At the Threshold of What Hasn’t Been Destroyed

Three stark poems from the National Book Award-longlisted Texan Octavio Quintanilla, filled with longing, displacement, and the fragile beauty of human connection.

By Octavio Quintanilla /
Professional portrait of Texas border poet Octavio Quintanilla in a quiet indoor setting with minimal background featuring contemporary styling. Accompanies an interview with him that explores Mexican American literature and poetry crossing borders through themes of family and duality, highlighting the intersection of language and cultural experience.

Across the Borderline

Octavio Quintanilla’s roots lie deep in both South Texas and Mexico. And his work dwells between worlds—geographic, cultural, and emotional.

By Andy Fogle /
Illustration of wild violets accompanying and Thresh & Hold author Marlanda Dekine’s poetry, her National Poetry Month poems

We Have Always Been Here

South Carolina’s Marlinda Dekine testifies to fierce love—for the natural world, for self, and for a grandma’s lessons.

By Marlanda Dekine /

Respite for the Poor, Ruin to the Unpunished

Edison Jennings finds decay, tragedy, and the haunting echoes of forgotten Appalachian lives in two vivid poems.

By Edison Jennings /
Collage inspired by Harlem Renaissance artist Aaron Douglas's "The Creation," accompanying Christian J. Collier's poetry collection, "The Inheritance I'm Cloaked In," by the Black Southern poet.

The Inheritance I’m Cloaked In

From nine different bars in Hixson, Tennessee, to his grandmother’s cotton field, Collier’s poems map the Southern geography of memory and belonging.

By Christian J. Collier /
A silhouetted tree branch against a starry night sky, accompanying the North Carolina poetry of Han VanderHart. Southern identity, poetry, and National Poetry Month.

The Song Starts There

Han VanderHart’s visceral verses weave together memories of country living, intimate relationships, and the confounding complexities of identity in the American South.

By Han VanderHart /
A photo illustration accompanying Tiana Clark's Scorched Earth poems, reflecting themes of Black motherhood in poetry, faith, and grief.

The Raw Root of Dark Sounds

These three poems excerpted from “Scorched Earth” reckon with a mother’s face, the devil’s music, and what miracles can happen on a plain day.

By Tiana Clark /
A hawk soaring above a hayfield under the sun, illustrating 'Succession,' a nature-inspired poem by Tennessee poet Sherry Poff. Keywords: Tennessee poet Sherry Poff, Appalachian poetry Succession, nature-inspired poems Tennessee.

Succession

In the natural world, one thing always leads to another.

By Sherry Poff /
Tiana Clark Southern poet, author of Scorched Earth poetry collection, exploring radical Black joy in poetry and modern cultural narratives.

The Unapologetic Verse of Tiana Clark

From Nashville to national acclaim, Tiana Clark’s poetry challenges readers to embrace the fullness of Black experience and the radical act of rest.

By Salaam Green /
Close-up of a rotary phone accompanying Limping Along, a poetry collection by North Carolina poet Joseph Mills exploring time, memory, and resilience. Joseph Mills poetry.

Limping Along

Even as we march forth into the future, we can’t stop wrestling with the past. Three poems about what time whispers in our ears.

By Joseph Mills /
A watercolor sunset over rolling hills with a car on a winding road, symbolizing themes from Steve Cushman’s poetry collection about family, memory, and emotional everyday moments.

Full With Love

Sometimes the littlest things can set us off: a vegetable, a sibling’s smile, the taste of a certain beer, imagining someone who’s gone is still here. Maybe love lives that low—all the way down to the molecular level of the everyday.

By Steve Cushman /