Salvation South

Why fiction is—and should always be—part of Salvation South.

ELVIS! was born in Tupelo, crowned the King of Rock ’n’ Roll, and became such a legend—and punchline—that the man himself is almost beside the point. Almost.

A Tennessee social worker unfurls a flag of healing and mercy.

Nanci Griffith, one of the finest Texas songwriters ever, left this earth two years ago. Her music lives on in a new tribute album out today. Mary Gauthier writes about the lasting power of Griffith’s songs.

We welcome one of our favorite Grammy-nominated songwriters, Mary Gauthier, to our pages with a tribute to her heroine, the late Nanci Griffith.

An island poet from North Carolina recounts a life defined by books, music, and events far beyond her control.

While studying in Uganda, one Southerner learned that even eight thousand miles away, familiar flavors can bring you home in an instant.

An Arkansas veteran and professor unearths the South’s ambiguous tracks.

A Tennessee musician wrestles with ghosts—the troubling, the beloved, and the holy.

Our poetry editor steps into the Editor’s Corner to walk us through a week of writing that wrestles with the Confederacy, that army of a million ghosts who haunt the South.

From South Carolina to Washington, D.C., a chronicle of poetic lineage and family history.

Illumination can spring from anywhere: the beach, our vices, or the sacred tomato sandwich.