In a Southern Cultures essay published in 2000, Jerry Leath Mills came up with a “single, simple, litmus-like test [to gauge] the quality of southerness in literature . . . Is there a dead mule in it?” We were curious … Read more

If you’re nearby (or up for a road trip!), join us at the Power Plant Gallery at the American Tobacco Campus in Durham to get a first look at our Documentary Arts Issue, guest edited by Tom Rankin and featuring … Read more

Katy Clune’s photographs depict an immigrant community in Morganton, including the family of Toon Phapphayboun, who escaped Laos by swimming across the Mekong River at age 14. This collection explores three realms essential to the Phapphaybouns’ identity in North Carolina: … Read more

Our Music Issue is back, featuring Johnny Cash’s last interview, Emmylou Harris as the widow of Nashville, Muscle Shoals and the rise of FAME Recording Studios, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Dutch band Normaal, huapango arribeno musicians and the making of a “Mexican … Read more

To celebrate the Summer 2015 issue release from Southern Cultures, we’re having a beach picnic–right here in Chapel Hill! The new issue features the Ali-Quarry fight in Atlanta, contested stereotypes of southern motherhood, Civil War novels by Vietnam vets, lesbian … Read more