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Issue 121, Summer 2023

This summer, our writers contemplate bodies, whether those are physical bodies, bodies of work, or bodies of movements. Issue 121 examines people who became others: a man who impersonates Thomas Jefferson; the woman who inspired Ophelia Colley to become an unforgettable Nashville star. Benjamin Hedin travels to Tallahassee on the anniversary of the Dream Defenders’ occupation of the state capitol, where they began a collective movement to fight for all bodies to move freely through the world. We stop in the healing wilds of Arkansas and dine on crabs in Southwest Louisiana. Our features immerse us in the complexities of motherhood and desire. In Monic Ductan’s short story, we observe the trials, joys, absurdities, and fears of online dating, while poet Nomi Stone delights in motherhood. Emerging writer Giovannai Rosa guides us through Miami streets, haunted by previous generations. Martha Kelly invites us into the house that has become a generational home in Memphis. No issue of the OA is truly complete without music: Melissa Rugierri covers our Southern rock & roll president, while first-time contributor Jaydra Johnson finds inspiration in TLC.







A Body of Possibilities, by Allie Mariano 

POINTS SOUTH

Crab Anatomy, by Baylea Jones

My Body Is My Higher Power, by Gabrielle Lawrence

Where It Starts, a poem by Emily Jalloul

Lady Vols Country, by Jessica Wilkerson

Leavin’ a Trace, by Jaydra Johnson

Meet Thomas Jefferson, by C. J. Bartunek


FEATURES

GHOSTS
a story by Giovannai Rosa

THE ONGOING DREAM
The Florida State Capitol protestors ten years later
by Benjamin Hedin

MEMOIR OF A HOUSE
a graphic essay by Martha Kelly

THREE POEMS
by Nomi Stone

THE SENSE OF TOUCH
a story by Monic Ductan


OMNIVORE

BEFORE THE HOWDY
Finding Minnie Pearl
by Rachel Louise Martin

THE ROCK & ROLL PRESIDENT
A champion of Southern rock, Jimmy Carter earned the title long ago
by Melissa Ruggieri

LONG LIVE THE QUEEN OF MEMPHIS
From The Web
by Zandria F. Robinson

ROLL ME UP AND SMOKE ME WHEN I DIE
From The Web
by David Kirby

 

ART BY: Jody Fausett, Freya Douglas-Morris, Portia Zvavahera, Rohina Hoffman, Justin Kimball, Alexis Doshas, Delita Martin, Birthe Piontek, Charlie Roberts, Brittany Miller, Carlos Ampudia, Shawn Huckins, Anastasia Samoylova, Albarran Cabrera, Nate Lewis

COVER: Wet Driveway (detail), 2015, a photo by Jody Fausett © The artist. Courtesy Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta