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Issue 57, Summer 2007

Best of the South Vol. II

“When did novelists, essayists, and poets come to the belief that everyone would be mesmerized, enchanted, and enthralled with having to look at their tortured selves staring blankly at the ceiling tiles?” — George Singleton, “The Daily Grind”

Odes by Ron Rash, Annie Wedekind, Jeff Baker, Brock Clarke, Bret Anthony Johnston, and more. Art by Henryk Fantazos. Fiction by Michael Gillis and Hannah Pittard. Poetry by Kevin Young and Jennifer Malesich.

Other contributors include David Gessner, George Singletom, Beth Ann Fennelly, Jack Pendarvis, and others.

COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS

Guest Editor's Box:
Ode to the Theme Issue Issue Issue
by Jack Pendarvis

Gone Off Up North:
Hot Pig! Hot Possum!
by Roy Blount, Jr.

Local Fare:
Mullet Holiday
by John T. Edge

Meditation:
Eating My Heart Out
by Beth Ann Fennelly

Argument:
Manfood
by Andy Selsberg

Poetry:
Memoir
by Jennifer Malesich

Essay:
Fantastic Voyage
by Tom Chaffin

The Canon:
An American Cuss: William Bradford Huie
by Devin McKinney

Writing on Writing
The Dreamer Did Not Exist
by David Gessner

Writing on Writing:
The Daily Grind
by George Singleton

Writing on Writing:
The Apprentice
by S.L. Price

The Canon:
Portrait of the Spinster as a Young Woman
by William Caverlee

After the Storm:
Notes from Campus
by Ada Liana Bidiuc

Argument:
A State of Confusion
by Jason Headley

Dealer's Choice:
The Wors of the South
by Hal Crowther

Southern Scenes:
"Carrot Walk"
by Chip Simons

FEATURES

OA Gallery
The Fresh Eye of Henryk Fantazos
With an introduction by Jack Gilbert

The Nightclub that Was
My experiences in a backwoods nightclub, where most customers wore blue jeans and overalls.
by Hardy Brown Nelems

A Juror's Notes
Testifying in the stop-snitchin' era.
by Madison Smart Bell

Five Poems
by Kevin Young

Ode to Chicken
I Walk the Line
Ode to Kitchen Grease
Something Borrowed Blues
See that My Grave Is Kept Clean

Idiot Wind
How my life came to fit in a phone booth.
A story by Michael Gills

Rabies Do Not Talk of Love
We are sisters. But we are not equals.
A story by Hannah Pittard

SECOND ANNUAL BEST OF THE SOUTH ODES

Best Poem Set in a Southern Junkyard, by Ron Rash

Gentle Soul, by Sonny Brewer

Old Haunt, by Annie Wedekind

Special Place, by Michael Powell

Giant Cowboy Boots, by Bret Anthony Johnston

Stoner, by Michael Parker

Sno-Balls, by Donn Cooper

Literary Sequel, by Brock Clarke

Beset Southern Playwright You Haven't Heard of Yet, by Dan Kois

Family History, by Sarah A. Strickley

Exploitation Director, by David Smay

Giant Toads, by Jason Ockert

Fast-Food Biscuit, by Jim Ruland

Catfish House, by Katherine Whitworth

Grandma's Snuff, by Farrell Evans

Endangered Appalachians, by Erik Reece

Founding Brother, by Jeff Baker

Yard Ornaments, by Brad Land