George Uriah :: Katrina, Darling ::
Southern Legitimacy Statement: I moved from Nairobi to Nashville right before I started high school and I vowed to leave the South the moment I graduated. I reluctantly stayed in town for college and then went as far away as...
James M. Maskell :: Henry ::
Southern Legitimacy Statement: I’ve spent my life in an area known as the south shore, which is just south of Boston. And despite just how northern that may seem to the rest of the country, believe me when I say...
Terry Ann Thaxton :: The Doll in the Mirror ::
Southern Legitimacy Statement Fifth generation Floridian. So far south, I ain’t got a twang. But my great-great grandparents (Joseph B. Keen/e, 1837-1898 and Mary P. Bronson, 1840-1921) are buried in the Shingle Creek Cemetery south of Orlando, Florida, tucked behind...
Hope Coulter :: Spot He ::
I was born in New Orleans—long story, but as a Southern Legitimacy Statement it could stop right there. On the other hand, Southerners rarely stop talking when they should, so I’ll go on to say that my natal residency in...
Jack J. B. Hutchens :: Rodeo | How to Rope a Cow | The Last Friday Night ::
As far as a Southern Legitimacy Statement, I’m not sure how to begin. I’m a red-legged Jayhawker abolitionist Kansan. As a descendent (in Spirit) of John Brown, I never thought of myself as Northern or Southern, but in the In-Between....
Joe Bisicchia :: Three Very Fine Poems ::
Southern Legitimacy Statement, it is what it is. Growing up in South Philly, the rest of the world was a world away. North Philly was as far as Quebec. But then I went to North Philly. Met the good people,...
Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy :: Grandmammy ::
Southern Legitimacy Statement: I am a writer and author with a rich family history. My folks either are Southern or on my dad’s side of the house, immigrants who came in the late 1800’s. I’m a widow with a big...
Kimberly Williams :: “Southern Cornbread Dressing as described in The New Perry Hotel: A Century of Southern Hospitality, A Compilation of Memories and Favorite Recipes of Nannette Green in Her 50th Year at the New Perry Hotel” by Bobbe Nelson ::
Southern Legitimacy Statement: Born and raised in west Georgia and east Alabama, my high school mascot was a distinguished Civil War soldier and my grandparents never pronounced the “r” in my first name. Pot likker soothed my colic and constipation,...
Tyler Ayres :: Cut Tomatoes ::
Southern Legitimacy Statement: Though I was sired in New York City, my folks brought me up in Central Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania isn’t the South, you say? Alright, friendo. Step into my office. See this map? Pittsburgh over on this side, Philly...
Jefferson Fortner :: A Honky-Tonk Epiphany | My Grandfather’s Garden | Wine, Women, and Song ::
Southern Legitimacy Statement: I am a lifelong resident of North Carolina, as were my parents, and my grandparents, and great-grandparents, reaching back to well before the American Revolution. It must be admitted, however, that there were a few immigrants from...
Lee Anne Sontheimer Murphy :: Asleep in the Arms of Jesus ::
Southern Legitimacy Statement: My ancestors wore Confederate gray and stood with Lee at Appomattox. My husband’s folks hailed from Louisiana and I learned to make gumbo and chicken maque choux and boudin from a Cajun lady named Miss Odile. My...
Biff Rushton :: Where 42 Crosses The Sabine | George Daniel ::
Southern Legitimacy Statement: In early 1835 my fourth great grandfather, John Nolan and his brother James, fled the Tithe War in Ireland and arrived upon the fringes of revolution in Texas. A little over a year later, Texas had become...
Randall Ivey :: Call Me Aa-ron ::
Southern Legitimacy Statement: Despite being from a place called Union (South Carolina), I am a born, bred, and dyed-in-the wool Southerner. Call Me Aa-ron If you run into me somewhere and say hey, don’t call me Air-ron. That ain’t my...
Poetry
Essays
