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Issue 61, Summer 2008

Best of the South Vol. III

“The South usually provides the characters and plot, while Hollywood supplies the handsome actors and the bad accents.” — publisher’s note

Essays by Bronwen Dickey, Sam Stephenson, John Jeremiah Sullivan, Pia Z. Ehrhardt, and more. Odes by Kane Web, William Caverlee, Beth Ann Fennelly, Matt Baker, Sarah Roahen, and others.

Also includes a discussion of Southern filmmaking and a free compilation DVD.

Columns & Departments

Guest Editorial
NOTES ON THIS YEAR'S BEST OF THE SOUTH DVD
A Southern variety show.
by Derek Jenkins

Publisher’s Note
THE CHANGING SCENE
Hollywood packs its bags.
by Warwick Sabin

Gone Off Up North
BEST MAN
The blonde, the beast, and the Merian C. Cooper.
by Roy Blount, Jr.

Dealer’s Choice
MASTER HISTORIAN
John Hope Franklin’s clear and unapologetic view of African American History.
by Hal Crowther

Southern Food
AN INSIDER’S GUIDE TO JAILHOUSE CUISINE
“Sleep late, lose weight” and other lessons from the pokey.
by Sean Rowe

Writing on Writing
GENTLEMEN’S COMPANION
The last of the literary bon vivants and his global quest for food, drink, and merriment.
by St. John Frizell

Business
DAD JOINER’S DREAM
How a con man struck it rich in East Texas.
by Jeff P. Jones

Writers’ Pets
ANIMAL PASSION
A man, a woman, and their rambunctious dog.
by Gene Lyons

Travel
THE COLLECTOR OF THE EVERYDAY
A pilgrimage to Joseph Mitchell’s grave.
by Sam Stephenson

Books
THE PAINFUL EVOLUTION OF MODERN FOOTBALL
The paths of two extraordinary athletes intersect in two football books.
by John Jeremiah Sullivan

Drama
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE PRETTY
Reconsidering Tennessee Williams’ underrated masterpiece “The Night of the Iguana.”
by Steve Vineberg

After the Storm
HOLDING ON
A student in New Orleans adapts to life in trailer housing.
by Ada Liana Bidiuc

Odes
SWIMMING NAKED
by Pia Z. Ehrhardt

Family History
SOUL CATCHERS
The spiritual misrepresentations of “documentary” photography.
by Jessie Van Eerden

Features

THE LAST WILD RIVER
Conservationists, locals, and thrill seekers are battling over the Chattooga River—and the daughter of the writer who made it famous wants to know why.
by Bronwnen Dickey

THE PENTECOSTAL HOME FOR FLYING CHILDREN
A second-string superhero lands in Louisiana and leaves behind an unusual legacy.
by Will Clarke

TOUCH TOUCH ME
Does this bagger at the grocery store want more than a lifetime of getting fat?
by Stephen Marion

Third Annual Best of the South Odes

Kane Webb: Nashville

William Caverlee: Pistol

Beth Ann Fennelly: Remedy

Matt Baker: Novel

Sara Roahen: Shrimp

Wright Thompson: Boots

Kevin Bouldin: Statue

Brad Land: Actor

Jay Jennings: Artist

Mark Winegardner: Driver

Katy Henriksen: Bookstore

Sam Eifling: Aquarium

Carol Spindel: Artifact

Sarah A. Strickley: Fireworks

Mary Miller: Daiquiris

Paul Reyes: Cathouse

Walton Muyumba: Writer

Doug Van Gundy: St. Porcine

Dan Stryk: Things I Own

P.T. Paul: Overflight

Mary Noble Ours: West Virginia

Bryan Leboeuf: Louisiana

John Firesheets: Opie

Tome Lea: Warship