Columns & Departments

Editor’s Box
by Marc Smirnoff

MESSAGES FROM THE FRONT
Delivering the motley South to your doorstep!
with Paul Maliszewski, Emily Witt, Lawrence Wilson

OA Comix
SAMMY’S WORLD
by Kristin Gore (writer) and Ellen Forney (artist)

Gone Off Up North
WHERE’S THE BIG IDEA?
by Roy Blount, Jr.

Saying It
DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME
by Kaye Gibbons

Local Fare
PIGGLY WIGGLY AIN’T NO HOGGLY WOGGLY
by John T. Edge

The Future
CHANGE IN THE DELTA
by Matt Dellinger

Sense of Place
TRI-COUNTY FAIR—PETERSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA
photographs by Mary Noble Ours

The Moviegoer
LIFE STUDIES
by Gary Hawkins

Guest Music Column
THE WORST FORM OF IMITATION?
by Will Blythe

Writing on Writing
A KIND OF MYSTERY
by Kevin Brockmeier

Writing on Writing
THE WIND BLOWETH WHERE IT LISTETH
by Charles Portis

Dealer’s Choice
SON OF A PREACHER MAN
Marshall Frady (1940–2004)
by Hal Crowther

Books
FAULKNER AS RACIST
by Marc Smirnoff

Books
ST. CASSIUS
by Paul Reyes

Southern Reader
ROUGHHOUSING IN THE SOUTHERN LIBRARY
by J.B. Slogan

Southern Scenes
WALNUT GLEN, WEST VIRGINIA
Photo by Mary Noble Ours

Poetry
BRUCKER ALONE 
by Rob Griffith

Features

LOVE AND DEATH IN THE CAPE FEAR SERPENTARIUM
Some passions are more dangerous than others.
by Wendy Brenner

THE KINDEST CUT
A Civil War surgeon carves a place in one family’s history.
a story by Judy Budnitz

CHRIST IN THE ROOM
The author’s life after seeing Jesus.
by Barry Hannah

ARE YOU READY TO BE SEEN?
What should a frustrated writer do if his main competition is his best friend?
a story by Jennifer S. Davis

HIDDEN MEANINGS
A college student turns in a no-holds-barred homework assignment.
a short story by Michael Parker

KING VOLCANO
Intimate encounters on a Hawaiian island.
a short story by Carol Ann Fitzgerald