Southern Review of Books

Poet Rodney Jones Goes Home Again in “Alabama: Poems”

By: Katharine Armbrester October 24, 2023September 28, 2023

ReviewsAlabama: Poems, louisiana state university press, Poetry, Rodney Jones1 Comment

“The shame of provenance is not genetic. It is installed like electricity.”

Grateful for Grit Lit

By: Anna Harris-Parker October 23, 2023October 22, 2023

FeaturesBrian Panowich, Fiction, grit lit, Hard Cash Valley, Here in the Dark, Meagan Lucas, Nyani Nkrumah, Short Stories, Wade in the WaterLeave a Comment

This season, I’m particularly grateful for grit lit, which I dared to revisit this summer after a years-long hiatus.

“The Wind Will” Sweep Up Readers

By: Kate Valach October 20, 2023October 18, 2023

ReviewsFiction, Michelle Theall, Novel, Review, The Wind Will Catch You1 Comment

Michelle Theall’s novel explores shortcomings and challenges stereotypes of the U.S. foster care system in this page-turning novel.

The Best Southern Books of October 2023

By: Chelsea Risley October 18, 2023

Featuresbest of the month1 Comment

New Southern releases in October 2023.

Navajo Culture Foregrounded in Top-Tier Crime Drama “Dark Winds”

By: J.N. Plesh October 17, 2023September 27, 2023

ReviewsAnne Hillerman, Dark Winds, Graham Roland, Stage and Screen, Television, Tony HillermanLeave a Comment

A review of AMC’s “Dark Winds,” based on Tony and Anne Hillerman’s Leaphorn & Chee novels.

Griot & Grey Owl Aims to Inspire, Connect, and Transform

By: Chelsea Risley October 16, 2023October 16, 2023

InterviewsEric Thompson, Griot & Grey Owl Black Southern Writers' Conference, Khalisa Rae, North Carolina, writing conferenceLeave a Comment

An interview with the folks behind the Griot & Grey Owl Black Southern Writers Conference.

Capturing “what it is like to live beside, beneath, above, near, and among others”: Lydia Davis’ “Our Strangers”

By: Amy R. Martin October 13, 2023October 9, 2023

ReviewsEssays, Fiction, Lydia Davis, Our Strangers, Review, Short StoriesLeave a Comment

A review of Lydia Davis’ new collection, “Our Strangers.”

A Young Man and Three Snakes Go AWOL in St. Augustine

By: Katharine Armbrester October 11, 2023September 27, 2023

ReviewsFiction, Ginger Pinholster, Novel, Regal House Publishing, Snakes of St. Augustine1 Comment

A review of Ginger Pinholster’s second novel, “Snakes of St. Augustine.”

Lawrence Wright on “Mr. Texas” and What Makes Texas Special

By: Chaney Hill October 10, 2023October 10, 2023

InterviewsFiction, Lawrence Wright, Mr. TexasLeave a Comment

Lawrence Wright is sitting in his home in Austin. In the background, I can see the warmly toned wall and the beginnings of an angled roof reaching toward a peak off-screen. The partial desk behind him is dark wood and has cloth-bound books on the shelves and notes on the desk. Behind him light trickles…