Chuck Reece
@chuckreece.bsky.social
@salvationsouth.com co-founder and editor in chief. Founding editor of The Bitter Southerner.
This is a Southern thing: how we feel when the place that raised us disappears. This month’s @salvationsouth.com Deluxe podcast with @tracytherealone.bsky.social and poet Annie Woodford. I’m awful proud of these women (and of this episode).
Deluxe: When the Place You Come From Is Gone
Podcast Episode · Salvation South · May 20 · 29m
podcasts.apple.com
“Mother Emanuel” is a book that will stand for the ages, not only as the definitive account of a massacre drawn by hatred and racism, but also as a history of the Black church in America….
Salvation South@salvationsouth.com · 3mo agoCongratulations to our contributor Kevin Sack, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in nonfiction.
Congrats to @salvationsouth.com contributor James McWilliams—a Pulitzer Prize’Finalist www.nytimes.com/shared/v1/cl...
Pulitzer Prizes 2026: A Guide to the Winning Books and Finalists
nytimes.com
King Center for Southern Studies hosted the Laurie Byington Lecture on the Contemporary South last Thursday evening. @chuckreece.bsky.social of @salvationsouth.com was the lecturer. Lecture posted on the King Center for Southern Studies YouTube Channel. youtu.be/eXKdnOxFErU?...
Byington Lecture 2026
YouTube video by Spencer B. King, Jr Center for Southern Studies
youtu.be
This is a must read, because this young man, Mr. Girtley, is remarkably talented, and I was so proud @salvationsouth.com could publish this story, with characters and dialogue that never ring a false note.
Salvation South@salvationsouth.com · 6mo agoThe Salvation South team believes this is one of the finest short stories we've seen from a young writer in months. Herbert Girtley Jr. is remarkable.
If you're an audio producer who is a fan of the @salvationsouth.com podcast, please check this out. This is a full-time production job with our production partner @gpbmedia.bsky.social, and producing Salvation South is part of the job. tinyurl.com/SalvationSou...
JobCenter
tinyurl.com
Finally some sanity from the U.S. Supreme Court.
Supreme Court Denies Request to Revisit Same-Sex Marriage Decision
nytimes.com
Guillermo del Toro on wealth: "a wealthy man is a man who has enough, not a man that needs more. If you have enough to invite someone for a beer? You're rich. If you have a yacht, planes, islands, and you still need more? You're not rich."
I'm attending Ruwa Romman for Governor's event, “Ruwa for Governor Kickoff Call” - sign up now to join me! www.mobilize.us/ruwaforgeorg...
Ruwa for Governor Kickoff Call · Ruwa Romman for Governor
It’s time to build a movement! Republicans have controlled our state for way too long and the only way to change that is building infrastructure while fighting to make Georgia one we can afford. We ...
mobilize.us
Worked on this piece about @widespreadpanic.com on and off for a year, and it's not a piece about music. It's a piece about music fans, and how this band has built a world for them that's stood for nearly 40 years.
A Place to Be Happy
Chuck Reece explores Widespread Panic, the devotion of its fans, and the enduring community built on joy, kinship, and sharing.
salvationsouth.com
I dearly love the writing of @chris-offutt.bsky.social. But I had no idea until last year that his eye was as sharp as his pen. Overjoyed to have his photographs (and words!) in @salvationsouth.com today.
No Grand Subjects Here: Offutt Shoots Mississippi
Mississippi photography by legendary writer Chris Offutt. This Southern photo essay captures everday sights with sharp Mississippi images.
salvationsouth.com
Southern and Appalachian studies programs in out colleges are critical. But they are in danger. Read this dispatch from @robgipe.bsky.social. Proud to have him in @salvationsouth.com.
Can Appalachian Studies Survive the Age of Trump?
With Appalachian Studies programs under threat, Arthurdale, West Virginia, is building new roads to Appalachian cultural preservation.
salvationsouth.com
Out today on @bullcitypress.com. This weekend, we'll have two stories excerpted from the book, plus "Ten Questions for Daniel Wallace."
Bull City Press@bullcitypress.com · last yr.Excited about the release of Daniel Wallace's BENEATH THE MOON AND LONG DEAD STARS? Grab your copy at his launch reading, tonight at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill! flyleafbooks.com/event/wallac...
If you aren’t reading the Salvation South posts, you’re missing out on good stories.
Salvation South@salvationsouth.com · last yr.Do you think your “creative days” are behind you? Read this inspiring piece from @eafentress.bsky.social. Then get to work!
@eafentress.bsky.social took what, in most writers’ hands, would have been a reflection on an artist’s career and turned it into inspiration for anyone in midlife who is driven to create. Proud to publish this in @salvationsouth.com.
The Power of Blooming Late
Discover Dusti Bongé’s biography and legacy in Ellen Ann Fentress’s essay on Mississippi women artists and creative ambition blooming late.
salvationsouth.com
We need your support. Please join to keep @salvationsouth.com alive.
Salvation South@salvationsouth.com · last yr.Salvation South has no paywall. Instead, we rely on the $ from folks who join our Family Circle. Please read @chuckreece.bsky.social on why we need to keep our house for Southern storytellers open and welcoming. Then join.
On the liturgical calendar of The Episcopal Church, May 13th is the feast day for Blessed Frances Perkins, the woman who served as the Secretary of Labor in FDR's cabinet and who envisioned and personally drafted much of the legislation to create such New Deal programs as Social Security,
Talking to Bill Ferris is one of my favorite things.
UNC Press@uncpress.bsky.social · last yr.An exciting new series from @salvationsouth.com presents conversations with Bill Ferris to celebrate 50 years since the release of his four landmark film documentaries 🙌 Read or watch the first conversation about GIVE MY POOR HEART EASE 👇 www.salvationsouth.com/give-my-poor...
The writing of Affrilachian poet @dalai-mama.bsky.social is badass. In this convo, we talk about family, the “re-narrativization” of the South, recovery, and more. Joy is an amazing person.
...And I Sing
Discover the Southern poetry of Kentucky's Joy Priest. Chuck Reece interviews her on her acclaimed "Horsepower" poetry collection and more.
salvationsouth.com
“When times are dark…gather good people,” @silashouse.bsky.social tells us in @salvationsouth.com today. Thank you, Silas, for your crackling fire.
A Crackling Fire of Hope
Kentucky poet laureate Silas House on how poems and songs offer hope and solace in the divided America of 2025.
salvationsouth.com
Tiana Clark is one of the most brilliant among the young generation of Southern writers. An unapologetic speaker of truth and love. Read our interview w/ her at @salvationsouth.com.
The Unapologetic Verse of Tiana Clark
Southern poet Tiana Clark on her roots, her Scorched Earth poetry collection, and radical Black joy in poetry. A bold voice for modern times.
salvationsouth.com
"Change came like a tsunami—which, contrary to what many people think, does not always announce itself with a mighty roar, but seeps in under the door when you aren’t looking." Tracy Thompson for @salvationsouth.com:
Solastalgia - Longreads
"Pleasant memories of places past: that’s nostalgia. But what do you call the grief that comes when the modern world leaves nary a trace of the place that raised you?"
longreads.com
All of us at @salvationsouth.com thank @cherilucasrowlands.com for seeing how Tracy Thompson’s “Solastalgia” “sinks into you.” It surely does. Thanks for including us is @longreads.com’s top stories.
Solastalgia
Southern author Tracy Thompson's "Solastalgia": environmental change, childhood memories, and the grief of losing a rural homeland.
salvationsouth.com
Just a quick note to thank @chuckreece.bsky.social and @salvationsouth.com for their Salvation South podcast. As someone born in Texas who thought he knew abt. the South till he lived in Mobile for 7 years, starting listening to these short pieces today was like eating some really good hopping john.
Tracy Thompson's writing and research are important. Her book "The New Mind of the South" felt like a great awakening to me. So I'm proud @salvationsouth.com today gets to publish her new piece about the grief you feel when your home literally disappears. www.salvationsouth.com/solastalgia-...
Solastalgia - Salvation South
Pleasant memories of places past: that’s nostalgia. But what do you call the grief that comes when the modern world leaves nary a trace of the place that raised you?
salvationsouth.com
