alabama – Snake & Tree

August 5, 2018August 5, 2018

Aliens in Alabama

Rednecks by and large believe in aliens. And I’m not quite sure why.

February 28, 2018February 28, 2018

This week: Guns and Mayoral Scandals

The kids will be alright, if they can fight the domestic terrorism group called the NRA.

February 12, 2018February 12, 2018

Meth Mouth

As if you needed to know the various ways policies have ignored the meth epidemic.

February 3, 2018February 3, 2018

Guilt, Shame & the Southern Imaginary

We can feel guilt or shame about our ancestors. Or we can drink a lot and get to work.

February 2, 2018February 2, 2018

Posted on The Baffler

DACA, undocumented-gay-boylesque-dancing Alabamans, and what Trump got wrong–per usual–in the State of the Union.

January 25, 2018

The Possum and the First Lady

George Jones and Tammy Wynette were both legacies. I think she got the short shrift.

January 6, 2018January 6, 2018

No Pleasure but Meanness: The Untold History of the Kingpin of Organized Crime in Alabama

Willie Dewitt Dawson drove a black Lincoln Continental with “kingpin” on the front license plate. Don’t piss off the boys from Alabama.

I’m Rachel, a jaded twenty-something English grad student looking to tell some stories. Currently based in Nashville, born and bred in rural Alabama. Here you’ll find liberal political tirades, stories, book reviews, and folklore focused in on these lower Southeastern thirteen states.

The title, Snake and Tree, comes from the Alabama proverb that if you hang a dead snake in a tree it’ll bring rain. These stories are the snake. The rain is making peace with this broke South.