liberal – Snake & Tree

May 14, 2018

Populism

Good country folk historically hate big business, cops, authority of any kind, and rich folks. What happened? Nothing, really.

March 11, 2018March 11, 2018

Sometimes, Evil Prevails: Dry County Economics

Liquor money is green as anybody’s.

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 18, 2018

Review: Steven Stoll’s Ramp Hollow: The Ordeal of Appalachia

Stoll’s book of Appalachian history was released in November of last year. The responses are wild, so here’s mine.

January 9, 2018January 9, 2018

American Farm Bureau Speech

Thoughts after Trump’s American Farm Bureau Conference speech. Short and sweet? It was lame.

December 2, 2017December 4, 2017

Poor People’s Investing: Quick Cash and Payday Loans

Quick Cash and Payday Loan merchants are fixtures in most rural towns. This is why I hate them.

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.