south – Snake & Tree

March 24, 2018

A Mississippi miss will set you free

Ode to Southern women, the girls who’ve been whooping asses longer than anybody should have to.

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 15, 2018June 23, 2018

Swallowing Us Whole: New Regulations on Predatory Lending Felt in Appalachia

Predatory lenders continue to invade rural landscapes. The CFPB tried to regulate them. Congress said no. Here’s why that’s awful.

December 16, 2017December 16, 2017

My Buddy Bill: Y’all Need Faulkner

Faulkner scares people. With as much truth as he’s dropping, he probably should.

October 12, 2017December 15, 2017

Stagnate, Fester & Putrefy

Trying to reconcile hateful ass perceptions of the South with people that actually live here.

October 1, 2017May 17, 2018

Review: Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison

Shame, poverty, and gospel music. Dorothy Allison’s seminal work has it all.

September 24, 2017September 24, 2017

Saint Dolly

Talking bad about Dolly could get your ass whooped.

I’m Rachel, a jaded twenty-something English grad student looking to tell some stories. Currently based in Knoxville, Tennessee, 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.