story – Snake & Tree

April 22, 2018

Review: William Gay’s Little Sister Death

William Gay could tell a story. Even a scary one. Especially a scary one.

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.

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.

August 18, 2017August 30, 2019

Mama’s Blood Oath

Aunt Jenny Johnson taught her boys to shoot, made them swear to kill. Wonder why?

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.