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THE BITTER SOUTHERNER

Better South / Better Word

The Folklore Project

THE BITTER SOUTHERNER
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Folklore Project: A Collection of Personal Essays from the American South


October 10, 2018

Eating Like an Alabamian in the Desert Southwest

October 10, 2018/ dave whitling
Eating Like an Alabamian in the Desert Southwest

The siren call of Alabama-grown tomatoes stretches all the way to Tempe, Arizona. Hayley Wells has the evidence and the recipes.

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October 10, 2018/ dave whitling/
October 03, 2018

The Southern Code of Silence

October 03, 2018/ dave whitling
The Southern Code of Silence

Southern girls don’t talk about stuff like this. But for Mary-Ann Anderson, after suffering too many creeps in the workplace, the time has come to break that rule.

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October 03, 2018/ dave whitling/
September 26, 2018

Why We Stayed Through Flo

September 26, 2018/ dave whitling
Why We Stayed Through Flo

Riding out Hurricane Florence in Hubert, North Carolina, John Dailey reflects on how the worst storms sometimes bring out our best.

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September 26, 2018/ dave whitling/
September 26, 2018

Some Battles Never End

September 26, 2018/ dave whitling
Some Battles Never End

Peter Amos grew up playing in the Civil War battlefields of Central Virginia. This is what he learned.

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September 26, 2018/ dave whitling/
September 12, 2018

Centerville

September 12, 2018/ dave whitling
Centerville

Desirée O’Clair always felt like the Pegasus on the gas-station sign in Centerville, Kentucky: She wanted to fly away from home, as some Southerners do.

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September 12, 2018/ dave whitling/
September 05, 2018

The Admiral’s Secretary

September 05, 2018/ dave whitling
The Admiral’s Secretary

In a Hot Springs, Arkansas, bookshop, Ms. Christy told the young clerk the same stories again and again. Still, she brought him “the soothing peace of good company.”

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September 05, 2018/ dave whitling/
August 29, 2018

Rattle the Bones

August 29, 2018/ dave whitling
Rattle the Bones

This is what a young girl learns by playing dominoes on a back porch in Leachville, Arkansas.

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August 29, 2018/ dave whitling/
August 22, 2018

Giving Up the Mayo of My Youth

August 22, 2018/ dave whitling
Giving Up the Mayo of My Youth

The war still rages down here and switching sides may prove to be more treat than treason.

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August 22, 2018/ dave whitling/
August 15, 2018

Ode to a Teacher: Remembering the Poet C.D. Wright

August 15, 2018/ dave whitling
Ode to a Teacher: Remembering the Poet C.D. Wright

C.D. Wright engendered enduring devotion from those she taught and read her poems to — simple glories, unsung heroes, little things that make us smile.

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August 15, 2018/ dave whitling/
August 08, 2018

The Crypt of Civilization

August 08, 2018/ dave whitling
The Crypt of Civilization

What an Atlanta time capsule from 1936 tells us about the past, the future, and our current moment.

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August 08, 2018/ dave whitling/
August 01, 2018

Two Kings and a Texan

August 01, 2018/ dave whitling
Two Kings and a Texan

A story about how three albums can change your life.

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August 01, 2018/ dave whitling/
July 25, 2018

The Appliance

July 25, 2018/ dave whitling
The Appliance

“Crazy in Alabama” author Mark Childress was delighted when a Hungarian director decided to stage an opera from his novel “Georgia Bottoms.” The problem came when the Hungarians to decide to use … um … a certain appliance.

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July 25, 2018/ dave whitling/
July 18, 2018

Red Dirt

July 18, 2018/ dave whitling
Red Dirt

She walked on it every day, and it permanently stained her shoes, but it took a special aunt to show her how the clay would cling to her soul.

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July 18, 2018/ dave whitling/
July 11, 2018

Who Owns a Woman’s Shoulders?

July 11, 2018/ dave whitling
Who Owns a Woman’s Shoulders?

Men can be part of the solution in the ongoing battle against the “Creepy Guys” of the world if they would stand alongside women to stop unwanted touching and harassment.

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July 11, 2018/ dave whitling/
June 27, 2018

Old Bull

June 27, 2018/ dave whitling
Old Bull

Old Bull is a throwback, a tough-as-nails football coach. But all his years spent on the gridiron will be put to the test when faced with his most grueling opponent yet — cancer.

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June 27, 2018/ dave whitling/
June 21, 2018

Who Was Marjory Stoneman Douglas?

June 21, 2018/ dave whitling
Who Was Marjory Stoneman Douglas?

A name more famously associated with our most recent mass school shooting, was first, and foremost known for her strident advocacy for the Everglades.

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June 21, 2018/ dave whitling/
June 13, 2018

One Funeral and One Bar Mitzvah

June 13, 2018/ dave whitling
One Funeral and One Bar Mitzvah

When a mama dies young, maybe she uses her newfound position in the great beyond to pull a few strings for the daughter left behind.

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June 13, 2018/ dave whitling/
June 06, 2018

Where Exactly Is the South?

June 06, 2018/ dave whitling
Where Exactly Is the South?

When he moved from his home in Virginia down to North Carolina, Matt Shipman was welcomed “to the South” by the Carolinians. And it made him wonder, how far south must you be to be considered Southern?

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June 06, 2018/ dave whitling/
May 29, 2018

Sop

May 29, 2018/ dave whitling
Sop

It’s not just the biscuit that matters. It’s what you sop up with it.

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May 29, 2018/ dave whitling/
May 22, 2018

Why Old Houses Are Like Old Guitars

May 22, 2018/ dave whitling
Why Old Houses Are Like Old Guitars

As the old living spaces become somewhat new in downtown Nashville, the buildings with the longest memories have the greatest demand and are striking a chord with folks looking to live in them again.

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May 22, 2018/ dave whitling/
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