The Best Stories of 2023

December 19, 2023

Published January 20, 2023

Story by David Peisner | Photo by Gabe Eisen 

Last December, David Peisner wrote a story on the ongoing, complicated, and at times violent argument over land rights in the heart of Atlanta. Among the South River Forest’s many defenders who took to living in the forest, there was a young activist named Manuel Teran, better known by his “forest” name, Tortuguita. Then, in an escalation of violence after police went to clear the forest on the morning of January 18, 2023, Teran was shot and killed. 

Peisner wrote about the deterioration of the forest since he had last been there, reflected on state-sanctioned violence, and where else the conflict could go; but perhaps what stays with us most are his memories about Teran. He wrote: “Of the 40 or so forest defenders I met and spoke with during my reporting, I probably spent more time talking to Teran than anyone else …  because they were great company: curious, engaging, earnest, educated, self-aware, well-read, and very funny. They loved to talk, to connect, to debate, and did so joyfully and passionately, without malice.”

Published April 4, 2023

Story by Maurice Carlos Ruffin | Photos by Cedric Angeles 

Our cover story for Issue No. 5 took a look at entertainer Big Freedia’s cultural impact in New Orleans and beyond. From being sampled on two Beyoncé tracks to starring in her own reality TV show to working on a handful of upcoming business ventures, Freedia has been grinding a long time for the moment she’s found herself in now. 

Maurice Carlos Ruffin hits on our sentiments exactly in his opening sentence, writing: “If forced to choose one person to represent the physical embodiment of New Orleans, Big Freedia would be a pretty strong pick in my book. Yes, worldwide legends like Beyoncé and Drake have her on speed dial, but the electric, gender-fluid ‘Queen of Bounce’ retains a real respect here from locals. And while New Orleans has a reputation for flash and debauchery, those who know the soul of the city understand that the other side of its beauty is something equally softer, more serene, just like our Freedia.”

Published April 18, 2023

Story by Rien Fertel | Photos by Casey Joiner 

In this story for Issue No. 5, author Rien Fertel journeyed to a beloved establishment at the crossroads of Elysian Fields and North Claiborne avenues in New Orleans and talked with Melba’s owner Jane Wolfe, who, along with her husband, took a long-vacant storefront and turned it into a palace where New York Times bestselling authors like Colson Whitehead could discuss their books, sign them, and interact with locals — all for the price of a po’boy. Fertel also delved into the history of the popular sandwich, the origin of Melba’s, and Wolfe’s visions for increasing literacy in her city and beyond. 

“New Orleans writers, as well as visiting authors, love nothing more than throwing ourselves book events in the most idiosyncratic of spaces,” Fertel writes. “The point is, New Orleans likes to mix literature with getting lit — and vice versa. So a po’boy shop might not be that out of the ordinary, even one that moonlights as a combination 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week daiquiri bar/laundromat/gambling den/bookshop.”

Published May 2, 2023

Photos by Celia D. Luna | Words by Gabrielle Calise 

The bright and vibrant colors of Peruvian-born, Miami-based artist Celia D. Luna’s photos may catch your eye, but it’s the deeper meanings behind the people she’s photographed that will keep you thinking about them. There are the young cholitas luchadoras, who are attracting spectators from near and far to watch them as they wrestle in the traditional, Indigenous clothing of their Bolivian ancestors. Then there are the skateboarding and climbing cholitas, groups that are breaking stereotypes and building skills and community alongside other strong women. And behind the camera is Luna herself, whose mission has been to increase visibility among minority communities through her images.

“When I was younger, there was not any representation of diversity. When I became a photographer, it was my mission to change that. It’s important for my daughter to see that. I want her to identify with the people in the photos, too.”

Published May 9, 2023

Story by Farhan Mustafa | Illustrations by Kristen Solecki 

Farhan Mustafa, the son of North Indian immigrants, wrote about a phenomenon that he grew up experiencing at Friday-night mosque potluck as a kid in Greenville, North Carolina, something he’s dubbed “immigrant spaghetti.” In retracing his fond food memory, he also talked with chefs, restaurant owners, food historians, and cookbook authors who shared their own stories, history, and takes on noodles swaddled in a sauce. In a world ever more divided by identity politics, Mustafa delved into the importance of spaghetti in a world where everyone’s looking for a taste of home. “Spaghetti has offered a box of possibilities for people from nearly every culture across the world. A blank slate that will absorb any flavor you throw at it. So accessible and affordable that everyone has an instinct to make it their own.”

Published June 6, 2023

Story by Jeremy B. Jones

Jeremy B. Jones’ moving and deeply felt essay about his grandfather Ray Harrell became our most widely read story of the year — resonating with many of us who have loved and lost someone who lived a quiet life. Remembering the sound of his voice, stories of his time in the military and as the local union boss, and their interaction together, Jones reflects on the lives of people who “ignore the siren call of flashy American individualism, of bright lights and center stage.”

“When the notable figures of our day pass away, they wind up on our screens, short clips documenting their achievements, talking heads discussing their influence. The quiet lives, though, pass on soundlessly in the background,” Jones writes. “And yet those are the lives in our skin, guiding us from breakfast to bed. They’re the lives that have made us, that keep the world turning.”

Published August 23, 2023

Story by Shane Mitchell

Shane Mitchell has taken us across states for in-depth looks at the crops feeding our region and the world for her James Beard Award-winning Crop Cycle series. For the ninth installment of the series, she wrote about how watermelon — the most thirst-quenching of fruits — has long nourished the imaginations of American artists. From the fruit’s status as the bravura of still life to its weaponization as a racial trope to the triumph of artists who are reclaiming it from infamy, this piece made us appreciate, in the words of Mitchell, “one of our greatest visual feasts.”

Published September 5, 2023

Story by Wyatt Williams | Illustration by Jason Holley 

Time and logistics may have prevented Wyatt Williams from talking with famed country singer Lucinda Williams (no relation) about her 2023 memoir, Don’t Tell Anyone the Secrets I Told You, but it didn’t stop him from writing a beautifully meditative piece on family stories, Southern territory, and distortions of memory. Through Lucinda’s lyrics, the life of his mother, and his own experiences, Williams charts a soul-searching path, writing, “I’m leaving out a lot of parts of this story and telling some of it out of order and don’t particularly care if it makes sense. … But if you asked for an explanation why I love this place, the only answer would be just the same as why I hate it. There aren’t enough hours in the day.”

Published September 14, 2023

Story by Silas House | Photos by Emma Delevante 

While some questioned whether or not Tyler Childers was a true representation of the region after the music video for “In Your Love,” from Childers’ recent album Rustin’ in the Rain, featured a gay love story, fellow Appalachian Silas House wrote about how Childers is in fact a true embodiment of their homeplace. Beneath his catchy choruses and fiddle-backed tracks, singer-songwriter Childers has a heart beating for acceptance, love, and a better South — from highlighting the plight of Black people facing relentless police brutality on his 2020 album Long Violent History to founding the Hickman Holler Appalachian Relief Fund with his wife, Senora May. 

 “I definitely didn't get into playing in bars because I thought … one day I get to be this cultural figure. That's not what I was striving for,” Childers told House. “I do feel a bit of responsibility. I do have hopes for the way the world could be. I do have ideas and thoughts about that, and I have a vehicle through my art to help influence that.”

Published September 26, 2023

Story by Alexis Hauk | Photos by Amanda Greene 

“To a sprouting kid in the South like me, kudzu was the ultimate botanical bad boy. … Once revered and later reviled, kudzu, in all its indestructibility, has always been doing what it does best: munching up what it can and refusing to die. So how did we ever end up here?” Thus muses Atlanta-based writer Alexis Hauk at the beginning of her story. From kudzu’s being seen as a savior of American farmland to becoming much hated in the second half of the 20th century, Hauk takes a look at how the invasive plant has both been talked about and used in the decades since, including in art, literature, food, and even as a metaphor.

Published October 3, 2023

Story by Taylor Brown | Photos by Christy Bush

While Jason Isbell made himself known as a member of the Southern rock group Drive-By Truckers, he’s been carving his own path ever since — racking up Grammy Awards, starting a family, and even making a foray into film. In our Issue No. 6 cover story, novelist Taylor Brown talked with Isbell — who he claims “may be the South’s greatest living songwriter — and in my estimation, one of its great writers, period” — about the rocky shoals of Isbell’s childhood, transforming pain into creativity, empathy and vulnerability, and what being a Southern American man means for him.

“I think part of what I’m trying to do in an overall sense is disprove a lot of those clichés,” Isbell shared with Brown. “It’s possible, I think, to show people that you can take care of yourself and take care of your mind and take care of the people that you love and still fucking rock.”

Published December 5, 2023

Photos by Kate Medley  | Story by Kiese Laymon

Kiese Laymon penned our final new story of the year, an intimate look at how gas station food played an integral role in some of his fondest memories with his grandma. “My favorite restaurant served gas,” is the repeating refrain and title for the piece, aptly capturing the sentiment of the project. Paired with his words are the stunning images of Durham-based photographer Kate Medley. Logging hundreds of highway miles across the American South, Medley captured the “fueling stations of our time” and the people — owners, chefs, and customers — who keep them running.