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Oxford American

@oxfordamerican.bsky.social

1.7K followers 170 following 390 posts

The Oxford American is a national magazine dedicated to featuring the very best in Southern writing while documenting the complexity and vitality of the South. https://linktr.ee/oxfordamerican

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Oxford American @oxfordamerican.bsky.social · Jul 17

Introducing the Arts & Culture Issue! The Fall 2025 Issue will think expansively about the arts and culture that define and disturb our ideas of the South and Southerness. Pre-order now for August delivery and find it on newsstands on September 2nd. www.oxfordamericangoods.org/products/iss...

Pre-Order | Issue 130: Arts & Culture

The Fall 2025 Issue will think expansively about the arts and culture that define and disturb our ideas of the South and Southerness. Through new fiction and poetry, criticism, and reporting, our cont...

www.oxfordamericangoods.org

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Oxford American @oxfordamerican.bsky.social · 17h

“Education is about finding out what form of work for you is close to being play.”

—From the archive, author and educator Mark Edmundson offers “A message in a bottle to the incoming class” as he urges college students to be intentional in their education.

🔗: https://shorturl.at/MR9zV

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Oxford American @oxfordamerican.bsky.social · 2d

“Perry’s music both epitomized her time and foreshadowed the future of American composition.”

—Samantha Ege and Garrett Schumann shine a light on pioneering Black Southern composer Julia Perry, whose legacy was nearly lost after her untimely death in 1979.

🔗: https://shorturl.at/FICr0

A black and white image of a woman sitting behind a piano in a furnished room as she looks at the camera.

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Oxford American @oxfordamerican.bsky.social · 4d

“Just a goddamn road trip—present tense, in the moment, see where it leads. Open the windows and let mortality blow away.”

—From the archive, Tom Piazza on his trip with John Prine to Sarasota, Florida. His memoir of Prine released in September.

🔗: https://shorturl.at/o58zK

Oxford American @oxfordamerican.bsky.social · 5d

#EyesontheSouth | Craft and Subtlety | Maude Schuyler Clay

—Pulled from the archive, color portraits by Maude Schuyler Clay from her 2015 book “Mississippi History.”

🔗: https://shorturl.at/6Gzac

Oxford American @oxfordamerican.bsky.social · 7d

“Horror and vacations have been joined in American culture for at least half a century.”

—Emmy-winning TV writer Pat Cassels immerses himself in horror culture at Camp Crystal Lake, the fictional setting of “Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives.”

🔗: https://shorturl.at/RMjep

Oxford American @oxfordamerican.bsky.social · 10d

#EyesontheSouth | Long Tail Effects | @ryanburleson.bsky.social

From the archive: Burleson documents the destruction to the Florida panhandle following Hurricane Michael, finding ways to be optimistic even in the face of damage.

🔗: https://shorturl.at/21dvJ

A broken, leaning billboard sits at the bottom of the image beneath a cloudly, blue sky.

A close up of a destoryed and dirty pool table. The wall of the building it is in has collapsed next to it.

A white and cream building with a red door. The window is boarded up and spray painted to say "No $ Inside" and a letterboard reads "tay safe."

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Oxford American @oxfordamerican.bsky.social · 11d

“The creative act is mysterious in its essence.”

—Sally Mann (@sallymannofficial) to Maude Schuyler Clay (@maudeclay) in 1999. Mann’s latest book is “Art Work: On the Creative Life.”

🔗: https://shorturl.at/UzzQO

A woman stands next to a large camera in front of a tree as she holds a light-colored jacket and looks off beyond the camera.

Oxford American @oxfordamerican.bsky.social · 12d

From a new poem by @karismaprice.bsky.social, written after watching a 1999 performance of “Melodies from Heaven” by Kirk Franklin

🔗: https://shorturl.at/DY0z1

A cross hangs from the side of the building with neon lights that read: "Jesus Saves"

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Oxford American @oxfordamerican.bsky.social · 12d

“This folk revival has been springing up through potlucks, music festivals, and square dances.”

—Eliza Benbow profiles the balladeers returning traditional music to Western NC after Hurricane Helene.

🔗: https://shorturl.at/uCyJ9

Oxford American @oxfordamerican.bsky.social · 14d

“You’re just a star for them to stare at. A star in the sky.”

—In a feature article from @burnaway.org, Zahrah Butler dives into the techniques and latest projects of multidisciplinary artist Tay Butler.

🔗: https://shorturl.at/4mSMW

A collage of a basketball scene where the images are placed in order to make the basketball player blend into the crowd behind them.

A detail shot of a painting of basketball player Kyrie Irving looking up with a towel over his head.

Oxford American @oxfordamerican.bsky.social · 15d

“I’ve been thrown into a life I haven’t chosen.”

—Zack Ford speaks with Lee Stinton, who had been legally living in Key West for almost seven years, about his harrowing experiences in Krome Detention Center and his deportation.

🔗: https://shorturl.at/wyoeH

A man and his boyfriend hugging on a scenic balcony. Both of them wear sunglasses.

Oxford American @oxfordamerican.bsky.social · 18d

“The music Wednesday makes feels dynamic and untethered to a trend.”

—Pulled from the archive in honor of Wednesday’s latest album “Bleeds” out now, Patrick D. McDermott speaks with Karly Hartzman at their 2022 performance in Athens, Georgia.

🔗: https://shorturl.at/4vqXp

A group of people stand or crouch in the woods looking at the camera for a picture.

A piece of green paper with trees on it that looks like it has been set on fire on top of a wooden background.

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Oxford American @oxfordamerican.bsky.social · 19d

#EyesontheSouth | Vanishing Point | Zuri A. Stanback, Sr.

Stanback utilizes atmospheric photography to capture local Georgia landmarks in neighborhoods at risk of gentrification.

🔗: https://shorturl.at/lVmlD

A wide image of a large Regal Cinema almost obscured by the fog. The large parking lot in front of it is completely empty.

A wide image taken at night of "Ruby's Chow" on the corner of a deserted intersection.

A wide image of a large apartment complex that stands straight behind a downward hill. The sky is foggy and porch lights illuminate the building.

Oxford American @oxfordamerican.bsky.social · 20d

Today, we celebrate the birthday of artist Wayne White. Pulled from the archive, Paul Reyes goes “junking” with the renowned landscape painter, whose unique artistic style relies on elements that are “mixed together with a crazy, disciplined joy.”

🔗: https://shorturl.at/d352K

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Oxford American @oxfordamerican.bsky.social · 21d

“It’s for everyone, this book. You can go wherever you want. It’s just a place to start.”

Christian Leus talks with author Kristina Gaddy and musician @rhiannongiddens.bsky.social about "Go Back and Fetch It," their new book exploring early Black music.

🔗: https://shorturl.at/FZlSn

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Oxford American @oxfordamerican.bsky.social · 23d

“Women drown in their own blood, sweat, or tears, wake up as holograms, and no one reads the audit or autopsy.”

—Harmony Holiday considers the public scope of a musician's career through Abbey Lincoln’s performance at Yoshi’s jazz venue in California.

🔗: https://shorturl.at/fSyGE

A black and white image of Abbey Lincoln performing onstage wearing a fancy dress. Her arms are open as she looks up and sings.

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Oxford American @oxfordamerican.bsky.social · 27d

“Many of the booksellers around these shops are calling what they do an act of resistance.”

—Vanessa Garcia spotlights the booksellers from independent bookstores across Florida as they work to preserve the freedom to read.

🔗: https://shorturl.at/oNDc7

A man holding books jumps and clicks his heels in front of a mural of a pink lynx.

A young boy and girl stand in front of a colorful building with a sign that reads "Tombolo Books."

Oxford American @oxfordamerican.bsky.social · 28d

#EyesontheSouth | Mark Smith Plays On | Kathleen Flynn

After meeting Mark “Tuba” Smith as he was evacuating with his sousaphone four days after Hurricane Katrina, Flynn captures his continued musical influence in New Orleans over a span of 20 years.

🔗: https://shorturl.at/NM3JZ

A man wearing an animal hat and plastic sunglasses plays a large tuba in the street.

A man in a suit holding a book stands in church surrounded by parishoners as he looks up and sings. The entire room is bathed in a yellow light.

A close up of a man smiling as he holds a white tuba.

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Oxford American @oxfordamerican.bsky.social · Sep 8

“In a way, all comedy is rebellion.”

—William Giraldi analyzes literary comedy and the ethos of the Southern novel in Douglas Glover’s “The South Will Rise at Noon.” This piece appears in our Fall 2025 Arts & Culture Issue, available now.

🔗: https://shorturl.at/XeyvW

Oxford American @oxfordamerican.bsky.social · Sep 6

“We were barefoot and muddy and tired, but, we confirmed, alive, alive, alive, alive.”

—In a 2008 essay, published online for the first time, @jesmimi.bsky.social recalls her family’s survival during Hurricane Katrina.

🔗: https://shorturl.at/wkOT6

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Oxford American @oxfordamerican.bsky.social · Sep 5

#EyesontheSouth | The Coast of Baton Rouge | William Greiner

Pulled from the archive, Greiner's photo series “Land’s End” serves as a projection of what Louisiana’s future coastline might look like after another catastrophic storm.

🔗: https://shorturl.at/zQCiK

Oxford American @oxfordamerican.bsky.social · Sep 4

“The paper’s staff . . . showed the world about the city’s struggle to receive the help they desperately needed.”

— @jengolbeck.bsky.social profiles two journalists at the center of the “Times-Picayune” Hurricane Katrina coverage.

🔗: https://shorturl.at/meR6r
📷: @gwenfilosamedia.bsky.social

A close up image of a metal fleur de lis fence that leans over.

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Oxford American @oxfordamerican.bsky.social · Sep 3

“Velazquez describes the circuitous information systems of ICE detention as evidence of both incompetence and illegality.”

—Zack Ford chronicles the surging detainments by ICE in Key West and gathers local and legal viewpoints on Alligator Alcatraz.

🔗: https://shorturl.at/mcTpw

An ICE agent in an all green uniform walks toward the individual holding the camera.

Two T-shirts depicting alligators hang from a wall outside a souvenir shop. The top one is an alligator wearing an ICE vest, and the bottom one is an alligator with a MAGA hat.

Oxford American @oxfordamerican.bsky.social · Aug 30

Issue 130 arrives on newsstands September 2, and we’re previewing it with a feature from Lora Eli Smith. “Gobsmacked!” delves into the mysterious wave of goblin-like creature sightings that emerged following the 2022 Eastern Kentucky floods.

🔗: https://shorturl.at/UDWbu

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Oxford American @oxfordamerican.bsky.social · Aug 29

“To be Southern is a spectrum.”

—In an interview surrounding her latest album, “Miss Black America,” which was released today, KIRBY spoke with Francesca T. Royster on her Mississippi hometown, musical lexicon, and Southern identity.

🔗: https://shorturl.at/yX6wO

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