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southrevbooks.bsky.social
Southern Review of Books
@southrevbooks.bsky.social
920 followers 330 following 130 posts
Exploring contemporary literature of the American South & beyond. Published by Queens University of Charlotte MFA. Editor-in-chief @crisley.bsky.social, founding editor Adam Morgan. linktr.ee/southrevbooks
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southrevbooks.bsky.social
Southern Review of Books @southrevbooks.bsky.social · 14h
"Marce Catlett is not interested in individual responses to how rural life and agriculture have changed during the last century but in the importance of communally remembering a history on the verge of being wiped out."

New review of Wendell Berry's latest, MARCE CATLETT: THE FORCE OF A STORY.
Tending to the Land: Wendell Berry’s “Marce Catlett: The Force of a Story”
A review of Wendell Berry’s newest novel, “Marce Catlett: The Force of a Story.”
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southrevbooks.bsky.social
Southern Review of Books @southrevbooks.bsky.social · 1d
"Harjo describes her experiences with a combination of poetic grace and disarming honesty."  

New review of Joy Harjo's GIRL WARRIOR, out today!

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Radical Emancipation in Joy Harjo’s New Collection
Advice for living abounds in the latest essay collection from poet and jazz musician Joy Harjo.
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Southern Review of Books @southrevbooks.bsky.social · 5d
"Ardery’s debut is both a memoir of survival and a meditation on what it means to carry weight — literal and metaphorical — and to keep walking anyway."

@sara-eastler.bsky.social reviews LEVEL WATCH by Mary Ardery. @juneroadpress.bsky.social
Debut Collection Captures the Struggle of Carrying Physical and Emotional Weight
Mary Ardery’s debut poetry collection draws from her experience as a wilderness guide for women recovering from addiction.
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southrevbooks.bsky.social
Southern Review of Books @southrevbooks.bsky.social · 8d
"Our longing can become a wraith living beside us... The truth of grief running through this writing appears stealthily like a haint moving through the North Carolina woods."

@tobyleblancauthor.bsky.social reviews THE DEVIL'S DONE COME BACK. @blairpub.bsky.social
North Carolina Is Haunted by Its Own History in “The Devil’s Done Come Back”
Ghosts seem to know better about who we are and what is right in “The Devil’s Done Come Back”
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Southern Review of Books @southrevbooks.bsky.social · 9d
"The crime story itself is compelling, but it’s the backdrop that I found riveting — a peek into the hallowed halls of elite American fraternity life in the U.S. South, and let me tell you, it’s not pretty." @amyrmartin.bsky.social reviews Max Marshall's AMONG THE BROS. @harperperennial.bsky.social
Fraternity, Power, and Xanax in Max Marshall’s “Among the Bros”
A Review of Max Marshall’s “Among the Bros: A Fraternity Crime Story.”
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southrevbooks.bsky.social
Southern Review of Books @southrevbooks.bsky.social · 11d
There's a myth that "grief begins on a one-way track called 'Denial,' en route to its final destination of 'Acceptance,' and after that, you’ve completed the process and are forever free from it. That misunderstanding, in my view, is one of many ways that victims of loss are made to feel unseen."
Erin Slaughter Tries to Order the Disorder in “The Dead Dad Diaries”
An interview with Erin Slaughter on her memoir, “The Dead Dad Diaries.”
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southrevbooks.bsky.social
Southern Review of Books @southrevbooks.bsky.social · 15d
"In a celebration of the oral and written tradition of passing down stories from one generation to the next, The Eternal Forest preserves what might otherwise be forgotten."

New review of THE ETERNAL FOREST by Elena Sheppard. @stmartinspress.bsky.social

southernreviewofbooks.com/2025/09/23/t...
Three Women in Exile Ache for Cuba in “The Eternal Forest”
A review of Elena Sheppard’s memoir, “The Eternal Forest.”
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southrevbooks.bsky.social
Southern Review of Books @southrevbooks.bsky.social · 17d
"Nick Medina’s latest novel is the perfect way to ring in spooky season. Its alternating narratives trace two timelines in the main character’s life and build intertwined mysteries that kept me turning pages."

New review of THE WHISTLER by Nick Medina. @berkleypub.bsky.social
Disability, Grief, and Haunted Indigenous Folklore in “The Whistler”
Nick Medina’s “The Whistler” is an Indigenous horror that pairs the loss of autonomy with paranormal folklore.
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southrevbooks.bsky.social
Southern Review of Books @southrevbooks.bsky.social · 21d
We don’t know about you, but we’ve been doing some porch reading lately, and this list is perfect for finding your next porch swing companion!

southernreviewofbooks.com/2025/09/15/t...
The Best Southern Books of September 2025
A collection of some of the best Southern poetry, fiction, and nonfiction of September 2025.
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Hub City Press @hubcitypress.bsky.social · 22d
@southrevbooks.bsky.social reviewed LULLABY and said Ashley M. Jones is "working at her peak" and that "[s]uch optimism, tempered by realism and emboldened with inner strength, is not easy to come by." southernreviewofbooks.com/2025/09/12/l...
Fierce Love in “Lullaby for the Grieving”
A review of Ashley M. Jones’ new poetry collection, “Lullaby for the Grieving.”
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Southern Review of Books @southrevbooks.bsky.social · 25d
“This collection is filled with love, caution, correction, and ferocity.”

@duffusmatthew.bsky.social reviews LULLABY FOR THE GRIEVING by Ashley M. Jones. @hubcitypress.bsky.social

southernreviewofbooks.com/2025/09/12/l...
Fierce Love in “Lullaby for the Grieving”
A review of Ashley M. Jones’ new poetry collection, “Lullaby for the Grieving.”
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southrevbooks.bsky.social
Southern Review of Books @southrevbooks.bsky.social · 28d
SRB editor Chaney Hill rounds up some of the books about the South that have captured her imagination over the years.

southernreviewofbooks.com/2025/09/10/s...
Something About the South
SRB editor Chaney Hill rounds up some of the books about the South that have captured her imagination over the years.
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southrevbooks.bsky.social
Southern Review of Books @southrevbooks.bsky.social · 29d
"A feat of embodied poetry, which is to say, folklore, emotions, and trauma take on corporeal form."

@sara-eastler.bsky.social reviews SHEDDING SEASON by Jane Morton. @blacklawrence.bsky.social
“Shedding Season” Casts a Spell
In their poems, Jane Morton finds incredible strength and beauty in being cracked open, shedding what no longer serves in order to become something new.
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Southern Review of Books @southrevbooks.bsky.social · Sep 7
"A precise portrayal of the tension between utopian immersion in nature and the relentless encroachment of money-mindedness. The novel delves into the consequences of commodification—reflected in the natural world and the self."
Review of HOTHOUSE BLOOM by Austyn Wohlers. @hubcitypress.bsky.social
Verdant Leaves and Apples Red as Blood: Austyn Wohlers’ “Hothouse Bloom”
In her debut novel Hothouse Bloom, Austyn Wohlers explores a millennial pastoral through the story of Anna, a former painter in her late twenties who flees home in search of paradise, only to witne…
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Southern Review of Books @southrevbooks.bsky.social · Sep 3
"Through persona and personal recollection, Wright brings old life back into the firelight — sometimes with a nudge, sometimes at knifepoint."

YOU'RE CALLED BY THE SAME SOUND by Alicia Wright.
Poetry Flowing from History in “You’re Called by the Same Sound”
A review of Alicia Wright’s August 2025 poetry collection “You’re Called by the Same Sound.”
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Southern Review of Books @southrevbooks.bsky.social · Sep 2
"Overall, this is not a tale for the faint-hearted — from snake bites to a sinister cult leader, Forget Me Not plunges straight into the thorns of Southern life, no gloves necessary."

New review of Stacy Willingham's FORGET ME NOT.
“Forget Me Not” Is a Twisty and Turny Psychological Thriller
A review of Stacy Willingham’s “Forget Me Not.”
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southrevbooks.bsky.social
Southern Review of Books @southrevbooks.bsky.social · Aug 30
We couldn't let August end without celebrating all the great new books that came out this month!

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The Best Southern Books of August 2025
A roundup of the best new Southern releases in August 2025.
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Southern Review of Books @southrevbooks.bsky.social · Aug 25
Cheers to the end of summer and the end of our book club with Bradley Sides! What did you think about Dan Leach's JUNAH AT THE END OF THE WORLD? @hubcitypress.bsky.social
The Southern Summer Book Club: “Junah at the End of the World”
The final installment of The Southern Summer Book Club with Bradley Sides focusing on Dan Leach’s novle, “Junah at the End of the World.”
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Southern Review of Books @southrevbooks.bsky.social · Aug 25
"A story of self-reflection and self-reclamation, as well as an exploration of the human connections and fulfillments one can find in places one never thought imaginable."

@nyurtsaba.bsky.social reviews A DOG IN GEORGIA by Lauren Grodstein. @algonquinbooks.bsky.social
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Southern Review of Books @southrevbooks.bsky.social · Aug 22
SRB Editor @amyrmartin.bsky.social highlights the nonfiction on feminism and women's rights she's been reading to meet this moment in history.
Nonfiction About Women To Meet This Moment
SRB Editor Amy Martin highlights her recent nonfiction reads about feminism and the rights of women.
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Southern Review of Books @southrevbooks.bsky.social · Aug 20
"Although the characters within Llewellyn and Buckley’s anthology are often incivil and act in incredibly petty (yet liberating) ways, Be Gay, Do Crime is more emotionally indulgent than renegade."

New review of BE GAY, DO CRIME edited by Molly Llewellyn and Kristel Buckley.
Petty Yet Liberating Incivilities in “Be Gay, Do Crime”
Edited by Molly Llewellyn and Kristel Buckley, the stories in “Be Gay, Do Crime” are often chaotic and funny, but also filled with yearning and pain.
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Southern Review of Books @southrevbooks.bsky.social · Aug 18
"The Curious Calling of Leonard Bush isn’t a doorstopper of a book. In fact, it clocks in at just under 300 pages. However, there is a grandness to Gilmore’s novel. The story is large in how it depicts the community."

New review of Susan Gregg Gilmore's latest from @blairpub.bsky.social.
Neighbors Hold Unusual Burials in “The Curious Calling of Leonard Bush”
Regardless of whether one might know the Gilmore’s rural world intimately or not, “The Curious Calling of Leonard Bush” is an easy book to feel a kinship with because of its warmt…
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Southern Review of Books @southrevbooks.bsky.social · Aug 16
The poems are interested in "the relationship that we have with ourselves, who we tell ourselves that we are, and how that’s impacted by the place where we live."

New interview with Denton Loving on FELLER.
Notes from the Octopus School of Poetry: An Interview with Denton Loving
An interview with Denton Loving about his poetry collection “Feller.”
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Southern Review of Books @southrevbooks.bsky.social · Aug 13
"Charlottesville: An American Story is not exactly a hopeful story, but it is one that refuses to let hate win. And that’s the version of this country I still want to believe in."

@sarabethwest.bsky.social reviews CHARLOTTESVILLE by Deborah Baker. @graywolfpress.bsky.social
‘Charlottesville’ Is an American Story That Refuses To Let Hate Win
A look into Deborah Baker’s ‘Charlottesville’ and how past resistance connects to the future’s stand against hate.
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Southern Review of Books @southrevbooks.bsky.social · Aug 12
"Flannery O’Connor may have been right when she called the South 'Christ-haunted,' yet The Fabled Earth, with its seasoning of folktales and Germanic myths, shows the region is haunted in other ways, as well."

New review of THE FABLED EARTH by Kimberly Brock.
“The Fabled Earth” Fuses Fantasy and Southern History
Alternating between 1932 and 1959, “The Fabled Earth” follows three women whose lives overlap in the summer of 1959 on Cumberland Island, Georgia.
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