Discourse Article Archives
Suicide and the South
by Penne J. Laubenthal When he was only 31 years old, the brilliant and talented John Kennedy Toole killed himself by using a garden hose to asphyxiate himself with exhaust fumes from his car. His read more...
Chuck Leavell: Rolling Stone & Tree Farmer
read more...
Night of The Hunter
Night of The Hunter By Diann Blakely Artists, consciously or unconsciously, tend to choose one of two paths after finding, read more...
Bob Dylan's Renaldo & Clara: Asleep In The Tomb
Bob Dylan’s Lost Classic Renaldo & Clara: Asleep In the Tomb By James Calemine "I've been read more...
Guest blog by Bebe Gish Shaw: Magical Mississippi Tour
There are magical moments in teaching which remind us that we do not teach to live but rather live to teach, and Saturday, April 19, 2008, was one of those halcyon days of academic heaven in which one goes into third person, watching himself watching the wonderment sparkle in read more...
Eddie Hinton Does Porretta--Again!
by Penne J. Laubenthal Eighteen years ago in April of 1991 an Italian named Graziano Uliani, founder of the
Jim Dickinson's All-Star Music & Film
In Jim Dickinson’s first contribution to Swampland/Mystery And Manners, he wrote an indelible piece on Memphis barbecue. For his second installment Dickinson cites his favorite pianists, films and a desert island music stash. The High Priest of Memphis read more...
Billy Bob Thornton : Six Degrees of Swampland
YOUR GUIDE TO ALL THINGS BILLY BOB AT SWAMPLAND.COM
Natasha Trethewey: Winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
by Penne J. Laubenthal Pulitzer Prize winner Natasha Trethewey is a poet who gives voice to the voiceless, names to the nameless, and who creates read more...
Sena Jeter Naslund and Growing Up in the Segregated South
Four Spirits, a novel by Birmingham native Sena Jeter Naslund based on the aftermath of the1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church that killed four little girls, made its world premiere read more...
Darius Goes West: Twelve Guys and a Dream
Once in a great while, just when you think there is no reason to get up in the morning and that there is no hope for humanity, and that people will just go on killing one another forever, and that tomorrow will be probably be even worse than today, then something happens to turn read more...
Fifth Annual Oxford Film Festival
The Fifth Annual Oxford Film Festival (OFF) will open Wednesday evening, read more...
The Appalachian Sounds of Fonotone Records
The Appalachian Sounds of Fonotone Records By James Calemine “I went out in the open field/Black snake bit me on the read more...
Billy C Farlow is Having Too Much Fun
by Penne J. Laubenthal Billy C Farlow, blues musician, song writer, and harmonica player who skyrocketed to fame in the early ‘70s with Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, is a force to be reckoned with read more...
Goodbye, Babylon: A Patchwork Quilt of American Music
GOODBYE, BABYLON A Patchwork Quilt of American Music By James Calemine
A Celebration of The Life & Work of Paul Hemphill
A Celebration of The Life & Work of Paul Hemphill By James Calemine "I was ridin' number nine Headin' south from Caroline
The Great Southern Sportswriters Series
Writing and storytelling have always been deeply ingrained in Southern culture. The people that combined that art with the Swampland Footprint's passion for sports make the whole experience more special and unique. Swampland Sports is proud to offer this series of read more...
St. Simons Island: Seaside Reckoning
read more...
The King Is Dead! Hang The Doctor!
The King Is Dead! Hang the Doctor!
The Divine Spark of Sly & The Family Stone
By James Calemine
Clifton Taulbert at the 6th Annual Writers Conference
Ah, April in Alabama---blistering sun one day, pouring rain the next. A certainty regarding the South is that one just has to wait long enough and the weather will change. Outside the conference building at Calhoun Community College in Decatur, Alabama, a precious rain is falling, read more...
The Georgia Sea Island Singers - Preserving Coastal Music Traditions
The Georgia Sea Island Singers Preserving Coastal Music Traditions By James Calemine Spring 2006 After four decades, Frankie and Doug Quimby continue to travel the world as the Georgia Sea Island Singers, read more...
Sam Shepard Stars in "Don't Come Knocking"
The Electric Cowboy Stars In Wim Wenders' Latest Film by James Calemine December '05 Sam Shepard’s career epitomizes the rugged soul of America’s West. The award read more...
Mighty Field of Vision Internet and Radio Foundation Started
JOHN D. WYKER HEADS UP INTERNET RADIO STATION Decatur man's Internet station called a 'vision' of the future; music includes oldies, demos By Ronnie Thomas/Decatur Daily, Decatur, Al October, 2005 The read more...
Breakfast With Hunter
Breakfast With Hunter: A Film By Wayne Ewing Starring Dr. Hunter S. Thompson by James Calemine Feb. 2005 “There may be flies on you and me, but there are no flies on Jesus.” read more...
Sam Peckinpah
The Furious Legacy of an American Maverick by James Calemine December read more...
Drive-By Truckers: Southern (Dis)Comfort
DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS Southern (Dis)Comfort: It’s Only Rock and Roll by James Calemine I “People need trouble——a little frustration to sharpen the read more...
The Late Great Townes Van Zandt
A deluge of Townes Van Zandt releases flood the market since his death on January 1, 1997. A bitter legal battles ensues over Van Zandt's prolific song catalogue. Various related projects recently became available such as Norah Jones' Handsome Band: Live 2004, Margaret Brown's read more...
Stanley Booth: Can I Get A Witness
Can I Get A Witness The True Adventures of Stanley Booth By James Calemine Winter 2000 Jack Kerouac was a writer. That is, he wrote. Many people who call themselves writers and have their names on books aren’t writers read more...