Visual Art Focus of Fall 2017 Southern Quarterly

Edited by Dr. Philip C. Kolin, Distinguished Professor of English (Emeritus) at The University of Southern Mississippi, the diverse contributions to the fall 2017 general issue of The Southern Quarterly explore the importance of the visual—in photography, cinema, music, jazz, poetry—as it sheds light on Southern authors, landscapes and texts.

The lead essay by Marcus Tribbett examines Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom, an antebellum slave narrative that recounts the story of William and Ellen Craft who escaped from Georgia in 1848 with the light-skinned Ellen, dressed as a man and claiming to be her husband's owner. Julia Simon's study of Faulkner's Go Down, Moses views the commissary ledgers as key symbols in the novel that highlight the struggle over equity and justice in Southern history.

Derek Wood focuses on Les Cenelles Society of Arts and Letters, a 1940s African American society of artists, while filmmaker and historian Sascha Just discusses the Black Indian Tribes of New Orleans as they honor the contributions of Native Americans in helping with slave escapes. Steven Knepper then explores the representation and importance of the South in Pare Lorentz's iconic 1938 documentary film The River.

In addition, Joan Brady talks with nationally famous choreographer, ballroom dancer and teacher Kelly Vuyovich about his long career in New York, Las Vegas and New Jersey, and the ways in which he has changed ballroom dancing on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and in Hattiesburg. Tom Rankin interviews folklorist and photographer William Ferris, and Corey Taylor records his December 2015 conversation with blues poet Sterling Plumpp.

In her photo essay, Hilda Martin Wade shares rare Barq's Root Beer memorabilia and documents the early history of one of Biloxi's, and the South's, most well-known beverages. The issue ends with a round of poetry led by Ovid Vickers's lyrical tribute to Mississippi.

Copies of this issue are available for $15 through SouthernQuarterly@gmail.com.

About The Southern Quarterly
Published by The University of Southern Mississippi since 1962, The Southern Quarterly is a scholarly journal devoted to the interdisciplinary study of Southern arts and culture. A member of the Council of Editors of Learned Journals and available through Project MUSE, The Southern Quarterly defines “the arts” broadly, including literature, painting, sculpture, music, dance, theatre, film, and popular culture. We also publish studies of Southern culture informed by such disciplines as history, folklore, anthropology, political science and social geography. The Southern Quarterly defines “The South” as anything south of the Mason Dixon Line, including the Caribbean, to the larger Global South. The Southern Quarterly brings scholarly articles, cutting edge interviews, archival documents with commentary, photo essays, portfolios and book reviews to subscribers all over the world.