The Southern Review

A businessman friend recently told me proudly that he only reads nonfiction. I said everyone should read fiction and poetry for the same reasons some football players take ballet—to improve their dexterity and balance.

That said, I recommend the Autumn issue of The Southern Review, celebrating 75 years this year. Our beloved Robert Penn Warren was one of the founding editors, and the journal has remained a hub for relevant, quality writing ever since, evidenced by the awards and acclaim achieved by its alumni writers.

The journal always strives for rigorous quality, so each issue is worthy of attention. But the recent Autumn issue packs a literary wallop, containing excellent stories like Ron Rash’s “The Woman at the Pond” and Victoria Lancelotta’s “Kindness,” poems from David Kirby and Bob Hicok and English translations of the Polish poet Mira Kus´ by Karen Kovacik, among many more.

For nonfiction lovers, the delightful “My Two Weeks as a Fellini Extra” by Jessica Levine tells the story behind the filming of Fellini’s La Cittŕ delle Donne (City of Women), which had me searching YouTube for the roller-skating scene from the movie. There is an essay by Laurence Lieberman about David Bottom’s poetry and a handful of the latter’s poems. Included are several incredible letters from Robert Penn Warren to his contemporaries, one of which includes the infamous phrase since attributed to almost every brilliant writer, including Mark Twain: “You know—if I had more time I’d write it shorter.”

Among the issue’s nonfiction is the second published excerpt from Mark Richard’s highly anticipated memoir, which will be published in February. The Lake Charles-born Richard is the author of two short story collections and a novel. He wrote the movie Stop-Loss and co-produced the TV series Huff.

While The Southern Review has the heavy weight of history and tradition behind it, it also exists as a forum for literary work that is more timely. In the spirit of being relevant, the journal has launched a blog and a Rogue’s Gallery of reader-submitted photographs, including one of soldiers reading the journal in Afghanistan. ?thesouthernreviewblog.org