Introduction: Allen Mendenhall served as editor and publisher of Southern Literary Review for a decade, and when Associate Editor Claire Hamner Matturro discovered he had written his first novel, A Glooming Peace This Morning, she reached out for an interview. Mendenhall has written eight non-fiction books, including Of Bees and Boys: Lines from a Southern Lawyer […]
Claire Hamner Matturro interviews Dr. Allen P. Mendenhall, author of “A Glooming Peace This Morning”
March 5, 2024 by 1 Comment
“Winston’s Book of Souls” by Terresa Cooper Haskew
March 4, 2024 by Leave a Comment
Although Terresa Haskew’s debut novel, Winston’s Book of Souls (Touchpoint Press 2024), begins with a dead body and revelation of other crimes, it is at heart a story of desire for atonement. Her characters make mistakes but yearn to live good lives. With an ever-increasing tone of foreboding, the story pulls readers relentlessly forward to […]
“Boolean Logic” by Morgan Christie
February 14, 2024 by Leave a Comment
Elegant and poignant, Boolean Logic, (Howling Bird Press 2023) Morgan Christie’s collection of twelve autobiographical essays, shines light on what life is like as a Black woman. What it is like to be overlooked or dismissed as insignificant, despite talent and skill. These essays are crafted using the best creative nonfiction literary techniques, often employing […]
“The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture” by Jeremy White
February 13, 2024 by Leave a Comment
In The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture: A Journey of Selfless Discovery, Jeremy White takes readers into and through a labyrinth of relationship by providing almost-voyeuristic access to emails, text messages, phone calls, and in-person communications. This he does with candor, humor, and meticulous attention to detail. The true story begins with […]
“Inheritance with A High Error Rate” by Jen Karetnick
February 13, 2024 by Leave a Comment
Reading Jen Karetnick’s bio suggests that the woman is never without her computer and her scribbled notes, her peripatetic inquisitiveness driving her in a hundred directions at once. But this is not a scattered writer. Apparently when Jen Karetnick homes in on a topic, her views expressed as a critic, travel reviewer, appliance tester, cookbook […]
“Florida Hustle” by Paul Wilborn
February 10, 2024 by Leave a Comment
All the street’s a stage—one that’s eerily deserted in Paul Wilborn’s comic-noir Florida Hustle. This trickle-down era tempest is weathered by a jaded, albeit generous, Prospero, Cavanaugh Riley—whose past promises finally come due, especially for his long-forsaken daughter. Her dedicated and eventful search finds her in the wilds of West Palm, Florida, en route to her father’s […]