Features

INITIATIONS
by Tim McLaurin
A father reveals that although the rites of youth have changed, taking the hard climb to the top is still the only way to view higher ground.

REFLECTIONS ON THE LAST ALABAMA MIDWIFE
by Katherine Clark
A young white Harvard grad and an illiterate black "granny" write a book together and upset Mobile society

Fiction

LEAST OF KIN
by Jean Ross Justice

WATER DOG GOD: A GHOST STORY
by Brad Watson

Columns & Departments

Dealer's Choice
STRANGERS IN THE SWAMP
by Hal Crowther

Outdoors
AN ENTANGLED THING
by Alan Jacobs

Outdoors
DEER SEASON, 1974
by Tony Earley

First Person
A WORLD OF GLASS
by Kevin Wilson

Argument
FORBIDDEN FRUIT
by John Simpkins

The Political Animal
YOUR CLAN OR OURS?
by Diane Roberts

Local Fare
I'M NOT LEAVING UNTIL I EAT THIS THING
by John T. Edge

Family Life
PROMISE OF GLAMOUR
by Darcey Steinke

Sojourns
FAKE BULLETS IN LOUISIANA
by Jack Heffron & Mark Garvey

Photo Essay
THE ART OF DROWNING
by Maude Schuyler Clay

Southern Music
ENDANGERED SPECIES: NEW ORLEANS STREET JAZZ
by Tom Piazza

Talkies 
ROBERT ALTMAN'S INTIMATE PORTRAITS
by Steve Vineberg

Wildlife
THE RIDDLES OF THE SPHINX
by Janet Lembke

Gone Off Up North
STOCKS AND BONDAGE
by Roy Blount Jr.

Tribute
WILLIE MORRIS, 1934-1999
by Donna Tartt

Tribute
IT CANNOT BE LONG
by William Styron
Remembering a friend.

Southern Scenes
WILLIE MORRIS, JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI, 1993.
Photograph by Maude Schuyler Clay

Poetry

WHO SAID THAT?
by Alfred Corn

NEW ORLEANS ENGAGEMENT
by Dave Smith

A LOT
by Scott Cairns

On the cover: Photograph by Frank Ockenfels