https://www.thesouthernreview.org/issues/detail/Winter-2024/267/

TSR Winter 2024 Audio Gallery

https://www.thesouthernreview.org/issues/detail/Winter-2024/267/

When my mother joined a cult—and I followed—I struggled to distinguish myth from reality. The absolute boredom of the everyday taught me a great deal.

"Reality Testing" by Esther Lin

https://www.thesouthernreview.org/issues/detail/Winter-2024/267/

The cult built a bunker for persecuted Christians to hide. The cult taught us that the apocalypse would be hard on Christians, and no thought was spared for others.

"Church Bunker" by Esther Lin

https://www.thesouthernreview.org/issues/detail/Winter-2024/267/

Burrow under the covers and savor the delights of a warm bed in Emily Tuszynska’s poem, ‘Nine Nights beneath the Red Blanket.’

"Nine Nights beneath the Red Blanket" by Emily Tuszynska

https://www.thesouthernreview.org/issues/detail/Winter-2024/267/

“These are three more examples of the prose poems I’ve been obsessed with over these last 10 years.”

"February" by Charles Rafferty

"The Problem with Spring" by Charles Rafferty

The Southern Review is one of the nation’s premiere literary journals. Hailed by Time as "superior to any other journal in the English language," we have made literary history since our founding in 1935. We publish a diverse array of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry by the country’s—and the world’s—most respected contemporary writers.

Established at Louisiana State University, The Southern Review immediately became a literary tastemaker. The launch of The Southern Review came about "On a bright Sunday afternoon in late February, 1935," when Louisiana State University’s president drove his black Cadillac to Robert Penn Warren’s house in Baton Rouge to invite him, his wife, and their friend Albert Erskine on a drive to discuss creating a magazine of "distinctive character and quality." Cleanth Brooks and Charles W. Pipkin were consulted; both joined the editorial staff. The Southern Review’s first series ran 1935 to 1942 before closing due to the war. In 1965, the journal was revived under the editorship of Lewis P. Simpson and Donald E. Stanford, who launched the second series to great acclaim. LSU Press became The Southern Review’s publisher in 2011, allowing the journal to undertake new initiatives, such as reaching readers through a digital version in addition to the print quarterly.

"Reality Testing" by Esther Lin

The Southern Review/LSUP