South Writ Large -- New Online Publication

I've just run across South Writ Large, a quarterly online magazine, now up to its third issue, which has set out to explore "the culture of the changing South through its literature, art, music, psychology, and social patterns."

The folks behind this say it grew out of something called "the Global South Working Group, based at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where, beginning in 2007, authors, artists, psychoanalysts, historians, social scientists, documentarians, and other humanists have met regularly to share recent work and to discuss the dreams, history, symbols, art, music, migrations, transplants, and interactions that link the southern United States to the wider world."

They publish from the perspective that the "South, though historically recognized for its resistance to change, is not exempt from the impact of globalization.

"Globalization," they note, "pushes the South beyond a national, oppositional frame to an integrative South that interacts with the world. It has been increasingly open to a growing pluralism that combines cultures, the imported roots of “local” traditions and the global reach of regional culture.

The folks at South Writ Large believe that, in regard to the South in the 21st century,  “The far away is shaping the deep within,” a process that brings both excitement and tension.

"We at South Writ Large are keen to observe, learn and participate in that process as the South furthers this transformation and becomes increasingly interconnected with the many other countries and regions that are experiencing similar transformations.

 "South Writ Large publishes literature, art, music, performances, memoirs, scholarship, reflections and debate fundamental to this process of regional change and global reconnection. It hopes to stimulate a conversation that is open, broad, and ever expanding."

I'm glad to see this publication, especially because the current issue includes a portfolio of photographs by Richard Sexton, which suggests the editors now see their remit including images as well as the stories, poems, and essays that were the focus of the early issues.

Always a good move when dealing with the South, I'd say.