Nobody’s Home: Modern Southern Folklore is an online anthology of nonfiction works about beliefs, myths, and narratives in Southern culture over the last fifty years, in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Published works are indexed here by decade, location, and subject matter. Essays will likely appear under more than one heading.
1970s
“‘Right is slow and tardy . . .’ “ by Robin Helms Allen (Lesson Plan)
“Long-Haired Disco Boys” by Terry Barr (Lesson Plan)
“For an Athlete Dying Young” by Margaret Donovan Bauer (Lesson Plan)
“Purple Birds” by Margaret Donovan Bauer — New!
“What in the World?” by Stephanie Rose Bird (Lesson Plan)
“Songlines” by Karen Luke Jackson (Lesson Plan)
“Rat Cheer” by Claude Clayton Smith (Lesson Plan)
“The Gallaghers’ Goat” by Claude Clayton Smith (Lesson Plan)
“My Apprenticeship in the Shed Society” by Cesca Janece Waterfield (Lesson Plan)
1980s
“Long-Haired Disco Boys” by Terry Barr (Lesson Plan)
“Big Sandy Meets the Devil” by Kevin T. Brewer (Lesson Plan)
“Home Sweet Home” by Rhonda Collier (Lesson Plan)
“Salt, Nails, and Prayer” by W. Charlene LeBrun (Lesson Plan)
“Questions about Potato Salad” by Shannon Yarbrough (Lesson Plan)
1990s
“Bronze Images” by Deidra Suwanee Dees (Lesson Plan)
“Songlines” by Karen Luke Jackson (Lesson Plan)
“Momma’s Bible” by Rora M Kellis (Lesson Plan)
“1993” by CE Martin (Lesson Plan)
“The Yearbook Let Her Have the Last Word” by Van Newell (Lesson Plan)
“Pegasus” by William Nesbitt (Lesson Plan)
“Tunnel Vision” by Clayann Gilliam Panetta (Lesson Plan)
“Out of Many, One” by Maddie Rhodes (Lesson Plan)
“School Tales Propel a Career Change” by Betty Jamerson Reed (Lesson Plan)
“Morality without God and Politics with Her” by Robert Stewart (Lesson Plan)
“Graveyard Albinos and the Davenport House” by Rachel Toche (Lesson Plan)
“Tamiami Trail Tale” by Jennifer Weir (Lesson Plan)
2000s
“Purple Birds” by Margaret Donovan Bauer — New!
“Damn Yankee” by Lynn Magill (Lesson Plan)
“Watch the Throne” by Jasmyne Ray (Lesson Plan)
“School Tales Propel a Career Change” by Betty Jamerson Reed (Lesson Plan)
“Out of Many, One” by Maddie Rhodes (Lesson Plan)
“Made in Mississippi” by Randall S. Weeks (Lesson Plan)
“It Runs in the Family” by DeLane Phillips (Lesson Plan)
2010s
“Damn Yankee” by Lynn Magill (Lesson Plan)
“Ghost House” by Anita Miller Garner (Lesson Plan)
“Watershed” by Michael Hettich (Lesson Plan)
“Backyard Barnyard” by Karen Luke Jackson (Lesson Plan)
“My Ole Granny” by Karren Pell (Lesson Plan)
“So Many Folk” by DeLane Phillips (Lesson Plan)
“Out of Many, One” by Maddie Rhodes (Lesson Plan)
“Grits and the California Boy” by Nils Skudra (Lesson Plan)
“Made in Mississippi” by Randall S. Weeks (Lesson Plan)
“The South in Texas” by SL Wisenberg (Lesson Plan)
2020s
“The Rooster” by Spike Anderson (Lesson Plan)
“Melding in McCormick” by Pilar DiPietro (Lesson Plan)
“The Yearbook Let Her Have the Last Word” by Van Newell (Lesson Plan)
“The Watermelon Party” by Karren Pell (Lesson Plan)
“Blood in the Pool” by Matthew Teutsch (Lesson Plan)
“True Believer” by Jack Wallace (Lesson Plan)
“Made in Mississippi” by Randall S. Weeks (Lesson Plan)
Alabama
“Long-Haired Disco Boys” by Terry Barr (Lesson Plan)
“Home Sweet Home” by Rhonda Collier (Lesson Plan)
“Bronze Images” by Deidra Suwanee Dees (Lesson Plan)
“The Opelika Symphony Orchestra” by Jeffrey Fox (Lesson Plan)
“Ghost House” by Anita Miller Garner (Lesson Plan)
“Two Chairs” by Norman McMillan (Lesson Plan)
“The Yearbook Let Her Have the Last Word” by Van Newell (Lesson Plan)
“My Ole Granny” by Karren Pell (Lesson Plan)
“The Watermelon Party” by Karren Pell (Lesson Plan)
“Watch the Throne” by Jasmyne Ray (Lesson Plan)
“Morality without God and Politics with Her” by Robert Stewart (Lesson Plan)
“My Apprenticeship in the Shed Society” by Cesca Janece Waterfield (Lesson Plan)
Arkansas
“Come Together. Right Now.” by Guinotte Wise (Lesson Plan)
Florida
“Dinnertime” by Loria Zavada (Lesson Plan)
“Tamiami Trail Tale” by Jennifer Weir (Lesson Plan)
Georgia
“The Rooster” by Spike Anderson (Lesson Plan)
“Songlines” by Karen Luke Jackson (Lesson Plan)
“Pegasus” by William Nesbitt (Lesson Plan)
“So Many Folk” by DeLane Phillips (Lesson Plan)
“It Runs in the Family” by DeLane Phillips (Lesson Plan)
“Blood in the Pool” by Matthew Teutsch (Lesson Plan)
Kentucky
[no works]
Louisiana
“For an Athlete Dying Young” by Margaret Donovan Bauer (Lesson Plan)
“Purple Birds” by Margaret Donovan Bauer — New!
“Watershed” by Michael Hettich (Lesson Plan)
“Salt, Nails, and Prayer” by W. Charlene LeBrun (Lesson Plan)
“Blood in the Pool” by Matthew Teutsch (Lesson Plan)
“Come Together. Right Now.” by Guinotte Wise (Lesson Plan)
Mississippi
“Tunnel Vision” by Clayann Gilliam Panetta (Lesson Plan)
“Miss Fish” by Susie Paul (Lesson Plan)
“Graveyard Albinos and the Davenport House” by Rachel Toche (Lesson Plan)
“Made in Mississippi” by Randall S. Weeks (Lesson Plan)
North Carolina
“‘Right is slow and tardy . . .’ “ by Robin Helms Allen (Lesson Plan)
“In the Keeping” by C. Bee (Lesson Plan)
“Watershed” by Michael Hettich (Lesson Plan)
“Backyard Barnyard” by Karen Luke Jackson (Lesson Plan)
“Momma’s Bible” by Rora M Kellis (Lesson Plan)
“Voices of the Past” by Brenda Kay Ledford (Lesson Plan)
“1993” by CE Martin (Lesson Plan)
“School Tales Propel a Career Change” by Betty Jamerson Reed (Lesson Plan)
“Grits and the California Boy” by Nils Skudra (Lesson Plan)
South Carolina
“Melding in McCormick” by Pilar DiPietro (Lesson Plan)
“Where Will They Go?” by Janet Lynne Douglass (Lesson Plan)
Tennessee
“Big Sandy Meets the Devil” by Kevin T. Brewer (Lesson Plan)
“Home Sweet Home” by Rhonda Collier (Lesson Plan)
“My Ole Granny” by Karren Pell (Lesson Plan)
“Out of Many, One” by Maddie Rhodes (Lesson Plan)
“True Believer” by Jack Wallace (Lesson Plan)
“Questions about Potato Salad” by Shannon Yarbrough (Lesson Plan)
Texas
“Damn Yankee” by Lynn Magill (Lesson Plan)
“The South in Texas” by SL Wisenberg (Lesson Plan)
Virginia
“What in the World?” by Stephanie Rose Bird (Lesson Plan)
“Rat Cheer” by Claude Clayton Smith (Lesson Plan)
“The Gallaghers’ Goat” by Claude Clayton Smith (Lesson Plan)
Arts
“Songlines” by Karen Luke Jackson (Lesson Plan)
“Two Chairs” by Norman McMillan (Lesson Plan)
“Voices of the Past” by Brenda Kay Ledford (Lesson Plan)
Books/Reading
“Momma’s Bible” by Rora M Kellis (Lesson Plan)
“Damn Yankee” by Lynn Magill (Lesson Plan)
“My Ole Granny” by Karren Pell (Lesson Plan)
“School Tales Propel a Career Change” by Betty Jamerson Reed (Lesson Plan)
“The South in Texas” by SL Wisenberg (Lesson Plan)
Education/Schools
“For an Athlete Dying Young” by Margaret Donovan Bauer (Lesson Plan)
“Home Sweet Home” by Rhonda Collier (Lesson Plan)
“1993” by CE Martin (Lesson Plan)
“The Yearbook Let Her Have the Last Word” by Van Newell (Lesson Plan)
“School Tales Propel a Career Change” by Betty Jamerson Reed (Lesson Plan)
“Morality without God and Politics with Her” by Robert Stewart (Lesson Plan)
“The South in Texas” by SL Wisenberg (Lesson Plan)
Environment
“Ghost House” by Anita Miller Garner (Lesson Plan)
“Watershed” by Michael Hettich (Lesson Plan)
“Melding in McCormick” by Pilar DiPietro (Lesson Plan)
Family
“The Rooster” by Spike Anderson (Lesson Plan)
“For an Athlete Dying Young” by Margaret Donovan Bauer (Lesson Plan)
“Purple Birds” by Margaret Donovan Bauer — New!
“What in the World?” by Stephanie Rose Bird (Lesson Plan)
“Home Sweet Home” by Rhonda Collier (Lesson Plan)
“Ghost House” by Anita Miller Garner (Lesson Plan)
“Songlines” by Karen Luke Jackson (Lesson Plan)
“Backyard Barnyard” by Karen Luke Jackson (Lesson Plan)
“Momma’s Bible” by Rora M Kellis (Lesson Plan)
“Damn Yankee” by Lynn Magill (Lesson Plan)
“Two Chairs” by Norman McMillan (Lesson Plan)
“Pegasus” by William Nesbitt (Lesson Plan)
“Tunnel Vision” by Clayann Gilliam Panetta (Lesson Plan)
“Miss Fish” by Susie Paul (Lesson Plan)
“So Many Folk” by DeLane Phillips (Lesson Plan)
“It Runs in the Family” by DeLane Phillips (Lesson Plan)
“Watch the Throne” by Jasmyne Ray (Lesson Plan)
“School Tales Propel a Career Change” by Betty Jamerson Reed (Lesson Plan)
“Out of Many, One” by Maddie Rhodes (Lesson Plan)
“My Apprenticeship in the Shed Society” by Cesca Janece Waterfield (Lesson Plan)
“Tamiami Trail Tale” by Jennifer Weir (Lesson Plan)
“The South in Texas” by SL Wisenberg (Lesson Plan)
“Questions about Potato Salad” by Shannon Yarbrough (Lesson Plan)
“Dinnertime” by Loria Zavada (Lesson Plan)
Food
“Backyard Barnyard” by Karen Luke Jackson (Lesson Plan)
“Miss Fish” by Susie Paul (Lesson Plan)
“Grits and the California Boy” by Nils Skudra (Lesson Plan)
“Tamiami Trail Tale” by Jennifer Weir (Lesson Plan)
“Questions about Potato Salad” by Shannon Yarbrough (Lesson Plan)
“Dinnertime” by Loria Zavada (Lesson Plan)
Gender
“Long-Haired Disco Boys” by Terry Barr (Lesson Plan)
“Momma’s Bible” by Rora M Kellis (Lesson Plan)
“Miss Fish” by Susie Paul (Lesson Plan)
“So Many Folk” by DeLane Phillips (Lesson Plan)
“Out of Many, One” by Maddie Rhodes (Lesson Plan)
“My Apprenticeship in the Shed Society” by Cesca Janece Waterfield (Lesson Plan)
“Dinnertime” by Loria Zavada (Lesson Plan)
Government
“Where Will They Go?” by Janet Lynne Douglass (Lesson Plan)
“Melding in McCormick” by Pilar DiPietro (Lesson Plan)
“Morality without God and Politics with Her” by Robert Stewart (Lesson Plan)
“Blood in the Pool” by Matthew Teutsch (Lesson Plan)
“Tamiami Trail Tale” by Jennifer Weir (Lesson Plan)
Healthcare
“‘Right is slow and tardy . . .’ “ by Robin Helms Allen (Lesson Plan)
“Home Sweet Home” by Rhonda Collier (Lesson Plan)
“Where Will They Go?” by Janet Lynne Douglass (Lesson Plan)
“So Many Folk” by DeLane Phillips (Lesson Plan)
Music
“Long-Haired Disco Boys” by Terry Barr (Lesson Plan)
“Home Sweet Home” by Rhonda Collier (Lesson Plan)
“The Opelika Symphony Orchestra” by Jeffrey Fox (Lesson Plan)
“Songlines” by Karen Luke Jackson (Lesson Plan)
“Voices of the Past” by Brenda Kay Ledford (Lesson Plan)
Outsiders
“Long-Haired Disco Boys” by Terry Barr (Lesson Plan)
“Purple Birds” by Margaret Donovan Bauer — New!
“What in the World?” by Stephanie Rose Bird (Lesson Plan)
“Bronze Images” by Deidra Suwanee Dees (Lesson Plan)
“Where Will They Go?” by Janet Lynne Douglass (Lesson Plan)
“Tunnel Vision” by Clayann Gilliam Panetta (Lesson Plan)
“Damn Yankee” by Lynn Magill (Lesson Plan)
“1993” by CE Martin (Lesson Plan)
“The Yearbook Let Her Have the Last Word” by Van Newell (Lesson Plan)
“Grits and the California Boy” by Nils Skudra (Lesson Plan)
“True Believer” by Jack Wallace (Lesson Plan)
“Tamiami Trail Tale” by Jennifer Weir (Lesson Plan)
Race
“Long-Haired Disco Boys” by Terry Barr (Lesson Plan)
“Home Sweet Home” by Rhonda Collier (Lesson Plan)
“Bronze Images” by Deidra Suwanee Dees (Lesson Plan)
“Melding in McCormick” by Pilar DiPietro (Lesson Plan)
“1993” by CE Martin (Lesson Plan)
“Two Chairs” by Norman McMillan (Lesson Plan)
“My Ole Granny” by Karren Pell (Lesson Plan)
“So Many Folk” by DeLane Phillips (Lesson Plan)
“School Tales Propel a Career Change” by Betty Jamerson Reed (Lesson Plan)
“Blood in the Pool” by Matthew Teutsch (Lesson Plan)
“Made in Mississippi” by Randall S. Weeks (Lesson Plan)
“The South in Texas” by SL Wisenberg (Lesson Plan)
Religion
“The Rooster” by Spike Anderson (Lesson Plan)
“Purple Birds” by Margaret Donovan Bauer — New!
“What in the World?” by Stephanie Rose Bird (Lesson Plan)
“Big Sandy Meets the Devil” by Kevin T. Brewer (Lesson Plan)
“Songlines” by Karen Luke Jackson (Lesson Plan)
“Momma’s Bible” by Rora M Kellis (Lesson Plan)
“Voices of the Past” by Brenda Kay Ledford (Lesson Plan)
“Tunnel Vision” by Clayann Gilliam Panetta (Lesson Plan)
“Morality without God and Politics with Her” by Robert Stewart (Lesson Plan)
“Graveyard Albinos and the Davenport House” by Rachel Toche (Lesson Plan)
“True Believer” by Jack Wallace (Lesson Plan)
Sexuality
“‘Right is slow and tardy . . .’ “ by Robin Helms Allen (Lesson Plan)
“Long-Haired Disco Boys” by Terry Barr (Lesson Plan)
“Purple Birds” by Margaret Donovan Bauer — New!
“The Yearbook Let Her Have the Last Word” by Van Newell (Lesson Plan)
“Tunnel Vision” by Clayann Gilliam Panetta (Lesson Plan)
“My Apprenticeship in the Shed Society” by Cesca Janece Waterfield (Lesson Plan)
Sports
“For an Athlete Dying Young” by Margaret Donovan Bauer (Lesson Plan)
“Salt, Nails, and Prayer” by W. Charlene LeBrun (Lesson Plan)
Work
“In the Keeping” by C. Bee (Lesson Plan)
“Home Sweet Home” by Rhonda Collier (Lesson Plan)
“Melding in McCormick” by Pilar DiPietro (Lesson Plan)
“Where Will They Go?” by Janet Lynne Douglass (Lesson Plan)
“Backyard Barnyard” by Karen Luke Jackson (Lesson Plan)
“Two Chairs” by Norman McMillan (Lesson Plan)
“Rat Cheer” by Claude Clayton Smith (Lesson Plan)
Youth
“Long-Haired Disco Boys” by Terry Barr (Lesson Plan)
“For an Athlete Dying Young” by Margaret Donovan Bauer (Lesson Plan)
“Purple Birds” by Margaret Donovan Bauer — New!
“What in the World?” by Stephanie Rose Bird (Lesson Plan)
“Big Sandy Meets the Devil” by Kevin T. Brewer (Lesson Plan)
“Home Sweet Home” by Rhonda Collier (Lesson Plan)
“Songlines” by Karen Luke Jackson (Lesson Plan)
“1993” by CE Martin (Lesson Plan)
“The Yearbook Let Her Have the Last Word” by Van Newell (Lesson Plan)
“Tunnel Vision” by Clayann Gilliam Panetta (Lesson Plan)
“Miss Fish” by Susie Paul (Lesson Plan)
“Watch the Throne” by Jasmyne Ray (Lesson Plan)
“Out of Many, One” by Maddie Rhodes (Lesson Plan)
“Graveyard Albinos and the Davenport House” by Rachel Toche (Lesson Plan)
“My Apprenticeship in the Shed Society” by Cesca Janece Waterfield (Lesson Plan)
“Tamiami Trail Tale” by Jennifer Weir (Lesson Plan)
“Questions about Potato Salad” by Shannon Yarbrough (Lesson Plan)
“Dinnertime” by Loria Zavada (Lesson Plan)
Nobody's Home 