Southword Southword is a multimedia collaboration between Oxford American magazine and NPR, spotlighting the people, places and trends shaping the American South.
Special Series
Southword
Southword spotlights the people, places and trends shaping the American South.
Each week, Little Rock, Ark., residents snap up some 7,000 copies of The Slammer. Dave Anderson hide caption
Dr. David Gilder gives Sally Johnson a checkup at the Mallory Community Health Center in Tchula, Miss. Dave Anderson/Oxford American hide caption
Centennial Baptist Church in Helena, Ark. Dave Anderson hide caption
Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, based in Washington, D.C. Dave Anderson/Oxford American magazine hide caption
Al Black is one of Florida's 26 officially recognized "Highwaymen" — a loosely affiliated group of artists who began painting in the 1960s, some of whom are still at it today. Courtesy of Gary Monroe hide caption
A young man stands alone in a field near his home in Mound Bayou, Miss., Nov. 2011. Brandon Thibodeaux hide caption
From the series, "Big Rock Candy Mountain," a documentary project about the tourist towns around the Great Smoky Mountains. Tammy Mercure hide caption
"Letter Never Sent" is Hamrick's most recent hand-bound series. "The viewer has an intimate relationship with the book by holding it, feeling its textures and turning its pages, instead of just standing across the room staring at it," he says. Frank Hamrick hide caption
A buffet at a Double Quick convenience store in Holmes County, Miss., shows a wide array of fried foods. Dave Anderson/Oxford American hide caption