Arts and Music

Southern Storytellers

Celebrate Southern identity through the eyes of contemporary creators of literature, music, film and TV, among them authors Angie Thomas, Jesmyn Ward and David Joy; poet Jericho Brown; songwriters Lyle Lovett, Tarriona “Tank” Ball, Jason Isbell and Justin Moore; songwriter/actor Mary Steenburgen; songwriter/screenwriter/actor Billy Bob Thornton; and screenwriters Qui Nguyen and Michael Waldron.

Episode 3

54m 8s

In episode three, some of the South’s most compelling and influential contemporary creators take us to the places that feed their imaginations: Mississippi author Jesmyn Ward, Georgia screenwriter and series creator Michael Waldron, Arkansas songwriter Justin Moore, Mississippi poet Natasha Trethewey, New Orleans songwriter Tarriona “Tank” Ball and Virginia songwriter Thao Nguyen.

Episodes

  • Episode 3: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Episode 3

    S1 E3 - 54m 8s

    In episode three, some of the South’s most compelling and influential contemporary creators take us to the places that feed their imaginations: Mississippi author Jesmyn Ward, Georgia screenwriter and series creator Michael Waldron, Arkansas songwriter Justin Moore, Mississippi poet Natasha Trethewey, New Orleans songwriter Tarriona “Tank” Ball and Virginia songwriter Thao Nguyen.

  • Episode 2: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Episode 2

    S1 E2 - 53m 28s

    Six of the South’s most influential creators take us home to the places that define them: author Angie Thomas to Mississippi; singer/songwriter Jason Isbell to his musical Alabama roots while Amanda Shires takes us to the farm the couple shares; Michael Twitty revisits rural Alabama; Lyle Lovett remembers the Texas of his childhood; and Qui Nguyen returns to his Arkansas small town.

  • Episode 1: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Episode 1

    S1 E1 - 53m 23s

    Southern creators of literature, music and film explore deep ties with the South: Billy Bob Thornton reflects on a life of writing songs and screenplays; Adia Victoria celebrates music and marriage near Nashville; David Joy laments the loss of the Appalachian culture he loves; Jericho Brown reveals the South to be essential to his creativity; and Mary Steenburgen remembers her Arkansas childhood.

Extras + Features

  • Episode 3 Preview: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Episode 3 Preview

    S1 E3 - 30s

    In episode three, some of the South’s most compelling and influential contemporary creators take us to the places that feed their imaginations: Mississippi author Jesmyn Ward, Georgia screenwriter and series creator Michael Waldron, Arkansas songwriter Justin Moore, Mississippi poet Natasha Trethewey, New Orleans songwriter Tarriona “Tank” Ball and Virginia songwriter Thao Nguyen.

  • Natasha Trethewey Returns to New Orleans: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Natasha Trethewey Returns to New Orleans

    S1 E3 - 2m 31s

    Pulitzer Prize winner Natasha Trethewey's book of poetry "Monument" is creative defiance against cultural erasure in the face of white supremacy. Trethewey returns to New Orleans where the removal of Confederate monuments begs the question, "What was there?"

  • Jesmyn Ward Reads From Her Memoir 'Men We Reaped': asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Jesmyn Ward Reads From Her Memoir 'Men We Reaped'

    S1 E3 - 2m 13s

    Two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward is from DeLisle, Mississippi, also known as "Wolftown." Ward wrote her memoir "Men We Reaped," in memory of her late brother and four of her friends. She laments the erasure of her ancestors and culture.

  • Screenwriter Qui Nguyen on Storytelling: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Screenwriter Qui Nguyen on Storytelling

    S1 E2 - 1m 14s

    Screenwriter Qui Nguyen ("Raya and the Last Dragon") was given the gift of storytelling by his grandmother who fled Vietnam with nothing. He remembers her saying, "The only thing I have of value, are my stories. Because when I left Vietnam I was escaping... Story is the only thing that any of us have of value."

  • Episode 2 Preview: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Episode 2 Preview

    S1 E2 - 30s

    Six of the South’s most influential creators take us home to the places that define them: author Angie Thomas to Mississippi; singer/songwriter Jason Isbell to his musical Alabama roots while Amanda Shires takes us to the farm the couple shares; Michael Twitty revisits rural Alabama; Lyle Lovett remembers the Texas of his childhood; and Qui Nguyen returns to his Arkansas small town.

  • Author Angie Thomas Talks About Being Bullied: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Author Angie Thomas Talks About Being Bullied

    S1 E2 - 1m 35s

    New York Times Bestselling Author Angie Thomas ("The Hate U Give") loves writing for young people, because she believes it's "the most meaningful time in their lives, when you can save their lives." She speaks from experience; she was bullied in middle school to the point she considered taking her own life.

  • Pulitzer Prize Winning Poet Jericho Brown: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Pulitzer Prize Winning Poet Jericho Brown

    S1 E1 - 2m 15s

    Pulitzer Prize winning poet Jericho Brown delivers a powerful spoken word reading of his poem, "Foreday in the Morning." For Jericho, the South is the foundation and inspiration for his writing. "The South is my air, it's what I breathe. It's who I am."

  • Episode 1 Preview: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Episode 1 Preview

    S1 E1 - 30s

    Southern creators of literature, music and film explore deep ties with the South: Billy Bob Thornton reflects on a life of writing songs and screenplays; Adia Victoria celebrates music and marriage near Nashville; David Joy laments the loss of the Appalachian culture he loves; Jericho Brown reveals the South to be essential to his creativity; and Mary Steenburgen remembers her Arkansas childhood.

  • Southern Book Prize Winner David Joy: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Southern Book Prize Winner David Joy

    S1 E1 - 4m 35s

    Novelist David Joy ("Where All Light Tends to Go") lives deep in the Blue Ridge mountains of Jackson County, N.C. But the landscape and culture is changing fast as land development continues at a record pace. Joy laments this change, and writes about a people and place often "misunderstood."

Schedule

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