An anonymous street corner in Grottaglie, Italy, transformed by the bold work of public-space artist MOMO, graces The Southern Review’s autumn 2013 cover. This exceptional artwork shares the latest issue with a special nonfiction feature, “The National Book Award 1963, Revisited,” in which TSR invited five leading authors—Ramona Ausubel, Chris Bachelder, Barb Johnson, Manuel Muñoz, and Marisa Silver—to reconsider the top books of 1962, and pick a new winner. 

Also showcased in this issue is new fiction from seven writers, including established voices Michael Knight, Jane Delury, Maggie Shipstead, Lori Ostlund, and Jerome Charyn, and new voices Caitlin Hayes and Marian Crotty. Knight’s story, “Water and Oil,” revisits the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, as seen from the perspective of a long-time resident of Mobile Bay, and Charyn’s “Marla” is a farcical romp through New York City.

Twenty-eight poets are featured in the pages of the autumn issue, including a ten-part poem by David Wojahn, “Body Politic: To Ezra Pound in Purgatory,” which explores the sometimes-sinister legacy of the famous writer. Kelly Cherry travels through the reaches of the galaxy, while Alan Feldman writes touchingly about the end of life and bad singing both. The issue features a trio of poems by new contributor Margaree Little, who was recently awarded the 2013 Rona Jaffe Foundation Writer’s Award. Also included are new works by Alice Friman, Bobby C. Rogers, Michael C. Peterson, and New Orleans-based writer Peter Cooley. 
An eight-page gallery is devoted to the artist, MOMO (a pseudonym), who has painted abstract outdoor murals around the globe. Recent compositions from the streets of Miami, Portugal, and Belgium are featured in the issue. “I’ve always felt inclined to see art mix with the real world, to be tested by the general public and unpredictable outdoor conditions,” the artist explains. The photographs of his bright, geometric compositions, which often cover entire a building’s entire facade, are a testament to the success of his large-scale experiments with color and form. 

The autumn issue is now available for purchase online at http://thesouthernreview.org. There you can also explore a digital gallery of MOMO’s artwork, audio recordings of writers reading their pieces from the latest issue, and an archive of past issues. The Southern Review is also available in bookstores.

From the campus of Louisiana State University, The Southern Review publishes distinct literary voices from around the world that both evoke the innovation of its founders, Robert Penn Warren and Cleanth Brooks, and respond to the diversity of its contemporary readership. The journal, now approaching its 80th anniversary, has also featured a broad range of visual artists from across the South and around the globe. With each new issue The Southern Review strives to discover and promote engaging, relevant, and challenging literature—including fiction, nonfiction, and poetry—and to feature a wide range of the very best established writers alongside rising literary stars.