Kesler reviews Crenshaw
Saturday Review: “Always Ready, Always There: Musings of a Citizen Soldier,” a review by Jon Kesler of This We’ll Defend by Paul Crenshaw (2019), in NCLR Online Spring 2026.
News
“Military Writing in North Carolina” 2026 Issue of NCLR Highlights the “universal emotions of war”
Our 35th Issue highlights “Military Writing in North Carolina” for civilians and veterans alike. Contributors include Joseph Bathanti, Leah Hampton, Paul Crenshaw, Jessica Cory, and more. Guest Feature Editor: Anna Froula.
Not White or Black: Ethnic Southern Memory
Friday from the Archives: ““I was Pearl and my last name was Harbor”: Monique Thuy-Dong Truong’s “Kelly” and Ethnic Southern Memory” by Nahem Yousaf and Sharon Monteith in NCLR 2004
How Many NC Gothic Authors Can You Name?
Let’s explore and celebrate the gothic in North Carolina.
Walker review Caldwell
Saturday Review: “Before Helene,” a review by Eric Walker of Wayne Caldwell’s poetry collection River Road, and novel Shadow Family in NCLR Online Winter 2026
“Customs” by Debra Kang Dean
Friday from the Archives: “Customs” and “Heart Sutra #6” two poems by Debra Kang Dean with art by Olivia Gatewood in NCLR 2000
Woodford reviews Rapier and White
Saturday Review: “‘Sweet Sweat’ and ‘Plainsongs’: The Lyrical Reclamation of Place,” a review by Annie Woodford of Forrest Rapier’s As the Den Burns (2022) and Jacinta V. White’s Resurrecting the Bones: Born from a Journey through African American Churches & Cemeteries in the Rural South (2019), in NCLR Online Winter 2026
2027 Feature: “Longleaf Spirits” Southern Gothic in North Carolina Literature
Announcing our 2027 Special Feature and Guest Feature Editor!
“Somehow Kin, North Carolina 1957” by Nora Shepard
Friday from the Archives: “Somehow Kin, North Carolina 1957” a poem by Nora Shepard with photography by R.H. Sturges in NCLR 2006
2026 Albright Creative Nonfiction Prize to BettyJoyce Nash’s “Absent Without Leave”
Congratulations to BettyJoyce Nash, our Alex Albright Creative Nonfiction Prize Winner for 2026, and the runners up and other finalists!