The Southern Quarterly

09/27/2026

September 2026 Highlights

On September 1, Visit Mississippi, in collaboration with Visit Hattiesburg, unveiled Hattiesburg’s first Mississippi Writers Trail marker dedicated to Dr. Noel Polk on the University of Southern Mississippi campus. Dr. Polk first joined as Book Review Editor and later served as Editor of “The Southern Quarterly” during his over two-decade-long teaching career as Professor of English at USM.

“The Southern Quarterly” also participated in the Mississippi Book Festival 2026 at the state capitol grounds in downtown Jackson, Mississippi. The editorial team received positive and encouraging feedback from readers at the festival.

09/27/2026

September 2026 Highlights

On September 1, Visit Mississippi, in collaboration with Visit Hattiesburg, unveiled Hattiesburg’s first Mississippi Writers Trail marker dedicated to Dr. Noel Polk on the University of Southern Mississippi campus. Dr. Polk first joined as Book Review Editor and later served as Editor of “The Southern Quarterly” during his over two-decade-long teaching career as Professor of English at USM.

“The Southern Quarterly” also participated in the Mississippi Book Festival 2026 at the state capitol grounds in downtown Jackson, Mississippi. The editorial team received positive and encouraging feedback from readers at the festival.

Photographs from both events below.

09/11/2026

The latest issue of "The Southern Quarterly" (vol. 59, no. 4) takes readers from the Florida Keys to the streets of Louisiana, featuring essays on the Keys, stunning photographs of the Mardi Gras Indians, poetry, and book reviews. Get your copy today.

For inquiries, please reach out to us at [email protected]

06/04/2026

“The Southern Quarterly” vol. 59 no. 3 is now available for order. This issue brings together three scholarly articles, two book reviews, poems by four poets, and experimental photographs — a wide-ranging collection that reflects the journal’s longstanding commitment to the depth and diversity of southern arts and letters. Whether you are a scholar, a reader, or simply someone who loves the South in all its complexity, this issue has something for you. Order your copy today.

Please reach out to us with queries at [email protected]

05/23/2026

After a period of pause, The Southern Quarterly (SoQ) is back.

We are pleased to announce the resumption of the SoQ under the leadership of a new Editor, Dr. Deanne Love Stephens, Professor of History at the University of Southern Mississippi and Co-Director of the Center for the Study of the Gulf South. Dr. Stephens is joined by an editorial board that includes Professor Vincenzo Mistretta as Assistant Editor of Film Studies, Mehdi Habib Khan as Senior Assistant Editor, Holly Frey as First Assistant Editor, and Emma Ming as Second Assistant Editor.

The Editorial Advisory Board, too, has been reorganized. We mourn the passing of one longtime member whose commitment to southern arts and letters shaped this journal in lasting ways. We honor his memory as we welcome several new members to the board.

Some things, however, remain unchanged. The Southern Quarterly's dedication to southern arts and letters is as strong as it has ever been, and the work ahead reflects that. In the words of the Editor in her introduction to Vol. 59, No. 2, the first issue of this new chapter: “Together, we have planned a publication schedule and special editions for the upcoming years. We are excited.”

Please reach out to us with queries at [email protected]

10/27/2025

📢 We are back!
"The Southern Quarterly" is once again in production—currently working on Volume 59, Issue 2.

We have also updated our subscription fees to reflect rising production costs and to continue delivering the quality scholarship and creative work our readers expect.

See the flyer below for details.

12/10/2022

We are so looking forward to sending out copies of our next special issue (58.3), Doing Southern Studies in Europe Today, guest edited by Evangelia Kindinger and featuring such amazing international scholars!

09/29/2022

The Southern Quarterly is thrilled to announce the publication of a special double issue on The Digital South (58.1/2), guest-edited by Vernon Burton, Jozefien De Bock, and Joshua Catalano!

09/25/2022

Accepting submissions of critical essays, interviews, poems, and book reviews, at aquila.usm.edu/soq !

07/12/2022

The Southern Quarterly heartily congratulates Ada Limón on becoming the 24th Poet Laureate for the US! Her interview, "An Interview with Ada Limón" conducted by Jon Riccio, is available in our Summer 2019 issue (volume 56, number 4), which can be accessed electronically through Ebscohost and Project Muse, or purchased in hard copy from our CashNet app. Information on both can be found under the Subscription Information tab on our website, https://aquila.usm.edu/soq/. Congratulations, Ada Limón!

Published by The University of Southern Mississippi since 1962, The Southern Quarterly is a scholarly journal devoted to the interdisciplinary study of Southern arts and culture. A member of the Council of Editors of Learned Journals (CELJ) and available through Project MUSE, The SoQ defines "the ar...