Rosa Castellano
Episode Thirty Six
Rosa is a poet and educator born and raised in Tampa, Florida, and currently based in Richmond, Virginia. Her work is deeply rooted in storytelling, language, and the exploration of identity and place. With a passion for both writing and teaching, she actively contributes to the Richmond literary community, fostering creativity and engagement among fellow poets and aspiring writers. Rosa was a finalist for Cave Canem’s Starshine and Clay Fellowship and is the co-founder of the Richmond Poetry Festival, a platform that celebrates poetry and brings together Richmond’s diverse writing community.
Discussed: community building through storytelling, new definitions and regional variants of "The South," unpacking place through poetry, and crafting new creative visions.
Jessie McCarty
Episode Thirty Five
Jessie McCarty is a Southern, Irish-American writer in Chicago. They have been published in The Minnesota Review, The Documentarian, Don’t Submit Lit, Thick Press, and more. They write the newsletter Poetic Classifications on Substack. Pretty Punks & Other Poems (formerly Yeats Fever), is forthcoming. Previous collections include The Bovine Huff (Track and Field Studios, 2021) and Our Fairy Diary. Their research has been published as chapbooks for the following theatrical productions: The Sarcoma Cycle (2024), Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions: A Homo-Turgy (2024), and Perforated Play (2022).
Discussed: the state of the South, tapping into familial lineage, loving a place from afar, why it matters that you know your roots, and the importance of poetry in a divided world.
Ruben Quesada
Episode Thirty Four
Ruben is the editor of the award-winning anthology Latinx Poetics: Essays on the Art of Poetry. His poetry and criticism appear in The New York Times Magazine, Best American Poetry, The Believer, Harvard Review and elsewhere. His recent collection of poetry, Brutal Companion, which released just last month and which we at Good Folk highly recommend, won the Barrow Street Editors Prize.
Discussed: Texas and the American South, decay of both the body and planet, the tensions of distance, responsibility to the places we inhabit, and the poet as witness bearer.
Jared Sullivan
Episode Thirty Three
Jared is a writer based in Franklin, Tennessee. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, Time, Garden & Gun, and USA Today, among other outlets. He was formerly an editor for Men’s Journal and Field and Stream. Jared’s new book, Valley So Low: One Lawyer's Fight for Justice in the Wake of America's Great Coal Catastrophe, is a riveting courtroom drama about the victims of one of the largest environmental disasters in U.S. history—and the country lawyer determined to challenge the notion that, in America, justice can be bought.
Discussed: environmental disaster, legal justice in rural spaces, going up against the Man, responsibility and community care, and the role of the storyteller in cultivating change.
Peter Stone
Episode Thirty Two
Peter Stone is an independent musician and a writer of songs that are equal parts intimate and cinematic, energetic and evocative, familiar and haunted. It’s easy to imagine any of Peter’s songs playing over the final shot of a film about love and loss, giving your tears just enough time to dry while the credits roll before you leave the theater. With a voice like warm evening sunlight creeping in through a ranch homestead’s western windows, it does not come as a surprise that they have lived all across the United States, and recently here in our own North Carolina, acquiring dust and stories along the road.
Discussed: different ways to worship, home as a changing place, life on the road, seeking transcendence in the boredom of creation, and finding yourself at all kinds of altars.
Matthew Ferrence
Episode Thirty One
Matthew Ferrence lives and writes at the confluence of Appalachia and the Rust Belt. With his newest book, I Hate It Here, Please Vote For Me: Essays on Rural Political Decacy, he has completed a trilogy (of sorts) focused on rural Appalachian identity and political narrative. His other two books are Appalachia North and All-American Redneck. He teaches creative writing at Allegheny College in northwestern Pennsylvania.
Discussed: rural authenticity, democratic politics in red spaces, the necessity of the arts to re-imagine our political and social futures, and the Harris/Walz Realtree hat.
Mindy Friddle
Episode Thirty
Mindy Friddle is author of the recently released novel Her Best Self, as well as Secret Keepers (winner of the Willie Morris Award for Southern Fiction). The Garden Angel, her first novel and SIBA bestseller was selected for Barnes & Noble’s Discover Great New Writers. The South Carolina Arts Commission awarded Mindy a prose fellowship, and she has twice won the state’s Fiction Prize. Her stories and essays have appeared in numerous journals. She holds an MFA from Warren Wilson and lives on Edisto Island, South Carolina—a place our regular listeners will know is close to my own heart, being just South of Charleston, a city I’ve grown to call home over the last decade.
Discussed: South Carolina beyond the coast, finding writing community within and outside the South, the changing role of Southern womanhood, and the art of close attention.
Daisy Ahlstone
Episode Twenty Nine
Daisy Alhstone is a folklorist, cryptozoologist (and legend scholar), eco-philosopher, mycologist, and collective-joy-enthusiast. They're the current director of WiseFolk Productions, producers of the YouTube and Twitch streaming channel Folkwise, which explores the study of tradition non-traditionally through digital content creation, public education, and direct community engagement.
Discussed: looking up close, community relationships in non-human communities, contemporary folklore, the art of lurking, and what we can learn from the environments around us.
Adam Perez
Episode Twenty Eight
Adam Perez defines himself as a photographic artist based in Greensboro, North Carolina. His work has centered around the heart of Appalachia and Southern rural communities, seeking to uncover his own roots and connections to the vast historical region he explores its storied but often heavily obscured past.
Discussed: the construction of regionalism, challenging stereotypes of Appalachia through photography, ethical ethnography, the art of just doing it, and the revolutionary power of teaching.
Angela Eastman
Episode Twenty Seven
Angela Eastman is a very cool person. I truly don’t know how to say it any other way. She lives a life that many of us dream of, or at least I do: one connected to nature, to craft, to teaching, and creative practice.
Discussed: art versus craft, the role of creativity in building relationships with the natural world, returning to home and community, and reimagining environmental futures.
Annelle Staal
Episode Twenty Six
Songsmith and entertainer Annelle Staal’s sound is distinct with catchy, melt-in-your- mouth melodies and timeless lyrical depth. A pioneer in the world of virtual performance a visionary in their artistry, Annelle marries music, comedy and story telling in a distinct and captivating show that has caught the attention of an international audience online. Celebrated for their sultry vocal and colorful creativity by Earmilk, DIVA Mag and ABC news, Annelle’s best is yet to come.
Discussed: the power of the internet to bring together community, the crossover between Southern and queer cultural aesthetics, finding your niche as a musician, and rooting in places.
Benny Starr
Episode Twenty Five
Benny’s art reflects the landscape of the Lowcountry, where Black music and Southern culture intersect with deep roots in hip hop, gospel, jazz, blues, and rock, all of which are woven with rich histories of resiliency, eliciting a quest for a higher calling in those who connect with them.
Benny’s most recent solo project, A Water Album, takes up this quest. It was recorded live with his fellow bandmates, The Four20s, at Charleston Music Hall and released on Juneteenth 2019. Following the release of A Water Album, Benny has been featured in The Oxford American’s yearly Southern music issue and made history by becoming the first Hip-Hop artist to perform at Spoleto Festival USA, as well as A Water Album being named “South Carolina’s Best Album” in 2019 by the Free Times.
Discussed: coastal climate change, regeneration, art as disruption, water as a tool for reveal, and the power of unified community.
Lauren Mathers
Episode Twenty Four
Lauren Mathers is one of those individuals, and I’m honored to be joined by her on the podcast today. Lauren (she/her/hers) is the Executive Director of Sandhills PRIDE, the LGBTQ+ support and advocacy nonprofit based in Moore County, North Carolina.
She has spent her entire career in the nonprofit sector – first in dance and theater in Chicago, New York, the Berkshires, and Florida; later with the Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida; and now with Sandhills PRIDE, since January 2022. Lauren received her degree from Southern Illinois University where she studied art, film, photography, and bookbinding and she continues to pursue her artistic interests for relaxation and personal enjoyment.
Discussed: community activism in rural spaces, metronormativity, LGBTQ+ rights in the American South, and the pressures of loving vs. leaving the places you call home.
Sara Johnson Allen
Episode Twenty Three
Sara Johnson Allen was raised (mostly) in North Carolina. Down Here We Come Up, winner of the Big Moose Prize from Black Lawrence Press, is her debut novel, released this month, and which I wholeheartedly recommend.
A recipient of the Marianne Russo Award for Emerging Writers by the Key West Literary Seminar, the Stockholm Writers Festival First Pages Prize, an artistic grant from the Elizabeth George Foundation, and MacDowell fellowships, her work has appeared in PANK Magazine, SmokeLong Quarterly, and Reckon Review among others.
When she is not teaching or shuttling her three kids around, she writes about place and how it shapes us.
Discussed: mythologies of the American South, place and space, making sure your art reflects the world around you, the publishing industry, and navigating a complicated relationship to home.
Tre. Charles
Episode Twenty Two
Tre. Charles is a North Carolina-based musician. Growing up along the East Coast from city to city, he was exposed to a myriad of different cultures, and it is from these experiences that he has cultivated a sound of his own which pays homage to his nomadic upbringing. With hints of avant-garde R&B, modern/indie rock, and ambient soul, Charles’ honest & thought provoking music has the ability to make every performance feel like a transformative experience. Tre. has acquired many cosigners along his artistic journey, one of which being the world renowned guitar company D’Angelico Guitars, who he is now endorsed by as an official artist.
He has also been nominated for the Best R&B artist for the Carolina Music Awards and winner of the Virginia’s Favorite Award at the Richmond International Film Festival, as well as dubbed the future of music at the 2022 NXNE music festival in Toronto. His lead single Stressin. music video amassed 200k+ YouTube streams and gathered major buzz, as well as his debut EP Currently., from publications such as NPR, INDY Week, Wearesoul, Iggy Mag, Metal Mag, Wonderland magazine, Notion magazine, Rated R&B and many more.
Discussed: art as ecosystem, growing with those around you, genre-crossing and defying creative expectations, accessibility in the art world, and the desire for expression in the South.
KB Brookins
Episode Twenty One
KB Brookins is a Black, queer, and trans writer, cultural worker, and artist from Texas. Their work is featured in Poets.org, HuffPost, Poetry Magazine, Teen Vogue, RichesArt Gallery, American Poetry Review, Oxford American, Electric Literature, Okayplayer, and many other places. Their chapbook How To Identify Yourself with a Wound won the Saguaro Poetry Prize and was named an American Library Association Stonewall Honor Book in Literature. KB’s debut full-length poetry collection Freedom House has been recommended by Vogue, Autostraddle, Ms. Magazine, and others.
Currently, KB is a National Endowment of the Arts fellow; MFA candidate at The University of Texas at Austin; Poet-in-Residence at Civil Rights Corps; and at work on their debut installation art project Freedom House: An Exhibition. They have earned fellowships from PEN America, Lambda Literary, and The Watering Hole among others. KB’s poem “Good Grief” won the Academy of American Poets 2022 Treehouse Climate Action Poem Prize. Their debut memoir Pretty (Alfred A. Knopf) releases in 2024.
Discussed: disaster and climate, the role of Texas in the modern South, mythology, the radical power of reimagining, Afrofuturism, the art of lurking, and finding hope in the most difficult of times.
John Harrison
Episode Twenty
From his early days drumming in The Comas, John has grown into a consummate veteran of the North Carolina scene. Between stints as co-songwriter and bandleader in North Elementary, he’s carved out a prolific visual arts portfolio, and regularly shows in galleries around the Triangle. As one of three founders of the collective label, Potluck Foundation, he helps shepherd a far reaching community of musicians who consistently turn out quality releases.
If that wasn’t enough to keep one person busy, he’s also recently taken a swan dive into improvisational electronic music as one half of Tacoma Park. Yet, like some kind of time warping wizard, John regularly manages to turn out releases as Jphono1 both solo and with his pals. It is in these two modes that John Harrison explores his sonic space. At once as a solo astronaut galloping on horseback through some stellar landscape, and also as the leader of a crew of heady pirates sailing dusty vinyl seas.
Discussed: the difference between being open and being vulnerable, the lore of the loblolly pine, how to navigate working in community, redefining labels, and passing down what was passed on to you.
Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer
Episode Nineteen
Two-time Grammy® Award Winners, Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer are an eclectic folk festival on their own terms. They have entertained the Queen of Thailand, been keynote singers for the AFL-CIO, performed at hundreds of folk festivals, appeared on the "Today Show" and on National Public Radio.
Their superb harmonies are backed by instrumental virtuosity on the guitar, five-string banjo, ukulele, mandolin, cello-banjo, and many other instruments. Their eclectic repertoire includes classic country to western swing, Django style jazz to old-time stringband and bluegrass, contemporary folk and original gems. While their versatility defies a brief description, perhaps “well rounded Americana” does it best.
In their 40 years performing together, the Washington Area Music Association has recognized Cathy & Marcy with over 60 WAMMY Awards for folk, bluegrass and children’s music. They have performed with Pete Seeger, Theodore Bikel, Tom Paxton, Patsy Montana, Riders in the Sky and a wide range of musical luminaries. As curators, performers and hosts, Cathy & Marcy have MC’d festivals, curated concert series and collaborated with a wide variety of musicians.
Cathy & Marcy have toured worldwide from Japan to New Zealand, Vancouver to New York and everywhere in between. Shows include the The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum (OH), Smithsonian Institution, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. American Voices Abroad chose Cathy & Marcy with fiddler Barbara Lamb to perform in China, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu in 2013 for the U.S. Department of State.
Discussed: finding your footing in folk music, breaking down stereotypes through creative practice, how the arts inform our culture, the role of the activist, and passing the baton into the future.
Hubble Salgado
Episode Eighteen
Hubble Salgado is a musician who makes solo music under the name Fresh Air 4. Based in Nashville, Tennessee he creates his folky electronic music in the comforts of his living quarters on his humble analog setup. He finds inspiration from his family, friends, city, and the nature surrounding Nashville.
Discussed: the spirituality of the everyday, the color green, making odd art, finding inspiration in the natural world, paying attention, and the art—and joy—of being just a regular guy.
Matt Southern
Episode Seventeen
Musician Matt Southern was born in Jackson, Michigan and relocated to Raleigh, North Carolina in 2010. He soon began releasing solo records under the name Magpie Feast. In 2013 Magpie Feast became a full band and a staple of the local live music scene. They released several albums until they disbanded in 2017. Since then Matt began releasing records as a solo artist and with his band Matt Southern & Lost Gold. Through these various projects he has always remained productive, releasing 23 records (LPs and EPs) and various singles and one off projects.
Discussed: side projects, musical roots, viewing yourself as a conduit, leaning into community, discovering new voices, and connecting all the dots.