Jackson Free Press

The Oxford American is an American quarterly literary magazine "dedicated to featuring the very best in Southern writing while documenting the complexity and vitality of the American South. And here are 10 things about the magazine that makes it great.

1. The December issue of the Oxford American is the magazine's 13th annual southern music issue. This year, Mississippi music is the theme, and Howlin' Wolf is on the cover. The 194-page issue has so much Magnolia State in it, we are proud and embarrassed at the same time.

2. You better like the blues, because this issue doesn't bleed red. True, not every article and not every song belongs to the blues, but it's the inescapable roux in this collection. This examination of Mississippi music is nostalgic, and most of the songs on the CD are older tunes. But the lines blur. Listen to Bo Diddley's "Heart-O-Matic Love," and you hear it all—the blues, some pop, some rock, some pre-Clash singing and something that sounds a little fresh all these years later. The album includes a disco song, a Hilltops tune and some early country music.

3. The $10.95 cost is steep for most of us who are in the 99 percent, but the long stories and context of how all these pieces fit together might be worth the expense. Plus, the 27 songs on the free CD bundled with the music issue make it a sweet deal. Heck, this could be your PawPaw's Christmas present. He'll love it.

4. Two headlines arousing our literary interest are "Barry Hannah's Mixtape" and "Tuning Miss Welty." Tying these prominent Mississippi authors to our state's musical heritage is intriguing, but not surprising. Mississippi's music influenced all its writers and some from other places as well. At the end of the magazine is an essay reviewing a John Hurt biography and a new John Hurt CD compilation.

5. Several celebrities wrote for this issue, including Roy Blount Jr., Nick Hornby and Rosanne Cash. Of the 37 contributors listed in the front of the book, only Pat Cochran claims in his bio to live in Mississippi. Another contributor, David Shirley, has a bio that says he "shares his heart between Oxford, Miss., and Brooklyn, N.Y." The magazine also included shorter articles from Mississippians Roger Stolle, Gayle Dean Wardlow, Lisa Howorth and Pat Cochran.

6. Besides long, first-person navel gazing about the blues, its influences on some of the narcissistic writers and the complicated emotional history of the whole state, this issue also has some cool lists, such as the "Top 12 Rarest Blues Records from Mississippi." We saw some poems, too, but they were not about cats.
7. Cary Hudson of Blue Mountain is named one of the "Top 11 Most Underrated Guitarists from Mississippi." The man from Sumrall is talented, rocking and "loud," we read. He also knows his roots music and his south Mississippi history. Pat Cochran puts him as No. 11 of the 11.

8. The CD and the magazine complement each other nicely. The CD is not just an extra goodie, it's part of the experience. Each song has an article in the magazine. Those articles make up a good section of the book. Perhaps ninth graders can use this issue as a Mississippi Studies textbook.

9. To supplement the issue, The Oxford American has a rich variety of articles online at oxfordamerican.org/articles/online-exclusive. The magazine posted a lot of these before the December issue hit the stands. Also, the Oxford American posted an online CD with 30 additional tracks at oxfordamerican.org/articles/2011/dec/07/oas-mississippi-mix-2/. One song you can hear is "If Jesus Had to Pray" by Robert Anderson (1954). The online articles and music are free. Start posting these things on your Facebook wall and educate the world about Mississippi talent.

10. You may not agree with all the editors who made these choices, but here's something interesting the world is reading about Mississippi right now, and it's not ugly for a change. Soak it in. If you want to buy a copy, visit Lemuria Books (202 Banner Hall, 4465 Interstate 55 N., 601-366-7619). You can find copies to borrow or read at your public library branch. Or buy the issue directly from the Arkansas-based quarterly publication at its website, http://www.oxfordamerican.org.