The Oxford American magazine’s 11th annual Southern Music edition has hit the bookstores and newsstands.
This year’s Southern Music issue focuses on the musical heritage of a particular Southern state, in addition to covering the breadth and depth of music from the entire region, said Warwick Sabin, publisher of The Oxford American.
The first state to be the object of attention is Arkansas.
“We are very pleased to inaugurate this new concept by focusing on Arkansas,” Sabin said. “Besides being our home state, we also feel that Arkansas has never received the attention it deserves for its rich musical history and experience. The Oxford American — with its outstanding reputation and credibility among music experts and music lovers worldwide — is in a unique position to place Arkansas among the vanguard of musical heritage sites.”
The issue is packed with the best music writing in the country, and the CDs are another rich collection of songs that are interesting, soulful and fun, he added.
The Oxford American’s Southern Music issue includes a double-CD package. The first CD is a mix of Southern music representing a variety of artists and genres, as usually accompanies the magazine’s annual Southern Music issue. The second CD is devoted exclusively to an exploration of music produced in Arkansas or by native Arkansans. The magazine also includes a special editorial section with articles about the artists and songs featured on the Arkansas CD.
The Oxford American is a quarterly magazine published by the nonprofit Oxford American Literary Project at the University of Central Arkansas. The magazine’s presence on campus gives students an opportunity to have hands-on experience in producing a national publication.
Founded in 1992, The Oxford American bills itself as “The Southern Magazine of Good Writing.” The magazine received the National Magazine Award in 1999 and 2003. Recently, entertainment magazine Paste ranked The Oxford Magazine sixth on its list of 20 Best Magazines of the Decade.
