The South and the Fury: Why Southern Literature Matters NowFree Program at Write On

Juddville, Wis. (November 17, 2025) – Write On, Door County will host “The South and the Fury: Why Southern Literature Matters Now,” a presentation by Melanie Ritzenhaler and Jenn Alandy Trahan, on Saturday, December 6, 10 am. The event will be held on at Write On, 4210 Juddville Rd., Fish Creek. The event is free and open to the public.

The South is often characterized as resistant to change, but there have always been Southern writers willing to speak out, even if at great personal cost, to the injustices in their communities and the South at large – be they environmental issues, LGBTQ rights, or racial inequality.

Having met and grown as writers in the South, Melanie Ritzenhaler and Jenn Alandy Trahan will discuss Southern writers both historical and contemporary, and encourage dialogue concerning what we can celebrate and learn about regionalist literature, no matter where we call home.

Melanie Ritzenhaler is an Assistant Professor of Practice at Doane University, a liberal arts institution in Crete, Nebraska. She received her MFA at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and her PhD at Ohio University. Her fiction and nonfiction have been published in Gettysburg Review, Cimarron Review, Ninth Letter, and elsewhere.

Jenn Alandy Trahan earned her BA from the University of California, Irvine, and her MA and MFA from McNeese State University. A Wallace Stegner Fellowship in Fiction brought Jenn to Stanford University, where she continues to teach as a Jones Lecturer. Jenn’s work has also been supported by The Elizabeth George Foundation, the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, and others. Her fiction can be found in Harper’s, One Story, and The Best American Short Stories, among others.

For more information about this and other programs, please visit www.writeondoorcounty.org.

Write On, Door County is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Write On conducts programs to inspire readers and writers of all ages, at all stages, throughout Door County and beyond.