“What I Learned from a Cockfighter” in River Teeth

My long essay, “What I Learned from a Cockfighter,” is now out in River Teeth 15.2. Read an excerpt below:

Hundreds of crowing cocks broadcast their territory in a never-ending loop of five notes. A concert of noise that will either drive you mad or set you smiling at nature’s harmonies. And the birds, feathers glistening like bourbon in a glass, black and red and orange, the colors of scandal and sin. They waltz as far as their tethers will allow, their beady bird eyes watching me sideways. I’m out of my element, a city kid in the country, and I step lightly.

Tagged: cockfighting, creative nonfiction, Edisto Island, essay, Low Country, recommended reading, River Teeth, roosters, writing