Poems of a Southern Nobody: Celebrating the Southern Spirit, Nature, and Human Connections

Poet and author Stephanie Oakey debuts her first book, Poems of a Southern Nobody, a collection of over 60 poems that explores the kinship between nature, people, and time. She paints a vivid picture of the wildlife she grew up with in the vast and unyielding wilderness of North Carolina. Impressions of the quiet grandiosity of the Appalachian mountains seamlessly unravel Stephanie’s intimate experiences of love, loss, and tradition. This endlessly self-aware yet universal celebration of the Southern soul will be released as a hardcover and eBook at the end of October. 

For Stephanie, this debut is more than a milestone; it symbolizes her journey of self-discovery toward following her calling of authorship. Stephanie grew up in the deep rural communities of North Carolina, where her family has dwelled since the early 1900s. Expressing herself through the written word has always run through her blood. As a child, she practiced journaling inspired by the surroundings of her home in Andrews and Bryson City North Carolina– a small community synonymous with Appalachian culture, sitting in a one-road town surrounded by deep valleys, forests, and diverse wildlife. 

Although she has always been passionate about writing, when her college professor encouraged Stephanie to pursue a career in the field, she declined. Although following our dreams is in essence of the American Spirit, it is often easier said than done. With Stephanie's family coming from a working-class background, working for what you had was a necessity.  

Stephanie shares: “You do what you have to do to survive, that's the mentality of my community. We struggled, so the thought of taking a risk like ‘following my dreams’ just wasn’t an option, I had to earn money. I just wanted to make my mom proud, and I didn’t believe in myself enough as a writer to make that possible.”    

Following that advice, writing became a much smaller part of her life as she built a career in Health and Human Services, non-profit work, and education. Despite her success in this work, she never felt completely fulfilled. Then, in 2023 she felt inspired to change paths when her mom, Sandy, unexpectedly passed away. The tragic loss of the person she loved the most led her back home to her old family home in Alarka, allowing her to immerse herself in nature once again. Now surrounded by wildlife, hills, and lakes and living the culture and traditions of Appalachian and Southern life, Stephanie was compelled to return to writing as an outlet for her grief.  

Stephanie’s experiences of the blurring lines between her loved ones, the beauty of the nature around her, and their histories turned into a cascade of poems flowing out of her. Her appreciation of small moments like the serene ripples of a mallard’s movement, the unappreciation of the history of kudzu, the determination of Eastern Box turtles or the meditative ritual of sweet tea became enchanting reflections of the Appalachian soul. 

This project of passion was transformed into a collection of poems when Stephanie’s friend Ashley encouraged her to tap into her artistry to elevate the lives of people through a published work. “I laughed: ‘What am I going to publish it as? The poems of a Southern nobody?’ My friend turned around and said ‘Yeah, that's a great title’, at that moment, the name felt right, and I just trusted the process,” she reminisces.  

Poems of a Southern Nobody is a body of work expressing that even when we feel alone, we are all figuring out our purposes together. “It’s important to allow ourselves to have these feelings, and it’s even more important to let others know about them,” Stephanie expresses. 

Stephanie Oakey’s authorship won’t stop here; with plans to share more inspiring insights about the interconnection between people, nature, and heritage. Stephanie is currently working on a collection of short stories and a novel expected to be launched in the near future.  

This celebration of Western North Carolina’s culture and the vines holding people and nature together offers unique insights into the interconnectedness of the American South. After all, there's a reason why people use the term ‘Southern hospitality’, it’s a culture that exemplifies what it means to welcome others while understanding that people have their faults. It reminds us, as Stephanie says, that “time keeps moving, but we can slow down and hold on to those passing moments of the life around us.”