Leona Sevick

Oct 9, 2023 | thesunmagazine.org | David Mahaffey |Cheryl Strayed |Leona Sevick |Dan Leach

Where I grew up in the foothills of Appalachia, it was common to hear firsthand accounts of encounters with the supernatural. All manner of spirits and cryptids were purported to live in the local hills and hollers of Wilkes County, North Carolina, and any teenager could direct you to a secret spot where the rules of physics became more suggestion than natural law.

Oct 3, 2023 | thesunmagazine.org | David Mahaffey |Dan Leach |Leona Sevick

Yes, it’s cruel. An unseemly gluttony. Trapping the ortolan buntings, forcing them to gorge in the dark, mouthfeel of seeds their only comfort in that closed, blank space. Drowned in amber brandy, plucked then roasted, their tiny bones crunch softly in the mouth. The smallish wings tuck along smooth, browned skin, like stiff Olympic lugers eaten whole. A white cloth napkin drapes over the head to hide the diner’s shame from the sight of God.