My Top 5 Favorite Female Vocalists (2023 Version)
I grew up with a mom who was a vocalist. While she may have once dreamed of singing professionally, life took her in a different direction—marrying young and raising seven kids. As a result, her singing career mostly revolved around church solos and waking us up for...
The Specter of Red Dog Road
A Southern ghost story set in Harlan, Kentucky: Red Dog Road’s specter, a mean dog, stolen gold, and a soul trapped between heaven and hell.
Exotic Aquatic
Within me, it swims— this light-borne goldfish defined by a translucent orb, its curve—a lie of limits against the infinite ocean. Thoughts descend to the deep, silent, sinking, rusted anchor, rooting themselves near the pink coral castle. Small fry swirl and scatter...
A Hollywood Life Unattained
Recounting missed acting opportunities, from Good Times to Seinfeld, and reflecting on what it means to chase an unattained dream.
New Exploitive Southern Reality Shows On Cable
Southern reality shows gone wild: check out the newest exploitative cable shows that push the boundaries of absurdity and stereotype.
Barn
Gray bones, unyielding against the shifting winds of a century’s dance, stand tall, supporting the relic. Dusty tobacco— its earthy scent mingles with manure, sweat, soil, and corn, the essence deeply embedded in wood and beam. Rodent, bird, snake, spider, a silent...

I'm Rick Baldwin
a writer and artist whose work spans humor, horror, poetry, essays, and playwriting, often rooted in the textures of Southern life and Appalachian culture—its religion, storytelling, and quirky absurdities—my work moves between the reflective and the unsettling, the comic and the strange.
I am an award-winning cartoonist and illustrator, and the editor of The Leghorn, a humor publication dedicated to sharp, irreverent satire. My creative work also extends into podcasting, where I explore storytelling, culture, and the absurdities in between.
Originally from East Tennessee, I now live on the east side of Atlanta with my wife, where we spend much of our time searching for interesting art and fresh produce.
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