Recommended by Rebecca Doverspike

After reading Jessie Van Eerden’s essay “Soul Catchers,” my first and deepest impulse was to share it with everyone. Though we say this often, once we actually think about those we know—specific friends, families, colleagues—we realize most pieces will only resonate with a few of those people. This essay casts wider, and I really think almost everyone I know would love it and learn something indispensible from it. Her essay is a kind of letter as well as a narrative, lovingly addressing a woman named Eliza, from the Whetsell Settlement near Beatty Church in West Virginia. She speaks about photographers coming into Eliza’s home to capture images for the “War on Poverty,” their desire to capture and claim something “distant” from themselves, to hold in their hands at a remove. Her voice throughout the piece works through both fury and love, speaking of what’s that’s left out of those photographs, and what’s left out anytime we “other” or refuse to see another with the layers and complexity we afford ourselves. Her language is quick, gorgeous, moving, and clear; through it, she shows a complexity of issues that I find myself still working through. I could not recommend this essay more highly—it will stay with me for the rest of my life. I think you will find yourself learning something through each sentence. You can find it in The Oxford American, Best of the South III from 2008 (well worth the seeking; I promise). To read more of Jessie’s writing, visit her website.