Subscribe Now!

Sean Dietrich Articles

Easter

BY SEAN DIETRICH A few years ago I attended my first Catholic mass in a busy church outside Birmingham. It was Easter Sunday. I sat in the nosebleed section.People greeted me with the words, “He’s risen.”And because I was not raised under a rock, I answered with:...
Read More

Dollar General

BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — The following actually happened. In a major American city. A guy emailed me about it.A young woman is in Dollar General. A mother of two. Shopping. She has her kids in tow. They are dressed in ragged clothes that look like they’ve been...
Read More

Pound Cake Day

BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — You might not know this, but a few days ago was a national holiday. A day when our nation traditionally puts aside our differences, stands together in solidarity and brotherhood, from sea to oil-slicked sea, and we celebrate our most...
Read More

Where the redhead grows

OPINION — BY SEAN DIETRICH My interview was scheduled for noon. It’s not every day you are a keynote speaker for Miss Bernice’s fourth-grade class career day, via video call. I wore a necktie.Miss Bernice’s class has been interviewing a lot of people lately about...
Read More
Dancers

Dancers

Mar 8, 2023

The little girl sits in a hospital room.  She lives here. In this bed. In this university hospital. She lives in this gown. She usually plays...

read more
Dancers

Ash Wednesday

Mar 2, 2023

Ash Wednesday. The first day of Lent. I saw him in a Birmingham supermarket. He was young. Latino. Maybe 11 or 12. He was wandering through the...

read more
Dancers

Good

Feb 22, 2023

By SEAN DIETRICH Just before midnight. Somewhere on the Texas prairie. A 20-year-old named Mark was driving on a two-lane highway on his way home....

read more
Dancers

Blind Love

Feb 16, 2023

By SEAN DIETRICH She was trash. At least that’s how she was treated. She was found wandering a rural Mississippi highway. Beneath the stars. It was...

read more
Dancers

Good Dog

Feb 8, 2023

By SEAN DIETRICH She has long red hair. Fair complexion. A high school senior. Quiet. Mild-mannered. When she speaks, her voice sounds like Locust...

read more
Dancers

Breakfast

Feb 1, 2023

By SEAN DIETRICH I’m warning you beforehand, what I’m about to say is going to seem utterly ridiculous. Here goes: My mother once told me that I...

read more
Dancers

Mama

Jan 25, 2023

By SEAN DIETRICH They called her Mama. Everyone at Waffle House knew her that way. Few knew her real name. To them, she was “Mama.” “She was...

read more
Dancers

Good

Jan 18, 2023

By SEAN DIETRICH I saw him across the crowded restaurant with his elderly parents. They didn’t look like they’d aged a bit. But he did. His face was...

read more