The Last American Dreamer
The Atlantic · 26 Aug 2026

The Last American Dreamer

No southerner, or perhaps human, has remained so universally beloved for as long as Dolly Parton. Growing up in Tennessee, I could hardly walk into a grocery store without hearing “Jolene” playing on the radio. My mom sang fragments of “9 to 5” as she cooked Hamburger Helper on school nights, after


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