The George Washington Harris Short Story Contest is currently closed for submissions. Thank you for your interest. Please follow Appalachia Bare for more contest information in the future. We accept submissions year-round. Appalachian artists and writers have a unique perspective on life. Much of our inspiration derives from family andContinue Reading

George Washington Harris was born in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, on March 20, 1814. In 1819, Harris moved to Knoxville, Tennessee with his half-brother Samuel Bell, who was considerably older than Harris and to whom the latter eventually served as an apprenticed metalworker. Harris’s formal education was scant. Never settling intoContinue Reading

When you grow up sheltered in the shadows of the Appalachian Mountains, magic is all around you. My people came from across the world to these mountains and hollers: bringing with them a mixture of religions, demons, folklore, and wisdom. The mixture of these cultures, combined with the ever-present headyContinue Reading

The Dancing Fiddle was going to close down. It had stood at the corner of the main street since most anyone could remember. Bill bought it off the old man who had it before him, and now, as he was old in turn, he had no one to leave itContinue Reading

We’ve compiled some tidbits of information on these Appalachian English words. Some information is extensive, telling the first usage and a little etymology. Other information is sparse. Still other information is somewhat entertaining.   1. Coal oil: b.) kerosene   From “How is Lamp Oil Made?” by Alex Burke onContinue Reading

The dialect and language of Appalachia is unique. Our way of speaking hearkens back to 1500s Middle English. Some of our words are, arguably, even Old English. (Hit, for example, is, as Wylene P. Dial writes, “the Old English third person singular neuter pronoun for [the word] it . .Continue Reading

1. You and I lived nowhere by the river among the frogs, mushrooms, and flowers that flourished beside the sidewalks of our neighborhood. In the light of moon against the southern trees blowing in wind from the west, Your phone and my face glowed as we talked about what weContinue Reading

Today’s Red Death I have been shut in my house, my yard, and my neighborhood for the past two months, and I am getting frustrated with how drawn out all the government’s coronavirus safety measures have become. I have not seen my grandparents or friends during all of that time,Continue Reading