when i was a child i would spend South Texas evenings throwing myself with reckless abandon into the gnarled branches of a waiting magnolia. above the pecan falls and beyond the waiting call of my mother’s dinner bell. all to sit for a moment with those sweet flowers in theContinue Reading
I saw your face, and felt the gravity of the moment. The ghost inside echoed the shift, recording the tangent in my course. Your words, your touch, and your spirit nudged my bearing. Tracking left and right, I found no center where once it guided. Bending to the mass ofContinue Reading
In a break from our usual practice, we’re releasing the answers to the quiz now, so you can check and see how you did. We will publish an article discussing the etymology and cultural context of our language next week. This will give us the opportunity to provide a thorough,Continue Reading
Welcome to our fifth quiz in Appalachian English. I always try to write some little introduction before the quiz with a little tidbit of information about our language. Here goes . . . The way Appalachian dialect is portrayed in media, literature, and television often discriminates against and inhibits us.Continue Reading
There was Red Jaws sitting on the couch, mom’s half-brother, while we waited for his tale. He took a minute, easing into the story like a slow drink of whiskey. I ain’t drunk today he said, still too early but there has been many a time when me and aContinue Reading
Sunlight touches my face at dawn A butterfly lands on my hand Bees kiss wildflowers on the lawn Crimson cardinals present their demands The last glow of sunset reveals a doe and fawn Fireflies twinkle in dewy evening starlight Crickets and bullfrogs sing their soulful tune Moon-eyed owl keeps vigilContinue Reading
It was the farthest north they had ever been. It being Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. They being George Washington Cline and Henry Lafayette Marcum of Mingo County, Virginia, which bordered Kentucky in the southwestern part of the state. Most people there in Mingo County were related to each other. George and HenryContinue Reading
“Really Loud and Partially Deaf” dedicated to my Husband, Army Veteran Mark Batton My wife brings up a basket of laundry. She doesn’t say anything. She doesn’t need to. I know she despises folding laundry. It’s a load of towels. I grab one. Warm and fresh-smelling. I fold it inContinue Reading
Last fall, Appalachia Bare had the opportunity to conduct an on-site interview with Wayne Mason, the Compost Supervisor at Knoxville’s University of Tennessee (UTK) Compost Facility.1)Over the winter Wayne took a position with a city in the northeast to set up a municipal compost facility. What an eye-opening experience! WayneContinue Reading
The following poem from Anna Laura Reeve’s debut book of poetry, Reaching the Shore of the Sea of Fertility (Belle Point Press), was a finalist for the Ron Rash Award and was first published in Broad River Review. Flower Moon One way to light myself after darkness is toContinue Reading