I have a few pronunciation pet peeves. My language grievances may sound sanctimonious, especially to some folks who view Appalachian English as everything “un” – uncouth, unsophisticated, and uncivilized. Nevertheless, I cringe every time I hear: “I axed a question,” or, “He excaped through the window.” I’ll add to theseContinue Reading
Professional sculptor and mixed media artist Mary Ruden recently invited Appalachia Bare to attend the historical marker unveiling for suffragette Lizzie Crozier French. Our Admin, Tom Anderson and I stepped into Knoxville Tennessee’s Old Gray Cemetery and were greeted by a wonderful group of individuals, many wearing suffragette white. MaryContinue Reading
Some years ago, my family and I visited former president Andrew Johnson’s home in Greeneville, Tennessee. The tour was interesting, as all historical places are, but I felt a heavy presence throughout the house. Perhaps that feeling had something to do with a sort of transposed shame that Andrew JohnsonContinue Reading
Welcome back to the second part of Appalachia Bare‘s exclusive information gathering from “Rider,” an old time member of the Southern Sons. We took a little pit stop for a few nights and now we’re heading down the valley toward our destination. Gear buckled, helmet fastened, let’s crank up thatContinue Reading
Things happen at night in the holler. Bad things. Of course, that goes for big cities, too. But we all know hollers have no street lights or city lights and nighttime is pitch-black along those meandering dirt roads. Nightfall covers a multitude of sins like a cozy patchwork blanket. It’sContinue Reading
Today has been National Korean War Armistice Day, where the nation remembers and honors Korean War veterans. The Koreas are situated smack dab in the middle between China, Russia, and Japan, and have been “caught up in their conflicts” for centuries. Japan controlled the country from around 1910 to 1945,Continue Reading
Tennessee Williams was one of the foremost playwrights in the 20th century. He wrote close to 40 plays, 70 one-act plays, and several screenplays, achieving great success with The Glass Menagerie (1944), A Streetcar Named Desire (1947; Pulitzer Prize winner), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955; Pulitzer Prize winner),Continue Reading
Welcome to the second and final posting of Appalachian slave narratives capturing individual responses regarding freedom. You’ll find part one here. Visit the following sources for more extensive and wide ranging interviews: Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936 to 1938 – Library of Congress Slave narratives – Project GutenbergContinue Reading
How many of us in Appalachia have heard: “Appalachia didn’t have any slaves.” “Slavery wasn’t popular here in the mountains.” “They couldn’t have any slaves here because the land wasn’t conducive for farming.” “If we had slaves, there weren’t very many.” But Appalachia did indeed have slaves. Jacqueline Clark’s articleContinue Reading
Capturing a misty Blue Ridge morning, we scuttled uphill, down dale, taking up trails, traipsing through dew-covered fields, and slipped off, passing untamed hours of existence. We rested near calm lakes roused by walleye’s sporadic splash, or bluegill’s breath bubbles or striders atop the water or dew-dripped sprinkles pit-patting aContinue Reading