Grandmother’s button box was always kept on her sewing machine desk. It was more of a small canister, really, made of tin, with a terra cotta-colored plastic lid. The box was decorated with images of people from the Victorian era shopping for fabrics and notions. I do not remember aContinue Reading
No one comes to the front door of the old clapboard house, unless of course they are peddling something, or lost. The gravel drive shoots up a short, steep hill and curves around to the back of the house like a strong arm pulls you in for a hug. LeftoverContinue Reading
This story is about an experience I had with my dad on a sunny afternoon in the mountain holler where we lived. I was about nine or ten years old at the time, and my dad would have been about thirty. The details of that afternoon are not entirely clear,Continue Reading
Oh, fruit loved of boyhood! the old days recalling, When wood-grapes were purpling and brown nuts were falling! When wild, ugly faces we carved in its skin, Glaring out through the dark with a candle within! (25-28) —from “The Pumpkin” by John Greenleaf Whittier, 1844 People living inContinue Reading
Kin Takahashi was a five-feet-two-inch, 123-pound ball of joyous energy whose fire burned brightly for only thirty-six short years. But Mr. Takahashi shared his energy with all those around him willingly and without hesitation. It could be said that his life was so brief because he gave everything of himself,Continue Reading
Appalachia has a unique history and her recorded past spans hundreds of years. Everyone has a tale—tall or small, tainted or sainted—because these mountains are full to the brim with stories. Our grandparents (and great grandparents, if one is fortunate) have told us about so many things. Sometimes their wordsContinue Reading
Thank you for joining us as we continue celebrating Appalachian poet and novelist, George Scarbrough’s birthday with part 2 of Edward Francisco‘s “Christ-Hauntedness in George Scarbrough’s Invitation to Kim.” Christ-Hauntedness in Scarbrough’s Invitation to Kim . . . As before, the reader senses that Scarbrough’s “love of profligate /Continue Reading
Appalachian poet and novelist George Scarbrough was born on October 20, 1915. Appalachia Bare is celebrating his birthday this week with a two-part essay written by our own Edward Francisco, titled “Christ-Hauntedness in George Scarbrough’s Invitation to Kim.” The essay first appeared in The Iron Mountain Review’s George Scarbrough IssueContinue Reading
Black bears are as Appalachian as moonshine and fiddle music, and most anyone who has lived here has a bear story. In fact, most folks who visit our mountain hollers and trails have a bear story, even if it’s just a chance sighting from the road. They are fascinating animals.Continue Reading
I hope everyone has been pleased with this Daugherty series, or, perhaps, been enlightened? My goal has always been to write the facts and let the reader sift through it all. Though admittedly, I may have either ventured into my own opinions or, perhaps, somehow revealed them in my writing.Continue Reading